WINGS OF FIRE We stepped into some big shoes when the mantle was passed on to us from the first SPark The responsibility seemed equally daunting, if not greater. Although we inherited a viable and vigorous idea, we were determined to nurture and make it flourish. The idea had always been to provide a platform unlike any other in SPIT and to bring to light the silent successes and endeavours that otherwise go unnoticed. In the process, we achieved something invaluable Discovery. The discovery of silent, brilliant literary talents from across different batches and departments. I must admit, I am thrilled and privileged to have worked with an immensely talented and enthusiastic team. The first order of business for us was to institute a formal introduction to the freshers about the -curricular and co-curricular events and how SPark helps to keep with up those. This proved as an excellent opportunity to bring forward students who might be interested in honing their literary skills. What followed was a year packed with action and our attempts to bring most of it to light. Apart from the Reports section that offers updates on the happenings in college, and the Columns section where students display why the pen is mightier than the sword, an important cog in our system is the Alumni team. Recounting wonderful learning experiences of alumni whose stories continue to inspire us, years after their graduation. This effort has helped foster stronger ties of interaction and build and a community with the alumni. On the same lines, the Cover Story of this edition of the magazine Inspiring Entrepreneurs encompasses stories of alumni who have taken the road less travelled and the remarkable efforts our college is investing to promote and nurture the entrepreneurship spirit among the students of SPIT. It is not only a report of the numerous avenues that the college provides for young entrepreneurs to learn and grow, but it also represents somewhat of a paradigm shift towards entrepreneurship. Moreover, we strived to gather and display the thriving literary and artistic skillset of students and teachers of SPIT. A plethora of genres is touched upon in the various articles of the magazine ranging from nostalgia to empowerment to satire. Let not thy winged days be spent in vain. When once gone no gold can buy them back again. It has been a tremendous learning experience. We hope to have lived up to these words, and aim to soar even higher, keeping the legacy alive.
Soumil Rao Editor-in-Chief SPark 2014 2015
SPark is a subsidiary of CollegeShack (spark.collegeshack.in)
Dr. Prachi Gharpure
The SPark ignited last year is now slowly growing into a blaze. It has served as an excellent platform for students to showcase their literary talents as well as make their achievements known across a wide spectrum of readers. The year 2014 2015 has been a year of milestones and achievements for S.P.I.T. Be it a step forward towards academic autonomy, the ICCICT15 Matrix. I would like to thank and congratulate all the faculty members and students for the splendid execution and comprehensive success of all the events in the academic year. Furthermore, I would like to congratulate the SPark team for once again creating a wonderful magazine that serves as a creative documenta
From left to right: Dr. Y. S. Rao, Vice Principal, H.O.D. Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering Dr. Rita Das, H.O.D. Applied Sciences and Humanities Dr. Surendra Rathod, H.O.D. Electronics Engineering Dr. Radha Shankarmani, H.O.D. Information Technology Engineering Dr. Dhananjay Kalbande, H.O.D. Computer Engineering Prof. K. T. Talele, H.O.D., Masters in Computer Applications
S.P.I.T. STUDENT COUNCIL 2014-15 From left to right (front row) Aditya Rathi, Samiksha Gupta, Rupakshi Soni, Jiger Jain (back row) Kalpit Narvekar, Purva Vasudeo
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CORPORATE AWARDS
Best Student Award Pranav Kundra (BE Computers) Instituted by Cognizant, presented by Dr. Prachi Gharpure and Mr. Raju Gaikwad
Best Faculty Award Prof. Govind Haldankar Instituted by Cognizant, presented by Mr. Raju Gaikwad
Best Project Award Amarendra Ranade, Kulbhushan Tanwar and Joel Wilson (BE EXTC) and Saurabh Acharya, Bhargav Vijay and Shubham Nandanwankar (BE Electronics) Instituted by Tata Consultancy Services, presented by Mr. Prasad Dixit
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STUDENT ACHIEVERS Nikhita Ramakrishnan (SE IT) Excellence Award 2015; A cash prize of Rs. 50000/- and access to the last round of Credit Suisse internship Aniket Pendse, Amogh Morye, Kartik Chakole, Sahil Kabdule (TE ETRX) First Prize in Line Follower at Spectra 2014 organized by SPCE Amarendra Ranade, Kulbhushan Tanwar, Joel Wilson (BE EXTC) Best Innovative Idea: D.J. Sanghvi Technical Fest nd Tinity, 2 Prize at National level project exhibition at Universal College of Engineering
nd
2 Prize in Jagruti National Level Drama competition at IIM Bangalore
Nishant Ramteke (BE EXTC) nd
2 Prize in Ek-taara unplugged singing competition at St. Malhar 2014 Shreyas Palande (FE ETRX) Selected to represent the university at All India Inter-university Yoga, Men and Women Tournament 2014-15 at Kurukshetra University in March 2015 Sushant Kini nd
Soham Kanade, Ritika Nevatia, Anish Kanchan (BE Comps) st
1 Prize in Hackathon 2014 at Pragyan the international Technomanagement fest of NIT, Tiruchinapalli and Amazon India in December 2014 Aniket Shenoy (TE Comps) First Prize in intercollegiate instrumental war competition at SPACE 2015
2 Prize in athletics, Discus Throw at the inter-collegiate sports tournament organized by Mumbai University Pratik Thorwe (FE EXTC) Winner in the West Zone Chess tournament organized by University of Mumbai held at Amity University, Noida. Represented Mumbai University in the Interuniversity tournament held at S. G. Sports University, Gandhinagar.
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A BOLD ENDEAVOUR MATRIX 2014 Devashree Mehta | Chaintanya Bapat
Matrix kicked off with The Amazing Tech-Race as a mega pre-launch event. With over 200 enthusiastic participants from colleges across Mumbai, it turned out to be one of the most successful events of its kind. It contributed, in no small way, towards building up the enthusiasm and was an appropriate precursor to an equally thrilling festival. Wired robotics workshop was clinical to connect with the techies in the college and set up a great platform for the upcoming technical events during the fest.
Two Technical Secretaries were appointed, the aim being clear; to enable SPIT to have its own technical festival, 3 years after Nirmaan was last held. Being one of the topmost engineering colleges under Mumbai University, SPIT needed an opportunity to showcase its technical talents on a suitable platform. For precisely this reason, a technical festival was eagerly being looked forward to.
Aquabot
As the day of the fest arrived, the air was thick with excitement and anticipation. A plethora of events like Defuse the Bomb, Tech Debate, Codebug, Get Me There, Unjumble Mania greeted the crowds as they lined up to get their technical knowledge tested in a more engaging way than ever before.
The biggest hurdle faced by MATRIX was the time crunch. Having only around 45 days to prepare for an intercollege technical festival from scratch, the Council had to hit the ground running. In spite of this, they made sure they personally appointed the core team and the event organizers alike, each of whom also gave their personal best to make sure that Matrix was a success. And sure enough, everything from sponsors to minute details like benches and chairs were in place, in time for Dday.
Line Follower
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Not content with catering only to the geeks inside us, MATRIX also offered a surplus choice of entertaining and fun events like Tech Charades, LAN Mafia, Hogathon, Online Treasure Hunt, Lazer Maze and the like.
Hogathon
While tech-fest calls for high-octane technical competitions and events, the night saw S.P.I.T. come truly alive. named after discs. Technology transcended its the
A truly spectacular performance set the stage on fire and let every S.P.I.T.ian go berserk. h balance-sheets
and statistics; Success is carved and engraved in memories and moments.
Matrix 2014 certainly ranks high for everyone associated with it in any possible way may it be as an organizer, core member or participant. Matrix will be remembered for years to come for it is stands for as exemplary display of perfect time management, human resource utilization and technological know-how.
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Samiksha Gupta
It has been the most memorable year of my undergraduate course. And being a part of the student council has contributed significantly to this journey. We started the semester by arranging a Freshers welcome to give them an insight into the institute they will be a part of. To set a new trend and create a platform to showcase our technical strength, we came up with the technical 4. A 2 day spectacular display showcased great talents as well as active participation from other engineering colleges. This realization of the dream of a technical fest would have not been possible without our technical secretaries Jiger Jain and Aditya Rathi. Developing a technical festival from scratch was arduous but with support from the faculty and my peers, we got the first edition of Matrix to a good start. The Sports Secretaries Kalpit Narvekar and Purva Vasudeo did a great job ensuring that our college had an active participation in various inter-collegiate sports competitions throughout the year. The college s sports teams have displayed impeccable performances at various inter-college level tournaments from the football team winning at SPIRIT and the Volleyball team conquering Fr. Agnel s turf. The year has also seen great achievements which have made our college proud. For instance Nishant Ramteke won the singing competition at Malhar, our chess team was ranked 6th in the MU tournament, the drama team won at IIM Bangalore, the dance team at Vartak college and many more. The cultural festival SPACE 2015 held in February. It was a scenario of 2 months of hard work and preparation with the extravaganza for over 3 days. It was an overwhelming experience working for the fest with the Cultural Secretary of the college, Rupakshi Soni. Against all odds and inhibitions, the cultural fest turned out to be phenomenal and well-received. One person who adds to this experience is Prachi Madam who has always been there to guide us in the best possible way. I can, without a doubt, say that madam is one of the most student friendly principals any institute can ever have. I sincerely thank all the Heads of Departments for extending cooperation and assisting us in every way possible. Last but not the least I would like to thank Madhavi madam for being that professor whom we can always approach when we have no clue about where to head. This journey has had its shares of ups and downs but it has been an experience which no book can ever teach. I have learnt many a valuable lessons in my tenure as the General Secretary, which I am sure will help me in my life ahead. Once again I thank the management to give me this opportunity to do better than my best.
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DEPARTMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS ELECTRONICS Liaison with several top companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Texas Instruments, etc. and with reputed institutes like IIT-Bombay, VNIT, etc. Siemens held interviews for internships to current S.E. students, starting a new corporate tie -up with the department Guest Lectures by esteemed speakers such as: "Semiconductor Devices And Circuits (Junction Analysis)" By Prof. M.B. Patil, IIT Bombay "Visual TCAD" By Mr. Amit Saini , Engineer, Carde Design SYstem, Noida "Introduction to Latest Technology" in VLSI & in Micro-controllers By Dr. Jonathan Joshi, Ph.D. University of Southern California "Fundamentals and Applications of Oxide based Memistor" By Mr. Abhishek Sharma, Research Assistant, Carnegie Mellin University "How to carry out research work" By Dr. Sanjay M.Gulhane, Chairman, Board of Studies, SGB Amravati University "Industrial Automation" By Profilic Systems & Technologies Pvt. Ltd "Biomedical Instrumentation and Signal Processing" By Dr. Satish T. Hamde , Prof. And Dean Academics of S.G.G.S.I.E&T "Control System Design Using State Space Variables" By Mr. D.S. Sawant
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Prof Radha Shankarmani conferred a PhD degree Prof Jignesh Sisodia was responsible for the setup of CUDA Teaching Center and also attended the National workshop on GPU Programming and Application Germany Prof Richard Joseph published a paper in IEEE Conference (CSCITA Abhishek Mishra won the National Data Analytics competition Muphoria organized by MuSigma in December, 2014 and received a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. He also won the Best Male Performer Award in Barclays Hackathon, 2014 and claimed the first prize in JP Morgan Code for Good Hackathon, 2014 Gaurav Tripathi was Runner-up in JP Morgan Code for Good Hackathon, 2014 nd rd Taral Patel was part of the GameEon startup by S.P.I.T students and provided internships to 2 and 3 year students published by Cypher publishers at Mood Indigo st Shubham Singh was 1 festival
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EXTC Prof Anand Mane secured admission in PhD in Electronics And Telecommunication under Mumbai University, Centre- Terana Engineering College Nerul. Prof Mrs Vijaya Kamble received minor research grant of 25000/-for the project titled AICTE funded project under Modernization and Removal of Obsolescence (MODROBS), Amount: Rs. 1500000/- for Development of Advanced Microwave and Fibre Optic Laboratory with Project Coordinator: Dr. Yeramareddy Rao -View Interfacing LCD touch Screen with BE EXTC group won second prize at "National Level Project Exhibition" held at Universal College of Engineering with IETE, with project "Smart Stick-An Aiding Companion" and won second prize at ring by IEEE Won prizes at Fr. Agnel College of Engineering and SPCE (SPIRIT) for Volleyball. ed method for single phase induction Participated in IIT Bombay EParticipated in E-
tals Robot -
COMPUTERS st
Team from S.P.I.T. (Anish, Ritika and Soham) stood 1 in the Hackathon competiton by Amazon, Hyderabad. nd Team from S.P.I.T. (Kevin, Pranav, Ritika and Soham) stood 2 in Hackathon by Barcalays, Pune. th S.P.I.T. stood 15 in the All India E-Cell NEC competiton, held at IIT Bombay with 730 points and 11 events done 6 B.E. Comps students awarded Indus Valley Partners sponsored projects. Pooja Inamdar from M.E.Comps, secured an internship and eventually was placed at INTEL, Bangalore, India. th Team from T.E. Comps (Abbas, Aanchal and Darshan) finished 24 all over India in the ICPC ACM coding competition at Gwalior. Infybeam instituted the corporate award for the Best Innovative Idea to Surbhi Mantri, Kartik Killawala and Nikita Moghe from Te Computers, titled Food Smiles
MCA Dr. Pooja Raundale received CSI grant for research project MCA department received permission to start PhD centre in Computer Application MCA department conducted a 1 day workshop on Data Warehousing and Data Mining MoU signed with VNurture Healthcare for student projects Harshil Kanakia published a paper at ICCICT 2015 in the domain of Artificial Intelligence Aarti Karande published a paper in ICNTE 2015in the area of Business Processes. Sakina Shaikh published a paper at ICACTA 2015 in the research area of Data Mining
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REMEMBERING SCHOOL
Sonali Mukherjee TE EXTC
The doors cling on to their hinges for dear life as a herd of children rushes past them, oblivious to their surroundings, blinded by joy. The bell has rung; school is over for the day! I smile as I see the boundless energy in them, eager to return home, to go down to play. Little do they know how much I yearn to be like them again! The last one of them has gone past me, and it is now that I step out of the shadows, sauntering forlornly through those corridors I used to know so well. One of the teachers passes me by without as much as a nod in s not like them at all. Shrugging it off, I resume my walk down my memory lane, quite literally. There they are, my first classes in the school, decorated with bright colours, the very place where I painted my dreams into existence, letting my imagination run wild as I sat amongst the huge teddy bears that adorned this room. Sighing quietly to myself, I steer myself upwards, to the rooms am, by choice of profession, An Engineering Student! Tearing myself away from my primary classes, I turn my gaze upwards once more, wondering if my heart will be able to withstand the next step. I take steady steps, my body trembling as I reach the last one. In a millionth of a millisecond, every memory slams against my
like a panorama. Every detail is perfectly preserved, three rows stare at me from where I stand, with my back to the blackboard, the cupboard nudging me kindly from its place in the right hand corner. 63 empty places where all of us used to sit. One by one, my favourite places! Everything is so peaceful, even though our teachers never agreed. In less than a year, everything changes. All of us scatter out into the world, and others fill our gaps in this very classroom, the school goes on. The tears my tiffin in the break, laughing and joking with some of the best people to ever grace my li fe. An ill placed sound jerks me from these memories. I turn my head, alarmed, only to notice my professor standing directly in front of me! I must have dozed off somehow. I try to look as dignified as possible as he proceeds to tell me how sleeping in class could seriously affect my grades and what tips I had missed out on as
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Dr. Madhavi Gokhale, Associate Professor, ASH Department
The bell rings. As I gather the usual paraphernalia that defines my profession a duster, a chalk-box, attendance sheets, notes, and the ubiquitous red pen, a young man enters the lab and stands in front of me, smiling. -shirt and branded jeans. He simply stands there, waiting for a sign of recognition. Flashback: a young boy sitting on the front bench, smiling, but nervously this time waiting for my feedback on his speech. Yes, the same boy now transformed. my memory is playing tricks on me again. The picture is complete, but the name is missing. I profusely apologize for having to rush and he agrees to wait. There is so much to catch up with. One hour later, it is nostalgia time again. Once again, I marvel at how five years have added sheen to this hands are placed comfortably on the arm-rest of the chair a picture of perfect composure. I love these moments when my alumni suddenly reappear and catch me by surprise. They fill me with a sense of affectionate pride, especially the previously shy ones who now engage me in mature, meaningful conversations! Not all are this lucky, though. I feel my heart break on listening to one of my sweetest girl-students recount how a messy divorce left her with indelible scars. Another bright alumnus narrates a traumatic episode of dirty office politics. But yes, I treasure the sharing of interesting tidbits of campus life abroad or in management institutes, the comic encounters in the office, complaints against new spouses, and yes the with individual wedding cards! Then one day, an alumnus suddenly turns up with her little adorable toddler, seen, and the connection is complete. When they come back, they give me something only a teacher can cherish interesting nuggets of news, whiffs of an exciting world that is outside the limits of our cloistered academic existence. Then one day there is this heartbreaking message on Facebook one of our alumni has suddenly passed away. The next few days are a nightmarish blur of bewildered sadness and profound regret. 27 year-old Aditya, a newly married vibrant professional, who had come visiting us only la st year, brimming with confidence and ideas for a new start up would never come back again. Having reconciled myself to the dictum the self-same routine of lectures and tutorials and eagerly await the sound of footsteps and the ring of a
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REALITY
Nidheesh Samant TE Computers
Changes are inevitable. I know that now. For I am old and wiser than I had been when I was young. Yes, that seems like ages ago. The days when I used to be young and active are long gone. Those were the good old days. The time I spent with my best friends will always stay with me. The five of us had always been together since we were very little. We would roam around town, looking for things to do and trouble to cause. Soon, we had grown up into young adults. Those are probably my fondest memories. As young adults, we started looking for a purpose to our lives. We decided that our destinies lay out in the big wide world and not in our town. So we packed our stuff an d hit the road. We travelled on, day and night , looking for poor souls in need of aid. And that became our modus operandi for a while. Looking for troublereputation as pesky do-gooders as well. But the naivety had to end. We had to grow up. Reality h ad to sink in. And it did. Our escapades though entertaining, were not enough to earn us a living. In their minds, my friends began to realize that it was indeed time to grow up. But growing up suddenly after a reality check is not easy. And hit us it did- hit us hard. My best friend among all of them had always been a kid at heart. Reality probably hit him the hardest. He became a pot head. An addict to the temporary and d eadly escape from reality that drugs brought him. Two of my friends decided to face the turbulence in life together. They eloped. However, that did not last long and they eventually went their separate ways. My last friend, well she was always a brilliant mind. She had no trouble getting a good post at a research lab. But even her transiti huge change. After spending her teenage years with us, trying to hook up with guys, who only seemed to avoid her, she decided going straight was no more an option for her. They all changed. I am pretty hungry.
much. I eat, laze around, eat some more and walk around. Now that I think of it,
Art Corner
Rudhika Kawar TE Computers
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ALUMNI INTERVIEW KASHYAP JOTWANI Darshit Doshi
A diligent student, a thorough professional and nothing short of a scholar Kashyap Jotwani completed his B.E. in Electronics and Telecommunication in 2009 and worked at Accenture for a year. He then did his M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) which is reputed to be one of the best in the world. He also got a one year scholarship from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Having worked at a year at Goldman Sachs, he is now a software engineer at SPLUNK. Kashyap is a passionate photographer, a car fanatic and loves reading fiction. Kashyap shared with us his experience of studying at these prestigious universities and how he got there. Read on to know more. Describe your time at S.P.I.T. I had a very good time at S.P.I.T. You all would be aware that getting into S.P.I.T is a very big thing, especially th after 12 so be proud of yourself. SPACE and techno-break somewhere in between assignments and exams. You received a M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University which is ranked one of the best in the world. How does one achieve a feat like that? For starters, it was because how my mom instilled the sense of taking responsibility into me. I am extremely grateful to her. She made me realize that I should always strive to be better than what I am. And this is something I have carried forward with me till date. I always challenge myself to be better than the best. Throughout my 4 years at S.P.I.T, I worked hard; well at the right times. learn, from your teachers, your friends from anywhere possible. I was lucky to have an amazing set of friends and were as close as family to me. Also, be ready for sleepless nights. You also received a year of scholarship from the most prestigious engineering university in the world, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Most of our readers would be eager to know how you managed to do that. MIT is not better than CMU for Computer Science; however it offers better opportunities for placements. A little bit of hard work and some luck on that day and I managed to crack the scholarship exam. However for CS, stick with CMU. How was your experience at CMU? How would you compare the two universities? Tough. Pretty tough. But I am glad it was that way. It made me ready for my internship and job. achieve it. But as compared, CMU would qualify as being one of the toughest: the assignments, the exams, non-stop pressure to perform. You are competing with the best that is out there. And CMU is the best university for CSE out there.
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How important was work experience for application in M.S.? How was working in the indus try after your graduation and after your post-graduation? Work experience is important but not necessary for getting into a good university. After graduation, frankly I curve to get started and often than not, practical knowledge counts. And after post-grad, it was the opposite. CMU had prepared me mentally and technically to handle tasks at my job. No pressure felt too much, no task seemed impossible to do. After your experience in the U.S., in your opinion Indian students should focus on which aspects? In the current Indian education system, there is a lot of focus to learning answers to questions and blurting them out in exam papers. This is something which needs to be permanently changed. Here, in the U.S., there is more focus on practical study than just mugging up. Here you learn your concepts and implement them. E.g. you study concepts of C/ JAVA and then as assignments, you write programs. For exams, you write programs. But in Mumbai University, we would learn theoretical concepts and the actual world. I would advise all students to focus on more practical knowledge than just learning for exam papers. Write code everyday especially for C.S students. For other branches students also I strongly urge, please learn to write code as soon as possible. It will definitely benefit everyone. India currently has a strong potential for start-ups and learning to code will help everyone. What would be your advice to final and third year students planning to pursue their post -graduation in the U.S. that can help them crack the best universities? For starters, get good grades. There is no substitute to that. If you want to crack the best, you need to be the projects which carry weight, which shows that you are different f start-up or a small company. Remember, you will learn more at a start -up than a well-established company. -ex. ry only on GRE score. With good grades, a decent GRE score will help you crack the best. And submit your application on time, not at the last moment a day or two before the deadline. Submit it at the beginning of the process. Many students I have seen who gotten into universities but missed as their applications were late. If given a chance to start your college all over again, what would be the one thing you would have done differently? Well honestly, I would prefer to do my undergraduation in C.S rather than Telecommunications. Also, I would love to do my undergraduation here in U.S than from Mumbai University. The practical knowledge that undergrads gain here in their 4 years is far superior to most Masters Students.
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ROBOCON 2K14 Chetan Jogi
The stage was set. It was March, autumn had just checked in and it was striking hot in Pune. The atmosphere was exciting but essentially nervous too. The audience was in a frenzy and they had come in numbers to support the home team. The Shiv Chhatrapati s MIT ,MIT and this made atmosphere more electrifying. Amidst all this cacophony the opponents went about their work of assembling the bot, checking the electronic circuits, debugging them, tightening t he loose nuts, st measuring the air pressure in the bottles silently preparing for their 1 match. And all their hopes rested on the shoulders of Sarvesh their driver. He was feeling the chill through his spine but put a confident face hoping to ride on his luck. And yes that was going to be his day in entirety. It was the first match for SPIT Robocon and they had been drawn against the formidable MIT in the draw. The theme for Robocon - signifying the role of parents in shaping up a child. That was relevant in making of two bots a parent bot which had to be manually controlled and a child bot that would be autonomous. Both the bots had together to complete three tasks in minimum time to gain The tasks included playing on a see-saw, completing a pole walk and swinging on a swing 3 times. The tasks gave 10, 20 and 50 points respectively com termed as jungle gym. Both the drivers had taken their spots. It was now time for some action. The main Co -ordinator and judge Mr.T.P.Singh blew out the whistle and it was game time bang on. Cheered from the home crowd, MIT was the favourite whereas SPIT started as the underdogs. It was David vs Goliath. And you know the end of the story. SPIT just upped their ante for the crucial tie taking maximum of 60 points from the swing. The seesaw and pole walk gave an additional 50 points which took their tally to 110 points. On the other hand, MIT could just take 70 points and Goliath was defeated valiantly by David to create a major upset in the starting stage s of the tournament .This served as huge confidence boost for the SPIT Robocon team and they thereafter rode on high spirits. All thanks to a nerve of steel shown by the head Arun Digra to encourage the whole team to give their best shot specially Sarvesh. The win just lifted up the morale of the team and they started to focus on nd match was against Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore. Taking st nd cues from their 1 outright win over the the 2 seeded team in the comptetion , SPIT again crushed AVV by higher than IIT Delhi , IIT Roorkee and even Nirma University-Ahmedabad. The league wins gave SPIT a rocket th flying start and they were 4 on the league table as the draw was made for the super league matches. The whole team was overwhelmed as they now broke out in the top 5 among the 90 competitors . The hard work that the team had put in began to bear fruits. The team had made a total of over 8 autonomous st bots trying 8 different mechanisms. The team used electromagnet for the 1 time to lift the autonomous child bot and it emerged as a huge success. Due to that mechanism, they always completed the swing task gaining maximum 60 points. All the mechanisms tried out by the Mech team were cost effective delivering the desired results. On the Electronics front, the team made miniaturized and customized circuits for the first time. The team had updated the systems from all points of view getting the batteries and motor driver circuits reduced in size th made their mechanisms so perfect that they stood 4 on the table after the league rounds.
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SPIT Robocon team in action at MIT
The first super league match up on their sleeves was Muffakham Jah COE, Hyderabad a highly experienced team in Robocon. And as a saying goes Man proposes, God disposes. Lady Fortune changed sides in a day. SPIT could only snatch 24 points whereas MJCOE went out to add 138 points to their kitty. The team also encountered a new problem their wheels were leaving marks on the game field. The wheels had become rough they skidded along leaving black marks and a warning from the judges. It was surprisingly novel for the team - as they went on smoothening the wheels without any effect. They tried to change the wheels with th e the team had serious brainstorming session over it at last they decided to go and contest the next match irrespective of the result. The next contest was against PICT, Pune and the performance improved with SPIT bagging 78 points but PICT scoring 108 points. It was a th reversal of fortunes and SPIT took a hit bulleting down to 10 rank. The points tally at the end of the day had a grim picture BVB SPIT 102 points not qualifying for the quarter finals. But this was the highest rank in th
great performance coming 10 nationally. It was a great achievement considering SPIT robocon had just 4 years of experience and having no mechanical branch the team going on their own learning new things to represent their college on this huge platform.
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Young entrepreneurs Jinen Dedhia and Divyesh Kharade from the batch of 2005 decided to start their own company 2 years after their graduation. After working at Wipro Technologies, the duo along with a colleague, Akash Shah, went on to conceive Deltecs InfoTech Pvt. Ltd. A company that provides Mobile based Employee established companies like Colgate, Delloite and ING. Deltecs InfoTech was a self-funded humble initiative that started in a rented office and grew to become an international business. almost 10 years since their graduation that they founded Mallers Inc. One of the earliest start -ups at Technology Business Incubation Centre, Mallers Inc. developed their flagship platform for the music industry Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Ltd. to empower the development of their digital media store. Consequently, Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari now work at Flipkart as Vice Presidents of Engineering and Supply Chain Technologies respectively. Entrepreneurship, though promising, is a road seldom taken by engineering students. Numerous projects and ideas by students during the course of engineering often have the potential to be products of substantial market value. These projects however do not always see the light of day. One of the reasons behind this is the lack of awareness regarding the mechanics of a start-up and its inception. Additionally, the fear of various risks involved in starting an indigenous venture. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (IEDC), the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) and the Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club) in S.P.I.T. were conceived and are striving to change this trend. IEDC and E-Cell endeavour to provide a platform for stu dents to come up with ideas for projects and help transform them into industry-grade products. At the same time, organize workshops, seminars and competitions to enhance their knowledge. Prof. K. T. Talele, the Head of IEDC says that the focus should be on developing customer friendly products that will be used and paid for. IEDC encourages students to not only concentrate on the development of the product but also crucial aspects like the business model, sources of funds and marketing, thus providing a han ds-on experience into establishing a procedures and norms for the same, right from patenting their products to the registration of their company. 21 patents have been filed from S.P.I.T. till date and 9 products are under development in this academic year. When asked what students should keep in mind regarding entrepreneurship, Prof. K. T. Talele advised that learning, gathering information and building a network is essential at this stage. Addressing the fear of risks involved in a start-up, he instructed that students should scrutinize success as well as failure stories of startups and attempt to understand the reasons behind their respective outcomes. Students should not rush into
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starting their own company but at the same time should try to assimilate the entrepreneurship know-how into their skillset. This knowledge, he says, is useful not only to entrepreneurship aspirants Training and Placement Centre has been in talks with several recruiting and practiced in IITs, deferred placements allows students to undertake a venture in the final years of engineering. Should the venture unfortunately falter, students can return and appear for placements as a backup. Deferred placements provide a certain sense of security to students and encourage them take on entrepreneurial challenges early in their careers. Entrepreneurship Club (E Club) is an initiative by the Training and Placement Officer Prof. Vinod Sikka to inspire, guide and motivate students to pursue entrepreneurship ventures. E Club organizes various guest lectures and interactive sessions with entrepreneurs in the industry. The lectures cove r various aspects of a start-up from idea evaluation, finances, publicity and market analysis through the rich experience of entrepreneurs. Ritvvij Parrikh, Managing Partner at Pykih Data Visualization roof, provided useful insight into the mechanics of a start-up. The first thing he said an aspiring entrepreneur must identify is where he or she stands. Identify w limitations and risk appetite. And that the cultural and economic environment that one belongs to also plays an important role in sculpting an entrepreneur. The efforts invested by the students, faculty and alumni at SPIT to support start -ups are supplemented by an encouraging trend in entrepreneurship statistics in India. According to the NASSCOM Startup Report of 2014, India is The Fastest Growing and 3rd Largest Start-Up Ecosystem Globally with approximately 3100 startups present in India and over 20 mergers and acquisitions worth ~USD 1 billion in last 3 years.
Technology Product Start-ups by Inception Year With this in perspective, it is certain that the decision to be an entrepreneur is not one that is taken overnight. Determination, perseverance and patience are some of the many building blocks to a self -made company. Nonetheless, with inspiring stories of start-ups right here from S.P.I.T., a plethora of opportunities to hone their entrepreneurship skills, an active student-faculty community to nurture and promote ventures, and the flourishing start-up ecosystem in India, students ought to be motivated and emboldened to embrace new challenges and take the road less travelled Entrepreneurship.
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ICCICT 2015
Nikhita Ramakrishnan
The certainly lived up to
-2015)
event where a vision for the future in the exceedingly dynamic field of technology was conceptualised.
Team S.P.I.T. at ICCICT 2015
The traditional lamp lighting ceremony
Technology organized the on Communication, Information and Computing -2015), its third international conference. The conference strived to bring together academic scientists, leading engineers, industry researchers and scholar students to discuss novel theories, technologies and applications in the areas of communications, computing and information technology. It also provided a platform to discuss and exchange ideas on the latest developments in this racing age of technology. Future research topics in IT and communications were dwelt upon. The conference was studded with eminent speakers and session chairs who graced the various technical sessions being held.
Dr. Y. S. Rao addressing the gathering
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Technology is not limited to a single topic. Various topics were discussed in the conference, some of them being: Sensor array and multi-channel signal processing, Microwave, antennas and propagation, Radar and sonar signal processing, Audio and speech processing, Image and multidimensional signal processing, Signal processing for communications, Wireless communications and networks, Optical communications and networks, Ultra wideband technology, Computer vision, Information and data security, VLSI & Embedded system design, High performance computing, Mobile Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering & Testing, Web Technologies, Data Management and Mining. The conference met with the enthusiastic response of students and faculty members alike. Tutorials were conducted on various topics like: Basic Wavelet Theory and Application to Visual Evoked Potential Estimation IPR and Patents Potential Information Cloud Computing CUDA About one hundred technical papers were presented across three days of the conference, with all the papers grouped according to their research area as follows: Research Area
Session Chair
Signal Processing
Dr. Sanjiv Bonde
Image Processing
Dr. Udhav Bhosale
Electronics
Dr. Rajendra Sawant
E-Learning
Dr. Ramesh Karandikar
Communication
Dr. Srija Unnikrishnan
Image Processing
Dr. S.T. Gandhe
Artificial Intelligence
Dr. G.T. Thampi
Data Warehousing and Mining
Dr. Ketan Shah
Information Security
Dr. D.N. Kyatanavar
Image/Video Processing
Dr. Vikram Patil
Cloud Computing
Dr. Vijaya Laxmi
The conference schedule was organized in the form of sessions and tracks, thus at any point, multiple presentations were being conducted. The sessions were presided upon by eminent session chairs, some of the foremost authorities in the respective field of technology. The session chairs provided insightful reviews and suggestions on the papers being presented. ICCICT presented a diverse display of technological know-how and an opportunity to witness a fruitful communion of technology, its eager stalwarts and its prestigious pioneers. It proved to be an enlightening experience unlike any other for students, faculty members and participants alike.
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THE LAST CONVERSATION
Uday Verma SE IT
th
He would leave for the front tomorrow. His division, the 50 Infantry, had been assigned to fight Erwin Libya. The ballroom was filled with his fellow officers and their partners, all trying to ignore the stark reality that several of the men might not come back. But know thisthey had together.
he said. They locked in a passionate embrace, treasuring the few moments
1st July, 1941 th
The 50 Infantry division was held in reserve during the ensuing First Battle of El Alamein, due to the severe casualties it had suffered in the Battle of Gazala. First Lieutenant John Kendrick was one of the lucky few to have made it. The horrors he had witnessed in Gazala seemed to be right out of the pits of hell. The continuous barrage of gunfire, shelling and grenades made him wonder what God would allow humanity to descend to such madness. He watched his fellow comrades die. He watched them lose their limbs. He watched their bodies blown apart by grenades. Deep down, he knew that his time would also come. He only wanted to take down as many of the Krauts as he could, before that inevitable bullet found him. He was lying on his bunk, staring at the letter in his hand. It was from Alice. Dear John, I hope this letter finds you alive and well. recarious state at home. Maisie was just informed that her husband was killed in action in Lebanon. No amount of words can comfort her. is causing destruction Remember, Love, Alice. John wanted to leave all this behind, and dash back to London that very instant. His mind went back to what Alice had written about her friend, Maisie. If he were to die, could he allow Alice to go through the same He knew what he had to do. 6 June, 1944 They were preparing to land at Gold Beach, Normandy in the Universal Carrier, an amphibious craft. The beach and the battles he had fought in Central Africa and Sicily. He thought about the brothers he had lost .He thought about Alice. He had not replied to her l etter, or the ones after that. Her letters regularly found him, but he never wrote back. He wanted her to forget him. He wanted her to hate him. He hoped that when the news of his inevitable death reached her, he would be long forgotten in some deep recess of her mind, and she would not go through what millions of other women had suffered in this tragic war, the loss of a loved one. As the beach drew ever closer, John looked sideways at his comrade and friend, Second Lieutenant Gary Bates. Over the numerous developed a close friendship.
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said John.
many of those Germans are we going to killdie, promise me
came the cry from the Captain. The men readied their rifles, anticipating what lay ahead. th
7 June, 1944 Gary was looking at the carnage around him. His division had suffered over 400 casualties in the brutal battle at the beach. However, the beach had been secured, which enabled the Allies to establish a foothold in France. Gary found what he had been looking for. John lay on the ground, motionless. Right after they had landed on the beach, John had taken a bullet to the stomach, and crumpled to the ground. As Gary had bent over to pick him exclaimed Gary. ed.
haversack, expecting to find the letters from Alice. He would keep them preserved, and would one day tell his children about his selfless moron of a friend. However, when he opened the bag, he only found a single letter. Dear Son, I am deeply disheartened to be the bearer of this news. Alice was killed last night during the German air raids. I know how much you two loved each other, and that no amount of words can comfort you . Just know that we love you, and are counting down the days to your return. Love, Mother. Gary was shocked. The letter was dated May 1941. Had John being imagining things? Then he remembered what John had told him about his last conversation with Alice. Then it dawned on him. John had never let her go.
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Himani Chaudhari TE Comps
Photography Corner
Shreyas Kunder TE EXTC & Sanil Vartak SE EXTC
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HANGING BY A THREAD
Prerna Sukhija FE IT
it too, until a week ago, when my marriage was shattered to pieces and I was left, trapped in a maze in a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss myself to ask him why. I wandered in my big house, alone, hoping every second that he would come back to me. But he lightning speed and I stood there, right in the middle, expending every ounce of energy in me to take a step forward, but instead, I receded further behind. Every drop of water I drank felt like long, sharp needles, poking my throat. The cold air of loneliness enveloped me and as the world slept, I lay awake, with a clenching pain in my heart and soul, which devoured every bit that was left of me, leaving me mentally torn and emotionally incapacitated. is absence was like a thread
satisfac you and no matter how hard you try, you cannot outgrow it. But can be excruciating, because no matter how n as a tiny ray of hope emerges within you, the darkness envelops you. With these thoughts in my head, I stood on the edge of the cliff, watching the beauty of the small, yellow ball rise up, with shiny yellow flakes brightening up the sky. I closed my eyes and threw my arms open, feeling every raindrop trickle down my cheeks. I felt every emotion I had blocked out all these months to the inside of my soul as I took a deep breath, and plunged into oblivion.
Art Corner
Shubham Godshalwar TE Computers
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ICPC ACM EXPERIENCE
Abbas Cyclewala TE Comps
ICPC ACM is one of the most prestigious programming contests. It is team contest where students from all over the globe participate to represent the institute. For us, it was our first experience. One computer and The first round was an online two hour round and to qualify for the next round we had to rank the best in our institute and our institute should rank in the top ninety. Our strategy was to solve fast over solving more. So all three of us, sat down with one problem at a time and made every possible check to make sure we get it correct in one go. Our strategy worked really well with us submitting two problems out of the four in less than 40 minutes. We then went in for the third problem together but missed submi tting it by a five minute margin. We ended up solving two problems, got an overall rank of 150 with our institute ranking 54! Next came the onsite round which was held in Gwalior. It was a 2 days event with the first day spent in providing accommodation to the students, a briefing about ICPC and a practice round for getting used to their Competition environment. The main event began on the second day. Five hours. Twelve problems. One Computer. Three People. Ninety Teams. This time we decided to work on separate problems in parallel. Our approach backfired. During the first two we ended up having two problems to debug at the same time, with just one computer to try out our patches. Time-sharing is not for humans. Trust me on that one. So after this we switched back to solving one question at a time, all three brains synchronized at the single task at hand. This worked and we continued it till the end. We solved five problems of the twelve and ranked twenty fourth! An achievement for us in a contest dominated programming experience, worth a lifetime. ACM Team Sparkx Aanchal Dalmia, Darshan Godhia, Abbas Cyclewala
Art Corner
Suyash Thakare SE Computers
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OBLIVION
Diptanshu Sharma FE EXTC
Into oblivion we fall, Deep down into our thoughts, Our daydreams now lay broken, By the ticking restless clock. Thinking about us, What we could be and where, A pile of work is beckoning, But somehow it s hard to care. Another day goes by, And we've been standing still, The whole world is running wild, Yet we don't move an inch. The night is still so young, And you are here with me, They'll fight their pointless battles, While we will be at peace. Cynics will try and mock us, With the darkest of their notions, But together we shall triumph, Like the armadas across the oceans. And people chase their dreams, But we're just playing along, So hold my hand my dear, Into oblivion we shall fall.
Artwork by Soumyaa Passari FE ETRX
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THE TRILEMMA
Darshit Doshi TE Computers
My heart says In its secret ways Sleep, sleep while it is night Do all the work when the day is bright This time is for you to rest And find solace in your family nest
The mind has its own voice Gives me order rather than choice The time you have is less Your backlog is in a mess You have to complete your work for God's sake Sleep is a sacrifice you must make
The body understands its own language These aren't wounds healed by a bandage You won't awake till the sleep is right Sleep a little more; you don't have to catch a flight The body, as it silently cries Asks me, is it worth? At what price?
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QUICK READS
Abhishek Desai | Chintan Panchnamia I need to stop before it all ends I can't go on like this I can't pretend I've fooled myself, hid from what I need to be I never tried to be more, more than I can be Life has taught me to pick myself up but never to stay down I've never aimed for the sky thinking I'd miss the ground I've helped others build their wings and fly to new heights But I've never opened my wings; never tested my might It's been long enough; I need to rise above the sea
- Abhishek Desai, ME Computers
The doctors had told me that things could change in the Blink of an eye, that she could be saved. It's been two months since the funeral, and I now realize, I had actually forgotten to Blink. Born blind, his 18th birthday present: Vision. "But Dad!?" "Don't worry, I'll see the world through Your Eyes, as you will see it through Mine."
- Chintan Panchnamia, BE Computers
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POLITICAL PUN-CH
Aadil Shaikh TE Computers (Sarcasm intended) A BJQ spokesperson is being guided by a party chief on the agenda of an interview to be held tomorrow. The discussion mainly focuses on what should and what should not be spoken in the interview. Spokesperson: Good morning chief. I have prepared a list of topics which I have planned to discuss in the interview, to reflect the progress our government has made in developing the country. Chief: Please go ahead. government is focused only on development because development is the development of the country and development is
y our amazing
policies.
Chief: *Laughs*No No. It was not us the global petrol prices have gone down resulting in the reduction of petrol prices. Spokesperson: Oh!! So I will take this off the list then. a budget this time!! Spokesperson: But that is the protocol of the system to prepare a budget for every financial year. Chief: Is it, really? Spokesperson: Yes I am quite sure about that. day. It was the first time a USA president was
invited for Republic Day celebrations.
to comment.
Spokesperson: *tries to control laughter*Nice one sir*laughs* Chief: Ok leave everything aside, the last thing is DO NOT talk on these stupid topics like expression (movies, humour), freedom to eat
freedom of
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AN ELEMENTAL ILLUSION SPACE 2015 Mrdvika Iyer | Suyash Thakare
3 days. 2 colleges. 1 cultural festival. SPACE 2015 was nothing short of magic. Clearly, the crowd thronging almost every event in this festival of SPIT and SPCE joined hands in conducting the fest together after parting ways a year ago, and they made sure, that they left no stone unturned in making the festival the roaring success that it was.
and equally managed to portray the theme The crowd was spoiled for choice from the very first day of the fest as a multitude of interesting events transpired at every nook and corner of the campus. Earth, water, air, fire and ether - the five elements on the basis of which the fest was designed adorned the ambience. The audience was blown away by the scintillating performances by Zygnema and many other bands, which kept everyone wanting for more. The highlight of the day - High octane definitely lived up to its name and turned out to be a cracker.
The inauguration ceremony kick started the fest
mesmerizing voice once again struck a chord with the audience and left them humming to the tune of the official theme song SPACE-an elemental illusion. It was followed by the much awaited and cut-throat competition - War of Branches. The team from the mechanical branch was a clear winner as they swayed their bodies to the songs
Spellbound audience at High Octane, Day 1
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The second day rolled off with equal vigor, as Holi Reloaded had all the EDM lovers grooving every step in sync with the beats. Such was the zeal of the crowd, that even the unexpected drizzle could not deter their spirit. We asked Aditya Rathi, technical secretary, how he felt about the fest, to Developing new relationships and creating a friendly environment conducive to everyone was Even though most of the outdoor events were washed off on day two, the event organizers and the participants made sure that they made up for it. Stand-up comedian Daniel Fernandes added a funny bones. Visual impact was one of the highlights of the last day, as teams competed against each other in full spirit to win the coveted inter - college dance competition. DJ vs Dhol came
up later in the night and had the audience in high spirit. The combo juxtaposed each other perfectly and made sure that the fest ended on a high note. SPACE 2015, indeed managed to defy all odds and prove the skeptics wrong. It would be slipshod of us not to acknowledge the efforts of the council and everyone else that made it happen. Cultural been an experience of a lifetime. I got to work with, and more importantly, befriend really
impossible without the help of the entire core committee. A big thanks to all the SEs for coming up with events involving such innovative concepts as Recovering from all the hindrances the journey had to offer; SPACE 2015 has indeed, left an indelible illusory impression on us.
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IN THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME
Uday Verma | Gunarjun Chawla | Ashna Bajaj -Michael Phelps S.P.I.T-A and R.A.I.T, and the home team turned out to be the victors in a closely fought end-to-end game which was decided by a penalty shootout. Sahil Mukane, who plays as a striker in the team, described the match as 'highly dramatic'. ilt with each This thought was deeply entrenched in the minds of the enthusiastic sportsmen who participated at Spirit, hoping to emulate the likes of Virat Kohli, Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Jordan. Held from February 9 to February 15, Spirit encompassed football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, throwball, carom, and chess competitions. True to its name, Spirit 2015 aimed at promoting the essence of sportsmanship, zeal and passion, all of which lay the foundation of success. Football
The indefatigable girls' throwball team of Don Bosco scrambled its way to the top of the table by playing three consecutive matches, and ultimately defeated S.P.I.T in a well-fought final.
says, proudly recounting the adroitness of his team members as they beat R.A.I.T th in the 7 penalty, never losing their composure all the while. Basketball The final was contested between St. Francis Institute of Technology and Don Bosco Institute of Technology, with the latter turning out to be the winners. Although there were no girls' basketball matches held, Spirit led to the founding of a girls' basketball team which is now 10-person strong, and recently secured its first victory in the ICT tournament held in March this year.
Girls' Throwball team
Cricket
The Gentlemen - SPIT's Cricket team
The battle between bat and ball was won by Rizvi College with the host S.P.I.T coming runners up in this contest. "Playing in our Home ground in front of our classmates really brings the best out of us", said Abdul Sattar, a player of the S.P.I.T Cricket team.
The victorious Football team
Two teams from S.P.I.T lined up against each other in one of the semi-finals, while the other semi-final was contested between Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and NMIMS. The final was played between
Throwball
The newly founded girls' Basketball team
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Volleyball
Chess
The Volleyball finals were contested between S.P.I.T and Atharva College. The team from S.P.I.T took the game to their opponents, but unfortunately ended up on the losing side, the score reading 18-25, 19-25 despite their valiant efforts.
The tactical approach and strategic prowess of the players were tested as they descended to fight it out on the battlefield of 64 squares. The final round was conducted in a closely fought Round Robin format with 5 players, and the winner was Nilesh Pujari from Dreams College, who won four games out of four. Vaikund Sudhrsan from SPCE was the runner up with 3 wins.
college teams were runners-up in volleyball and cricket, and the winners in football, and they learned quite a lot out of it. Purva feels that the college has a lot of girls talented in a number of sports, which think all they need is some motivation from their peers as well as the council to go ahead
SPIT's Volleyball team after their victory
"The tournament was very well organised, competitive and played in the right Spirit", said Vikram Asgaonkar, member of the volleyball team.
Although there were some technical problems and issues with external participation, Purva Vasudeo and Kalpit Narvekar the sports secretaries of S.P.I.T - both agree that it was an exhilarating experience.
formidable teams can be engendered with enough practice.
SPIT's Chess Team
Both the sports secretaries put their best foot forward in making Spirit as successful as it was, with immense help from all the other organisers. It can only be hoped that with each passing batch, their successors aim to take Spirit more than a notch higher than it has been in the previous years, while greater participation renders the sports teams of S.P.I.T inexorable and ever-confident.
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BIDDING FAREWELL BATCHES OF 2014
Electronics
Information Technology
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Electronics and Telecommunication
Computers
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