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Farhan-Death’s Friend or Fiend?

“Farhan” a movie directed by Balaji Ramachandran, a talented third-year undergraduate student at MIT. The film features Tejas Dhingra in the lead role, who delivered a remarkable performance. The cinematography and editing were skillfully handled by Samarth Solanki, also a student at MIT. The cast includes other talented actors such as Anushri, Sai Dev, Rakshit, Aditya Naik, and Manan Kapoor. The script was written by Balaji Ramachandran himself with Nilimp Vats as assistant director and Ishan Parashar as the assistant cinematographer. Achal Ram handled all the drone shots. The theme of “Farhan” was composed by Sumeer. The crew comprises of Suchita, Akankshit, Ahana, Natasha, and Aditya, who contributed significantly to the film’s success. This article aims to provide an insight into the making of “Farhan,” a movie that showcases the immense potential of young minds in the field of filmmaking.

This movie is the perfect example of a psychological thriller, with just the right amount of witty and amusing elements to it. If you enjoyed watching the show You, this is the movie for you.

The premise of this movie is crystal clear from the prologue itself. The movie begins by introducing our main character, Farhan, as a professional suicide assistant with a 100% success rate. In this context, a 100% success rate means all of his customers were able to commit suicide after receiving a nudge from him.

In the movie, we see Farhan living a stress-free life having no feelings of guilt over his job. In fact, a case is to be made that he enjoys his job a little too much. In a drunken interaction, he even stated that he “kills people” for a living.

As the movie progresses, we see that circumstances in Farhan’s life change, leading him to feel guilty about what he has been doing in the name of work.

The movie makes use of natural lighting and aesthetic sceneries in its production. Angling the camera in a way that avoids glare while keeping the actors in focus. The songs used in the production are for the most part upbeat and provide a brilliant ambiance to the movie.

To understand and portray the guilt felt when ghosts from the past urge you to reflect on your actions is certainly not an easy task. The director managed to capture the essence of these feeling and portrayed it in a manner that resonates with the audience.

The comedic relief in this movie was provided in the form of the music used during the production. With a plethora of upbeat music and songs that we know well. Being shot in places that are familiar to students of Manipal, this movie has provided us with the opportunity of having area and ambiance familiarity.

The actors have done a tremendous job in portraying the different emotions at different stages of the movie. From sadness to finality, to guilt, to love. All emotions were presented to the audience in a neatly wrapped package.

The story makes use of light to give an idea of what to expect from the scene. The throbbing red and blue lights seem to signify fast transition scenes, while red is used for sad and surprising scenes. Blurry shots are used to take the movie experience to the next level.

The cumulation of all these aspects together makes for a pleasurable movie experience.




Manipal Entrepreneurship Summit ’23—Major Events

Keynote Session                                                                                                                                                                                  Samyuktha | Staff Writer   

Abhinav Arora, the CMO of Avalon Scenes, hosted the Keynote session. He provided insights on leveraging SAAS(Software as a Service) tools for building and nurturing communities. It was an entrepreneurial workshop where he explained terms like TAM(Total Addressable Market) and SAM(Serviceable Available Market). He showed everyone how to use this knowledge to determine the potential of a startup and allocate resources accordingly.

The event’s key takeaways were the importance of market analysis and how it allows one to uncover market opportunities, know what customers think of their products, and improve communication and messaging platforms with customers and segmentation.

Youth Panel Discussion                                                                                                                                                                          Aditya Karigar | Staff Writer   

Formi is a one-of-a-kind social platform that enables people to have great experiences personalised to their tastes. Their SaaS platform is built with your everyday operational needs in mind. Event organisers can arrange, manage and deliver the best events using their cutting-edge tech and wide-ranging capabilities. Using their intuitive dashboard, you can easily do everything from finding targeted affiliates, boosting ticket sales, maintaining a database of attendees and tracking affiliate performance.

BugBase is an Indian platform that enables companies to set up bug bounty programs that can be reached out to by ethical hackers and cybersecurity enthusiasts from all over the country. Bug bounty programs are a way to crowdsource identifying potential website threats, thus safeguarding the web for future users. The company provides a clean and straightforward user experience to engage more cybersecurity fanatics. Despite being a giant in the tech world, several Indian companies, private and government-run, are still not secure and frequently experience security breaches. BugBase also allows organisations to host Capture The Flag (CTFs) events for cybersecurity novices to practice, learn and grow into professionals. 

The event began with the guests introducing themselves and sharing their journey from college to founding their company. We were lucky to have co-founder Sitaraman S and Rishabh Gupta at the event. Dhruva Goyal, an enthusiastic hacker, spoke of how he and a friend formed their group in Manipal and worked on several other projects. Both agreed that leadership qualities, decision-making skills, time management and keeping up morale are essential qualities every founder needs. They shared their experiences on their journey up the ladder to success. Both shared one sentiment: ‘Don’t let the success get to your head’. It was a great panel, with a good mix of advice and amusing anecdotes.

Senior Panel Discussion                                                                                                                                                                          Samyuktha | Staff Writer  

While the youth panel allowed the audience to communicate with a relatable group of like-minded people, this discussion provides insight into what a young entrepreneur can expect in the long term and take advice from people who have followed the same path they wish.

This panel consisted of experienced entrepreneurs ready to discuss their experiences. Mr Anuj Bhatra, a co-founder at Andromeida, spoke about the importance of conducting in-depth research in one’s respective field. Mr Deepak Pareek, a co-founder at Iceberg Creations, focused on content creation, an area he is passionate about. Mrs Smitha Rao, a co-founder at Uthunga, brought forth her experience when scaling her business from three to over eight hundred employees while keeping their needs in mind. Mr Leenesh Singh, a co-founder at 1000 Startups India, believes that having the correct mindset is non-negotiable in order to succeed. Our final panellist was Mr Manish Dsouza, a partner at Eagle Wings Venture.

This panel provided the students with several role models to look up to and learn from in their ventures. It was a successful discussion involving the amalgamation and sharing of knowledge.

Pitch Tank                                                                                                                                                                                                          Samyuktha | Staff Writer  

Pitch Tank acted as a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs where we saw MAHE’s top eleven startups pitch their ideas to a panel of judges and investors and was superbly organised. The panel of judges consisted of five dynamic people; Jayshree Leenesh (Angel Investor), Leenesh Singh(Co-Founder of 10000 Startups India), Anuj Batra(Co-Founder at Andromeida), Manish Dsouza (Partner at Eaglewings Venture) and Khushbu Mehta (Junior Associate at Letsventure).

Pitch Tank showcased a diverse range of startups and their innovations. The event was an excellent opportunity for budding startups to advertise their product to potential investors and make connections. Around two hundred people attended, with the selected presenting their ideas to the panel.

Caze Maze                                                                                                                                                                                                    Sanskriti | Staff Writer  

Providing a platform for showcasing people’s problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities is not new. In recent years several game shows have started a critical-thinking game. Organised on the platform “Unstop”, this event allows engineering college students and business administration to solve complex problems.

Due to the impressive turnout, with over a hundred teams registered for the event, there were two rounds organised in the event. Both rounds included the preparation of a presentation. The first round consisted of preparing four slides on some of the startups regarding issues faced in any domain of operation, marketing, finance, operations, or a combination of the above. This was an eliminative round. 

The shortlisting was based on the proposition’s viability, creativity, and value. The second round was the event’s final round, and the participants had to prepare a presentation of eight slides. The winners of this event were Team Orange, Team Ocean, and Team Hustlers.

Moneyball                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sanskriti | Staff Writer  

Moneyball was an event organised for MIT students inclined toward pitching. The event aimed to improve and test the participants’ debating and pitching skills. The participants learned a lot about pitching after watching others present. 

The event had three rounds, the ideation of which was done beforehand. The first round was a quiz round, and the participants were given ten minutes to answer twenty startup-related questions. The second round was a pitching round, where the teams were allotted products or services to pitch for seven minutes, followed by cross-questioning by the participants and the judges. The third and final round required teams to pitch and debate why their brand was better than their competitors, followed by a debate round. The key highlights of the event were the teams’ dedication, which could be seen just by looking at the presentations they made. The teams debating were energetic and did not miss any opportunity to cross-question the other teams to win.

In conclusion, Moneyball effectively enhanced the debating and pitching skills of the students of MIT. The teams’ dedication and energy during the debate rounds made the event a success.

Fallout                                                                                                                                                                                                      Saranga | Staff Writer  

Fallout, a panel discussion event, encouraged budding entrepreneurs and students to showcase their skills. The event featured a competitive market where participants had to convince a judge, who also acted as a consumer, to adopt their product. This helped improve their sales skills and their ability to research various topics, work in teams, and tackle challenges that big companies face.

The event began with participants presenting their position papers on a given topic which was relevant to their company. The judges evaluated the presentations based on how well they knew their portfolio and how they presented themselves. In the second round, the qualified teams were given a curveball where they had to present an offer to the judges based on a situation given to them. The host explained the rules to the contestants, and the judges created a healthy competitive environment among the committee. Team Honda, Team Tata, and Team MG were declared winners out of the forty participants. The event went smoothly, with participants showcasing their entrepreneurship skills in a competitive environment. The impact of the panel discussion on stakeholders was highlighted, and it is expected that future events will be even more successful.

Money Quest                                                                                                                                                                                                  Saranga | Staff Writer  

Money Quest was a one-of-a-kind event that encouraged strategic thinking, teamwork, time management, and resource management, exclusively targeting MIT’s first years.  Participants were provided with a file before the start of each round that contained clues, prices and rents of properties, and a map. A treasure hunt was conducted for twenty minutes, after which all the teams reassembled at the starting point and placed bids on the properties that they found as clues. This went on for three rounds, and in the end, the team with the highest asset value was declared the winner. When the auction for the first clue, which turned out to be Om Xerox, started, there was incredible suspense as to who could crack the difficulty of this clue.

The teams known as Daredevils, LAXMI CHITFUND and Kasukabe Defence Force were ultimately declared winners. The event was successful, with participants showcasing their skills in this competitive environment.

Innovation Mela                                                                                                                                                                                      Samyuktha| Staff Writer  

The flagship event was lined up on the final day of MES, The Innovation Mela. The event aimed to foster collaboration and a more inclusive startup ecosystem that contributes to innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth. The event had a great turnout, with over three thousand people showing up and over ninety startups. Various interests were accommodated, with the entrepreneurs covering many industries, such as technology, healthcare, education, and e-commerce.

Image Credits: The Photography Club Manipal




Manipal Entrepreneurship Summit ’23 Pre-MES Events

PR Campaign Launch
Sanskriti Srivastava | Staff Writer

Manipal Entrepreneurship Summit is an annual event organised by the Entrepreneurship Cell of Manipal Institute of Technology as its flagship event. It encourages students, entrepreneurs, speakers, and others to come together and foster innovation. The theme of MES’23 was “Let your innovations be heard”. A set of individual events had been organised to help people introduce their creations to everyone. With the help of MIT’s drama club: Ada, the theme reveal was a great success.

An open mic also took place where students came to present their talents in the form of stand-up, instrumental music and singing. The flagship event featured almost 150 innovations by our students and a series of speakers to enlighten us regarding various topics. The major events include a Panel Discussion, a Keynote Session, Pitch Tank, Online and Offline Workshops and Bootcamps.

Design Thinking: Vikas Gupta
KSV | Staff Writer   

Have you ever wondered what goes into design and converting a thought into a successful idea? Do you want to learn more about design thinking but need help figuring out where to begin? MES’s Design Thinking workshop answered all these questions. In the words of an E-Cell executive, “The main aim behind conducting the workshop is about how to come up with an innovative idea, which is critical for startups in the future”.

Vikas Gupta, the main speaker, is a Manipal alumnus who graduated from the Manipal School of Architecture and Planning with a Bachelor of Architecture and then went to IIT Delhi to study Industrial and Product Design. Following his thorough explanation of design thinking, we moved on to an exciting experiment. He gave us a product and asked us to create something entirely new that performed the same goal inventively. We had 15 minutes to ponder over a toothbrush, a pen, and paper. Several suggestions were made by the participants, such as making it more multifunctional, sustainable, or more straightforward.

Furthermore, he introduced us to a technique for finding innovative ideas: SCAMPER, an acronym for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put, Eliminate, and Reverse. The speaker’s experience as a successful founder of two startups brought so much value to the workshop, and everyone agreed the session was engaging.

Vikas Gupta conducting the design thinking workshop.

Entrepreneurial Modelling: Sudhinder Parvatikar, ‘Founder of Kloud Aim IT’ and ‘IoT Consulting’
Shatakshi | Staff Writer   

The Entrepreneurial Modelling workshop was conducted by Mr Sudhinder Parvatikar, the founder of “Kloud Aim IT and IoT Consulting”. The workshop aimed to enable entrepreneurs, startup managers and leaders to strengthen their understanding of their customers, business models, and corporate strategies. The target audience was college students who were passionate about innovation. The turnout was exemplary.

The event commenced with the speaker explaining how important entrepreneurial modelling is in a startup. He conducted an in-depth conversation about the topic through a prepared presentation. A Q&A session followed, where he answered the audience’s questions. E-Cell MIT handled all the work related to this workshop, including graphics, publicity, and event logistics. The audience reacted favourably to this enlightening workshop.

Entrepreneurship Journey: Arvind Shashikumar, Co-Founder and CTO of Quinn
Ajitha Shree | Staff Writer   

The exclusive workshop on entrepreneurship journey, organised jointly by E-Cell and ISTE highlighted topics such as the challenges faced by budding entrepreneurs with ideas and the journey from being a full-time employee to becoming a self-employed person among others.

Mr. Arvind Sasikumar, co-founder and CTO of Quinn, started by talking about the importance of making good decisions in the initial period of one’s entrepreneurship journey, such as collaborating with an equally enthusiastic business partner, targeting the perfect audience and adopting a trial-and-error method to improve your business. “Solving a problem is way more important than building a solution to the problem”, said Mr Sasikumar emphasising the need to prioritise fixing the problem over finding an ideal solution. Time is far more important than money for every startup; a slow investment rate can hamper the company’s growth.

There are several leadership qualities an entrepreneur requires. Some of them are analysing data without bias, marketing strategy, ability to filter out genuine feedback, tackling sudden changes, handling rejection from investors and improving your idea daily. Adopting good networking skills in your college days is critical. This talk by one of our successful alums gave us great insight into the entrepreneurship journey of an engineering student and an abundance of motivation to try and realise our inner potential.

Amplifying Innovation for Growth: Lokesh Venkataswamy, CEO and MD of Innomantra and Dr. Tojin T. Eapen, Advisor of Innomantra
Deepali | Staff Writer   

Lokesh Venkataswamy, CEO and MD, and Dr. Tojin T. Eapen, advisor, Innomantra, heralded the Amplifying Innovation for Growth workshop as part of MES 2023. Their goal was to promote systematic innovation through effective project management, quality control, sustainability initiatives, bio-inspired system design and resilience strategies. A leading innovation consultancy, Innomantra develops various strategies to help companies achieve their innovation goals. One of the critical strategies they employ is project management. They work closely with clients to identify project goals and objectives, set timelines, and allocate resources to ensure project success.

They help clients minimise risk in innovation and maximise return on investment by providing effective project management. Another critical strategy is quality control. Innovation projects often involve developing new products and services that must meet the highest standards of excellence.

Our speakers focused on the need for innovation management to improve efficiency in institutions as well as the need to balance out sustainability. They mentioned some efficiency strategies in the form of the 5 R’s: Resting, Reduction, Redefining, Regularization and Resource management.

By leveraging the principles of circular economy and sustainable development, Innomantra enables customers to create value while minimising their environmental footprint. Inspired by nature, they help customers arrive to solutions optimised for their environment. For example, by studying cheetah behaviour, Innomantra helped customers develop an efficient supply chain that reduced costs and increased productivity. They also use ERP models to optimise innovation projects.

Through their project management and sustainable development expertise, Innomantra helps clients become effective, efficient, sustainable, and innovative, and stay ahead of the competition.

EdTech Entrepreneurship: Vinod Aravindakshan, Founder of Careerbolt
Ayn Shahabal | Staff Writer   

This event was a workshop on entrepreneurship and cracking interviews, organized by E-Cell in collaboration with ISTE.  The workshop featured an esteemed speaker, Mr. Vinod Aravindakshan, who is a seasoned entrepreneur and the founder of Careerbolt, a tech startup making waves in the world of campus and professional recruitments.

During the event, Mr. Aravindakshan shared his experiences of working in Silicon Valley and the importance of continuous learning. He highlighted the fact that there is no easy way to learn skills and that one must be a hardcore learner to succeed in their careers. He also talked about his team’s efforts in building Careerbolt as a startup and creating a conducive environment for everyone to work, thrive and grow.

The event aimed to help attendees gain valuable insights into cracking interviews and discovering how technology can be leveraged to create a positive change in the world of entrepreneurship. The attendees were encouraged to put the information and insights gained from the workshop to good use in the future.

Overall, the workshop was a success, and attendees gained valuable insight into entrepreneurship and the interview process. The event provided an excellent opportunity for networking and learning from experienced professionals. The organizers deserve credit for putting together a well-structured and informative workshop, and it is hoped that similar events will be organized in the future to benefit more individuals.

Mr. Aravindakshan sharing his tips on entrepreneurship and how to crack interviews.

Startups—Building a Niche: Jyoti Bharadwaj, Founder of TeaFit.
Shreeya | Staff Writer   

On February 21st, Jyoti Bharadwaj, founder of TeaFit, held a workshop on startups and the importance of building a niche. TeaFit, a consumer-oriented brand, appeared on Shark Tank in 2021 to pitch its business model. After landing a deal of 50 lakhs, the beverage startup has grown considerably. Jyoti’s drive is inspired by India’s alarming diabetes rates and lack of healthy unsweetened beverages. She also aims to appeal to consumers’ interest in health and wellness post Covid.

The entrepreneur advised that any brand needs to decide on a timeline. In a timeline based on an exit, the focus would likely shift from prioritising the customers to customer acquisition. TeaFit aims to grow sustainably at a pace suitable for the brand. They also seek to branch out the distribution of homemade unsweetened beverages nationwide. Jyoti emphasised on the importance of people skills, especially during the lows. In such cases, people skills help motivate the employees who work for the brand and persevere through tough times.

Similarly, she also elaborated on the life of an entrepreneur and how the lifestyle is often less glamorous than it is portrayed in popular media. A Q&A session with the audience followed the workshop. As a closing note, Jyoti suggested that as an entrepreneur, one must be the jack of all trades, but a brand must be the master of one- and that is its niche.

Jyoti Bhardwaj explaining the importance of building a niche.

Product Management Bootcamp: Akshay Johri, Riya Jain, Shobhit Saxena
Shivani Seshadri Iyer | Staff Writer   

Think of product management as an essential step in developing a product from scratch, manufacturing it to go with the tide but making it distinctive enough so that the final product can sell itself. It is done through trial and error. Product managers aren’t born, nor do they need an illustrative drawing capacity. They need to metamorphose, understand human psychology, have room to create ideas and understand what the customer wants.

A panel of three esteemed product managers, Ms Riya Jain, Mr Shobhit Saxena, and Mr Akshay Johri shared insight into the field of product management. They started by briefly introducing themselves and how they got into the world of product management, each encounter being a unique experience.

The panellists linked product management to being the boss of a toy store, making important decisions on the toys to sell, working with toy makers to design and create new toys, and ensuring that they are safe, fun, and sound on shelves. The panellists emphasized on the fact that one must fall in love with the product statement rather than the idea. Knowing what your competitors are up to and staying ahead of the curve is a quintessential part of product management, as well as making errors and failing. They explained the process of data interpretation, which helps product managers gather insight from data to solve a business case. In addition to this, they emphasized on the importance of customer reviews because one needs to understand that it takes months to find a customer but seconds to lose one.

This bootcamp provided an insight into what the corporate culture is like, and how to work on ground-breaking ideas while staying ahead of the curve. The three panellists came to a consensus that product management is an upcoming field that requires zeal to deal with customers, know the competition and design products.




Aurora’23-ISTE Techweek

Advanced 3D Printing Workshop
Shivani Seshadri Iyer | Staff Writer

Imagine a sci-fi movie where a herb that isn’t produced in nature is designed by technology and is 3D printed. Scriptwriters would be at a loss for words if they discover that the technology they envisioned to satisfy the imaginations of fanatics exists in real life. This was a two-day Advanced 3D Printing Workshop by IE Mechatronics in collaboration with ISTE. In 3D Printing, objects are designed on software such as Fusion 360 and Solidbox and a real-life 3D replica was printed. Such processes are additive and are added layer by layer.

Siddhant Sinha, the President of IE Mechatronics, said they would be briefing participants on parameters required while 3D Printing an object. He hoped that it would be a memorable event, a significant interaction and experience for the participants since most of them are first and second-year engineering students and don’t have much experience handling 3D printers. At the end of the workshop, each of the participants got a souvenir with the club’s logo.

The organisers started by laying the grounding for their citadel—the definition and history of 3D Printing. Different technologies in 3D Printing were also discussed, such as Fused Deposit Moulding, where a filament is heated and moulded into a 3D shape, SLS (metal powder fuses due to heat), and SLA (resin is treated with UV light, and it hardens). Applications of 3D Printing in the automobile and biomedical industries, prototyping, et cetera, were elaborated on in detail. The upper hand to using a 3D printer is that it allows one to create 3D designs, which is cost-effective, and certain raw materials can be 3D printed, among other things. Parts of a 3D printer, such as nozzle, controller board, filament, feeder board, et cetera, were shown in pictures, and their locations were shown on the printer for participants to get a practical approach.

After the presentation and discussion on the 3D printer, they designed a keychain on a 3D printing software called Ultimaker Cura. Later, 18 participants were divided into teams of two and were taken to see the printer, which had keychains kept for Printing. Slides of a 3D print farm were shown in pictures. Videos were shown on 3D Printing, followed by a Q&A session. After the workshop, every participant had a 3D-printed keychain and ISTE goodies to take home. The workshop had something to give and something to take.

Arvind Sasikumar Talk
Prakhar Dwivedi | Staff Writer

Arvind Sasikumar, an MIT alumnus, recently visited Manipal for an event organised by ISTE and E-Cell in collaboration. This event was organised to expand the thought of entrepreneurship among the students of MIT. Later, he started as a Software Development Engineer at Microsoft (Redmond, Washington, United States). After some time, he quit his job and started his own company QUINN.

QUINN is a private company that has been in the industry for some years now. The company has a B2B model, it offers a platform where businesses can post their product videos, reviews, and many more, and visitors can shop from the application, enabling clients with analytics from conversions to engagement and helping to grow their revenue. Arvind Sir spoke about his journey through college, the struggles he had been through, and then about the dream job everyone wishes for, but not being happy and then turning onto a completely different road.

Quinn wasn’t easy to start up like every other new business. It took him eight months to determine what should be done to get the thing on the right track. And now it’s a well-growing business. His talk mainly focused on forming his company and making its place in the market. He mentioned some distinctive qualities for making your business solid in the market and how risk-taking ability plays a vital role in everybody’s life. He specifically said the importance of backing the pricing of your products as the market would accept if your product is valuable, and you should not be afraid to price it accordingly.
In short, a great talk with a lot of informative knowledge was given by Arvind sir.

Aurora CTF
Krrish Manchanda | Staff Writer

MIST organised an entry-level CTF in collaboration with ISTE and BugBase to introduce new players to CTF. There were a total of 60 participations, and at the end, 3 cash prize winners were declared. The event saw progressively increasing levels of questions which were released in a period of twenty-four hours with some delay in between to keep everyone on their feet. The event was hosted on the official website of BugBase.

Blender 3D Workshop
Prakhar Dwivedi | Staff Writer

Blender is software used to model 3D objects, which has various applications in engineering, from modelling components for 3D Printing to making characters for video games. The blender workshop hosted by ISTE was a very detailed and hands-on guide for rookies to get into a blender to figure out the various components making it easier for them to delve deeper into the software and its endless applications.

The instructor made sure all the participants could implement whatever he was teaching and was very competent in his knowledge to resolve all the arising doubts the participants had. By modelling simple objects like a bed and a pillow, the instructor tapped into a lot of features of Blender. The participants also seemed to have a fun and enriching experience.

A participant working with Blender.

Cad Modelling Workshop
Ayn Shahabal | Staff Writer

IE Mechanical held a two-day workshop on the basics of CAD Designing. The workshop aimed to provide participants with a firsthand experience of working on Fusion 360, a popular computer-aided design (CAD) software. The workshop was hosted in NLH and was attended by 12 participants. The workshop began with an introduction to CAD Designing and its importance in the engineering industry.

The participants were given a brief overview of Fusion 360, its interface, and its tools. The participants then had the opportunity to follow along with a step-by-step tutorial on designing a simple part using the software. They were guided throughout the tutorial and answered any questions they had. On the second day, the participants were given a more challenging part to design, and they were encouraged to use their creativity to design a unique and functional part. They were also given tips on how to design efficiently and effectively and shared some design best practices. The participants also learned how to animate their models using Fusion 360’s animation tools.

A live demonstration was held on how to create a simple animation, and then the participants were given time to create their own animations. Overall, the workshop was successful, and the participants gained valuable experience and knowledge in CAD designing.

Capture the Flag Workshop
Deepali Vengaka | Staff Writer

A workshop was held on the 12th of February at NLH in collaboration with MIST to introduce the attendees to Bandit and Capture The Flags. Bandit is a Linux-based command line game that orients players to the basics of playing other wargames. MIST helped people better understand command tools and use their acquired knowledge to play Capture the flags. They played a few levels together, followed by a few basic questions and moved on to PicoCTF.

PicoCTF is a program built on the Capture the flagging framework created by security experts at Carnegie Mellon University. It gives access to its users to think creatively and critically to solve challenges. With PicoCTF, participants were guided about the different domains and taught how to get about a CTF. Attendees had writeups for future reference, and the process of finding answers
was discussed. Everyone who attended the workshop was asked to carry their laptops because all the activities were hands-on.

Overall the event was a massive success, with over 60 excited participants who had a great time.

The participants of the Capture the Flag workshop organised by MIST and ISTE.

CSS Frameworks Workshop
Saranga KrishnaStaff Writer

CSS frameworks are pre-made collections of code that help developers style websites quickly and easily. They offer pre-designed styles for typography, buttons, forms, navigation menus, and more, allowing developers to quickly create attractive and responsive layouts without having to start from scratch.

Some popular CSS frameworks include Bootstrap, Foundation, Bulma, Materialize, and TailwindCSS, among others. These frameworks typically come with various customisation options, and many offer additional JavaScript functionality to enhance user interactivity and functionality.

The workshop conducted as a part of Aurora tech week left the participants with knowledge of how to use, implement and take full advantage of CSS frameworks such as bootstrap and tailwind to design a unique website that stands out from websites that are designed using raw CSS and are easier to maintain and update.

“The entire workshop went smoothly. The crowd was very interactive, and it was fun teaching them. Many of them could complete the hands-on projects, and they looked very professional. The participants were delighted after the workshop and appreciated our efforts”. Says Prateek Anand, an organiser of the event.

This workshop was where every web designer found ways to turn their absurd, creative and intricate thoughts into reality and design an ‘original’ and a functional website.

A still from the CSS Frameworks workshop.

Dev Sprint
Yahsya Garg | Staff Writer

Hackathons have become increasingly popular in recent years as a way for developers and tech enthusiasts to come together and collaborate on innovative projects. One such event, the “Dev Sprint” web development hackathon, brought together participants from all over MIT to create exciting web-based solutions. This event provided a unique opportunity for developers to showcase their skills. Whether you are a seasoned developer or simply interested in the world of tech, the Dev Sprint hackathon provided a fascinating glimpse into the world of web development and innovation.

Dev Sprint was organised by ISTE with a prize pool of 10,000 Rupees awarded to the top three teams. There were two rounds in total. In the first round, teams had to replicate an image-based website within two hours. The top ten teams were moved into the second round, which was eight hours long. The second round was a little more challenging, with teams being required to create their own websites using the problem statements provided.

The event was extremely well organised, with a large number of volunteers on hand to assist with any queries. Each participating team got a goodie bag which added to the overall excitement and enthusiasm of the event. The experience was exciting and educational, complete with an adrenaline-filled environment. The hackathon was won by team SRTJ followed by team Sentinels in second spot and Last Minute Squad in third place. However, the true winners of the event were all the participants who were able to learn from the experience and walk away with new skills and knowledge. The event gave an insight into what it is like working in an environment where pressure is high and time limited.

Digital Divide
Kartikeya Vasista | Staff Writer

On the 12th of February, debate lovers across the campus gathered in a classroom to participate in the Digital Divide event. It was a parliamentary discussion about how technology affects day-to-day life. Another much-debated subject was the ethical concerns posed by new technology, not just privacy but also issues like consent, freedom of choice, and autonomy. A spirited debate about how technology has impacted various industries and aspects of daily life took place at the event. There were two preliminary rounds, one semi-final round, and one final round. With around twenty participants in six teams – three of them comprised of first years, the event lasted for around five hours.  

Sushant Shekhar, an organiser, said, “I had a great time planning and judging the competition. I was really amazed by the calibre of arguments presented by newcomers to the game! I really like hearing folks discuss the notion of consent and choice. I hope there are many more occasions like this where many people may take part and watch!”. The event was enjoyed by participants, judges and the audience alike, with all of them agreeing that it was intellectually stimulating. 

Face Detection using OpenCV
Sharad Mathur | Staff Writer

An ISTE and IOSD Manipal collaboration brought forth an exciting opportunity for students to learn the fundamentals of object detection and gain hands-on experience using OpenCV’s Python library. The Face Detection Workshop was a three-day event held on the 15th, 16th and 17th of February at NLH as part of AURORA, ISTE Manipal’s flagship event. The workshop began with an introduction to computer vision and object detection, followed by an explanation of the OpenCV library and its features. Participants were then guided through the installation and setup process for the Python environment and OpenCV library.

On the second day, the participants were guided through a project involving taking selfies automatically from their webcams through face recognition using OpenCV. With the help of the facilitators, students learned how to implement face detection algorithms using OpenCV and Python. The facilitators provided in-depth explanations of the code and answered any questions that came up during the workshop. On the final day, the ongoing project was completed, and students were helped through any errors in their code or other problems with their projects. The facilitators made sure that every participant left the workshop with a fully-working model and was confident in their understanding of OpenCV and the powers of computer vision.

Overall, the workshop was a success, with students leaving the event with a solid understanding of the fundamentals of object detection and practical experience in using OpenCV. The workshop set a great example for such events in the future.

Microcontrollers in Drones Workshop
Shivani Seshadri Iyer | Staff Writer

The frightening thing about the future is that one will always be watched. Drones help facilitate that in 4k resolution. But as with all things, drones have their benefits and drawbacks. Project Dronaid has helped the cause ‘One Flight Saves Lives’, and made the most of their abilities to improve access to healthcare and saved many lives.

Project Dronaid held a workshop on 15, 16, and 17 February 2023 on ESP-32 Microcontrollers and their importance in drone technology. They are one-of-a-kind small computers on single integrated circuits that are designed to control a specific function within a more extensive system, in this case, the drone. The process efficiently has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and can go into the all-too-effective energy-saving mode. They are also used in smart home devices, motion detectors, et cetera.

The workshop started with the organisers explaining ESP-32 Microcontrollers to the attendees. They were later given a kit consisting of an ESP-32 Microcontroller, Breadboard, MPU 6050 Sensor, USB cables and male-to-male Jumper wires. Instructions on using every component in the kit were given, and organisers taught participants the applications of the breadboard, which is used for making connections temporarily. MPU sensor measures the angle by which the drone turns. They had to build a microcontroller using the kit. On the second day, the coding of the C-code that activates the microcontrollers on the software took 2-4 hours, and the connections for the microcontroller also took place, which extended to the third day, which also included a simulated drone flying session with the ESP-32 microcontroller that the participants had built.

This workshop had the best of all worlds: electronics, coding, and aviation. The workshop had a practical engagement and skillset which required participants to bring out their A-game. Participants were well-engaged throughout the three-day workshop and eventually comprehended the relevance of a microcontroller in a drone.

A still of the drone developed by Project Dronaid.

Neural Networks and Computer Networks Workshop
Yashya Garg | Staff Writer

The field of computer science is constantly evolving, and with it comes new advancements that can sometimes leave us feeling uncertain about their impact on our lives. There are new technologies that can revolutionise the way we live and work. That’s why the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) conducted a workshop covering some of the essential technologies computer scientists need to know about: Python, NumPy, Pandas, OpenCV, and the basics of neural networks.

A neural network is a computer system designed to learn and make predictions based on data. It’s inspired by how the human brain works, where neurons in our brain communicate to process information. The ACM workshop was designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of these technologies and how they can be used in real-world applications. The three-day workshop began with members of the ACM introducing the fundamentals of Python, NumPy, and Pandas to eager participants.

The second day was even more fun when they delved into OpenCV, a popular Python library, and began exploring the basics of neural networks. Day three was the most exciting when students were introduced to Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). ACM brought students together to work on the final project and showed how similar projects were used in real-world applications. The workshop was a great success, and the students left feeling inspired and confident about their newly acquired skills. Students were given a chance to see how the technology they had learned could be applied to real-world problems, and by the end of three days, they were able to build their real-time face recognition system. ACM’s efforts to promote computer science education are paying off, with many participants saying this was their first experience with programming. The course was also an excellent opportunity for students to interact with one another.

Participants of the Neural Networks and Computer Networks Workshop.

UI Design Workshop
Dakh Loiya | Staff Writer

The ISTE-ADG partnership held a 3-day workshop. The workshop was created for newcomers interested in learning more about the fundamentals of UI design and web development.

The attendees were given a brief introduction to Figma on the first day of the workshop, which is a well-liked design tool for producing user interfaces and other visual designs. The students learned the fundamentals of HTML5 on the second day, including how to organise web pages using HTML tags and attributes.

The final workshop day was devoted to CSS and how to use it to improve a website’s visual appeal. Students were instructed on creating a sidebar for a website and urged to play around with the code to understand better how it functions. The organisers walked around and assisted the students with questions or concerns in creating an interactive and exciting learning environment.

Overall, the workshop was an excellent opportunity for beginners to gain practical skills and knowledge in UI design and web development. The organisers frequently asked the students questions about the different tags and attributes used in HTML, helping reinforce the learning and ensuring that the students understood the material.

Vinod Aravindakshan Talk
Siya Kothari | Staff Writer

On 20 February 2023, Vinod Aravindakshan, the founder of CareerBolt, enlightened the students about the strategies that go inside a recruiter’s mind. From his personal experience as an HR of companies like Samsung, he briefed the audience about how they can make their resumes and LinkedIn profiles more appealing. He further expanded on how a recruiter’s mind works and what makes a candidate stand out among 100-200 candidates.

The talk was followed by a Q&A session where Vinod sir also talked about CareerBolt, an HR consulting agency that helps people from core branches contact potential employers. He even acknowledged the organisers for organising such a talk for the MIT students.

“I am proud to say that the talk was a great success. The talk was well-attended, with many students eager to learn from our guest speaker’s experience and insights as a recruiter. The speaker’s expertise in the field was evident as he shared practical tips and real-world examples that resonated with the students. Overall, the experience of organising the talk was a rewarding one. It was an excellent opportunity to provide value to the students and to contribute to their professional development.” said Parv Kohli, the president of ISTE.

Whether you want a job or a start-up, Vinod sir was the perfect person to answer everyone’s doubts.

Image Credits: Manipal the Talk Network(MTTN)




Sitting down with Arthur T. Benjamin

Professor Arthur T. Benjamin, popularly known as the Mathemagician, is an American mathematician specialising in combinatorics. He occupies the chair of the Smallwood Family Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College. His adept techniques explore and simplify mathematics’ fun, quirky side. Often regarded as the Bob Ross of Mathematics, learn more about Professor Benjamin’s’s conversation with our team.

Professor Benjamin poses with some members of the Post Team.

As one of the most renowned “mathemagicians”, spectators are in awe of what you do. Do you think of it as “just math”, or is it somehow magical to you too?

I guess I approach it as a skill. I think of it as performing a magic show. Maybe similar to someone who has practised playing the piano and performing in front of a large audience. They are not composing music on the spot; they are just performing something that they have gotten to do very well over the years. So for me, mental math is like my instrument that I am playing for the audience.

What inspired your interest in the domain of combinatorics?

Mathematics has many different facets, including those that have nothing to do with numbers, like Geometry, Topology, but the math that I love is very number oriented. Combinatorics is the mathematics of counting. In how many different ways can we seat 20 different people? How many ways can we seat them if there are certain restrictions? Questions like those. I find questions like those very fun and very number oriented. It allows you to think about problems very creatively. I guess it was the mathematics that tickled my brain the most; hence I continue to study it because I like to be tickled, mentally, not physically.

When it comes to mental maths, how do you think one can train their cognitive faculties to achieve a desired level of speed and accuracy?

Accuracy comes from understanding the process, and speed comes from lots and lots and lots of practice. Accuracy comes from the technique of squaring a number. You do this, and as you practice more, for example, if someone said what’s 300 times 300, the first time you say that it’s, oh, is it nine thousand? Is it ninety thousand? But after a bit of practice, you know that’s around 90 thousand. But in the beginning, you’re trying to figure out what the sizes of things are; after a while, that’s not a problem; you know the size of the things, and now you have got to get to the exact answer.

You’ve also been a vocal proponent of creative visualisation as a means to understanding mathematics. To what extent do you think that’s applicable, especially when one moves on to higher studies, for instance, if we take higher-order matrices?

I think one of the best things about mathematics is that it can be done in a very creative way. There are often many, many different ways to solve them. Whether we’re talking about an arithmetic problem, algebraic problems, or real-life problems, often there are many promising approaches to a problem, and what’s fun about mathematics is that if you can do a problem in different ways, you’ll get the same answer. That’s true for arithmetic as well as for a lot of real-life problems as well. I found that consistency of mathematics to be absolutely beautiful, which I still do now as a mathematician. Again, I think the ability to look at problems from multiple angles is important; it gives you depth. If you can see from different angles, you’ll see different sides of it. You’ll get the big picture of what you got, and I think that’s true, in all areas of mathematics, from arithmetic to matrices to calculus, and I certainly want to send the message that when people see me, they just see the mental math, they don’t see me doing algebra or calculus. I want to send the message that arithmetic is just the beginning, but it’s the beginning for everybody, and if people get turned off even at that first step, then they probably never going to like mathematics at all. If you give them a good first step, I hope they would take the second and third and fourth and fifth steps.

What would you like to leave as food for thought for the younger generations to ponder upon?

There is a fun and beautiful side to mathematics that you are probably not exposed to in school. It would be as if in school if the only music they played for you was opera, and that’s all you’ve ever heard of music. You might like opera, but you wouldn’t know about the variety of other music out there. Just because you don’t like opera doesn’t mean you dislike music. Just because a lot of math in school doesn’t interest you, there’s a gigantic part of the fun and beautiful mathematics out there that I hope you get to experience.

As students of mathematics, we crack a good number of math jokes. How often do you find yourself indulging in some?

I have certainly heard a lot of math jokes, like, what do you call a hen that counts its egg? A “Mathmachicken”.  You know what I’d like to do? I probably have never said this in an interview; I love the musical Hamilton. What I love about Hamilton, you know, is that my daughters learnt the entire musical, including the cabinet meetings between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and I was thinking, wow! These kids learn a slightly fictionalized version of American History and get into it. I mean, Alexander Hamilton, before Lin Manuel Miranda, was just some boring guy on a 10-dollar bill, and no one ever knew anything interesting about this guy unless you were a history major. Because of that musical, a whole generation of kids learnt to love a portion of American History. I would love to do and try something like that for mathematics. When I retire, that is one of the things that is on the back of my mind: can we do something that would be interesting enough, cool enough, or popular enough?

I watch kids who invest thousands of hours in memorising rap lyrics, and cricket statistics, and I wonder if only that energy could be channelled into something like mathematics. Oh my God! How brilliant they could become and how good that would be. If I could create something like that or if I create a musical or a book that a generation of kids knew how to prove that there are infinite prime numbers and found that to be astonishing. There is a beautiful side of mathematics that they are not showing you in school. I think that love of mathematics pays so many dividends for science, technology and for the world! Anyway can’t remember what the original question was, but that is something I would love to do for mathematics, that is, create something that is Hamilton-like.

By the way, I think everyone should learn multiplication tables till 10. Do you really need it? Yes. Especially at a young age, you have that. What is an 8-year-old or 9-year-old going to think about anyway? You can use some of their brain cells to master a skill that will be useful for them for the rest of their lives. But make it fun. Don’t make it monotonous. The worst thing that could happen is for people to take my mental math ideas and say, “Now we are gonna make people learn this every night for hours and hours”, and everyone will hate mathematics.

Given the rise of ChatGPT and Google Bard, do you think that somewhere computational mathematics may find itself somewhat stagnant as human-paced developments would give way to instant artificial intelligence?

I think we should give it time to evolve. I mean, people made fun of the internet and Google Searches in their infancy. With Wikipedia, they used to be like look at what this says about Mathematics. I think I am not worried about ChatGPT putting mathematicians out of work because they cannot think creatively. It just thinks, “What are the most likely words that can appear out of words that are already here?” and it doesn’t understand what it is saying. It is just saying. You can ask some very basic questions, questions that a child would get right, and ChatGPT would just bluff its way very authoritatively. But again, to succeed in mathematics requires you to think differently. Think outside the box, and think from an angle that has not been explored before, whereas ChatGPT is all about doing what seems to flow the best from what has been written before.

I think as far as technology and mathematics are concerned, no, your advances come from thinking in a new direction, not just thinking in the old direction. I think it is a wonderful tool. It is a wonderful starting point. Let’s say I am trying to write a song about the infinity of prime numbers; I may ask ChatGPT to give me some ideas and rhymes. It’s like asking a friend. At least I am not using it as the authoritative, that this is THE answer. It surprised me that ChatGPT is being used for software development. You can ask, “give me a computer program that will do this.” and maybe partly. This is why we see layoffs in software companies. What took software developers months to develop, you get it instantly, and now you can tweak it. Again it won’t put the entire company out of business because you need people to think in new directions, but a lot of the routine work, forget about mental arithmetic, think about writing code; I think in the past, you could have Googled things and found things around the internet but this thing just gives it to you. It is exciting and scary at the same time.

All these big tech companies, we keep hearing- Microsoft is laying off people; Google is laying off people, and Facebook is laying off people. I don’t think I have heard the full reason.

In the same way, this generation grew up with iPhones and the internet as a way of life. What would the next generation who grew up with ChatGPT be like? Whatever the next big thing is, that is based on these models that are at their fingertips since they were born. People are thinking, how is it going to affect education? It can write a college essay that could get a B. You don’t learn from that.

We academics are wrestling over things anyway; I mean, there are enough sites out there where we can buy answers to homework problems which makes professors say, “What is the purpose of homework?” I hope the purpose is that it makes people think and solidify the concepts better, but do you make it required? Do you give it weight? Ultimately you’ll have to be given tests, offline exams showing what you know at your fingertips, even though that is not very realistic.

Professor Benjamin with students and faculty who were present at the show.

Sir, you’re someone who’s been working with patterns, sometimes recognising some which would otherwise go unnoticed. Have you ever contemplated applying it to the share market?

Well, there are certainly people who do and there’s a lot of money paid to people who can discover patterns and correlations. Now, if everybody knows that fact, you can’t make money off of it but if you’re one of the first people to make that connection then yes it can be very rewarding. One of the greatest geniuses in financial math was Edward Thorpe, and he had analysed a card game that was played in the casinos called Black Jack and he figured out how to play the game to have an advantage, and the casinos had to change the rules because he’d figured these things out. He later also applied the same ability to optimize to finding things in the stock market to say certain things are worth this much and if people are selling that much then you can make some good money. I am not trained in finance and macroeconomics but I know some people who are very strong mathematically and who’ve gone on to do very well in the financial sector, and it’s really good for people in that sort of field. I used to say if I hadn’t gone into teaching I might’ve gone into financial mathematics and now I’m saying if I hadn’t gone into teaching I might’ve gotten into data science because it defines a lot of things I like to do.

When one reads about you, one comes across the fact that you’ve been deeply involved with scepticism. With due respect, what do you believe is more true about scepticism, is it a constant state of questioning widely accepted standards, or a temporary suspension of belief?

You know what, I was greatly influenced by another magician by the name of James Randy. He performed as the Amazing Randy. A very successful escape artist and illusionist, but like Houdini, was disappointed in seeing magicians deceive the public using magic tricks represented as legitimate science. Millions believe in communicating with dead people and would spend money on these magicians (or worse). I met him early in my career, as I was starting to perform shows. He got very excited because it allowed him to say that these people are full of it and are not telling the truth, they are making you believe in things that are not true whereas this guy is not cheating. He’s doing amazing things with his mind but he’s not claiming supernatural powers to do it. This is what we should be paying attention to, science is beautiful all by itself and it doesn’t need supernatural mumbo jumbo. If there are things out there that we don’t understand, let’s study and research them.

For instance, in parapsychology, there is not a single repeatable experiment in that field. Does the Extrasensory Perception exist? Probably not, but no one’s been able to measure anything for a little bit of time. As I was transitioning from doing magic onto mentalism, I thought this was magic and I can really pull it off, but after meeting Randy and a few others, I felt guilty that I might be spreading misinformation. After my show, if people thought “Oh my gosh look at that guy he really could read your mind”, I wouldn’t want people to start thinking that was legitimate. I’ve always performed things that for the most part I was willing to explain afterwards. Most magicians would never do that but when it comes to mathematical magic it should be open, there should be no secrets. I think the explanation can be more fascinating than the effect.




An Extraordinary Hostage Situation—HOSTAGES 101

With the perfect blend of thrill and excitement of a live event and without the high stakes of a real-life hostage situation, HOSTAGES 101 was indeed a fun-filled dive into various hostage situations that have occurred throughout history, germane to geopolitics, show business, deception etc. Taking place at NLH, the ‘hostage-takers’ were members of Blank 101, the public speaking club of Manipal while the ‘hostages’ were the participating students from various branches.  

Carol, the Head of Operations of Blank 101 said, “This is Blank 101’s first offline event with a crowd since the pandemic, as a result of which, most events and talks had been shifted online. Given the situation now, we are hoping for a positive response from the audience and are elated that everything is back on track and up to speed.”  

Students actively participated in the event.

While the seats filled up swiftly, the hostages didn’t have an inkling of the ransom or what was coming next for them. The first speaker laid the foundation by defining a hostage as a person who is held by one party when the two parties are in conflict with one another. They talked about how people are often held as security or collateral for the fulfilment of a set of conditions or promises and are physically harmed or blackmailed in case of failure of the conditions. The second speaker concluded with the fact that hostages aren’t mere bargaining chips but are human beings just as ourselves.  

The crowd was engaged in a discussion on the different hostage situations that have occurred throughout history, such as Japan Air Lines Flight 351 where 122 passengers were held hostage and the plane was hijacked by a group of hijackers in 1970. There were no casualties in this unconventional hostage situation, and at one point, the hijackers were tricked into believing that they were in North Korea by the South Korean officials and the Japanese government. Cinema has portrayed both reel and real-life hostage situations and their attempts to rescue hostages, such as the 1979 Iranian Revolution, where 66 American citizens (embassy officials) were taken hostage in response to the United States’ involvement in Irani politics. This particular situation occurred for nearly two years. Six officials managed to escape and were provided refuge by the Canadian Embassy, portrayed stupendously in the Ben Affleck-starrer Argo (2012).  

Being a household name can shackle you to your public life. In the case of Britney Spears and the recent removal of her conservatorship, which denied her freedom to move around and controlled every bit of her career, causing her to be a mere hostage to her job. The intrepid Neerja Bhanot, the senior flight attendant of Pan Am flight 73, helped nearly 350 passengers escape at the cost of her life, while they were being shot at by hijackers. 

The various situations helped participants understand the dark and grim side of it. The participants were expected to focus on the psychological impact and coping mechanisms undertaken by the victims. While some tried to heal and move on, others subconsciously feared for the next threat in their lives. The participants elaborated on how many of the affected detailed their experiences through journaling. A discussion was had about how numerous cases of the Stockholm Syndrome were also reported among victims. 

While the event touched upon many disturbing and sombre topics, it ended up being a fun yet informative dive into hostage situations and their consequences throughout history. 




Making Manipal More Musical—RevAmp ’23 by Chords & Co.

RevAmp ’23, Manipal’s premier music festival took the campus by storm, with electrifying live performances and scintillating music spanning a wide range of genres and performance styles. Organised by MIT’s official music club Chords & Co, large crowds gathered to witness some amazing musical talents.

Live Wire  

Ayush Acharya | Staff Writer

(Credits: Aritro Biswas/PAV)

Do concerts light your mood up? Does every strum of the guitar and the bass of the drums make you groove? Because Live Wire by Chords & Co. can be described as everything a music listener’s soul could ask for. The Student Plaza had been set ablaze by the wondrous crew of Chords and Co. on the 18th of February. They performed four songs, namely; We Will Rock You by Queen, Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi, Castle of Glass by Linkin Park, and The Nights by Avicii. The songs had everyone sing along and pumped up for the event. The performers brought back the nostalgia of the early 2000s by adding two Bollywood songs; Mai Agar Kahoon by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal and Zara Zara by Bombay Jayashri.

The event was organized by the team of Chords and Co. which included students of MIT, DOC and a well-lit stage and music amplified by loudspeakers. “The event would not have been a success without the crowd being energetic. It’s the crowd which motivates us to sing and give our best on stage.” remarked Sanjay Konapala, one of the crew members.

Live Wire lasted for about an hour and despite its length, the audience stayed till the end, listening and jamming to the music. It was an event of pure emotion and joy where all we could hear were the sizzle of the electric guitar, the beats of the drums and the singers’ voices topping it all off and the crowd singing along.

Trivia Quiz

Daksh Loiya Staff Writer

(Credits: Advika Priyabhashini/PAV)

A music quiz was held by Chords & Co. as a part of their RevAmp flagship event. Songs by Rick Astley, including STAYThe Box, and Never Gonna Give You Up were played before the quiz, energising the room. The event had four rounds, and each presented different challenges to the participating teams.

In the first round, the teams had to correctly guess a song through only a small snippet of the song. The artists played included Jimi Hendrix, the Eagles, Coldplay, Tame Impala, etc. The second round involved a singing competition in which each team had to perform songs from a specific genre, and if a team failed, the round ended, with the remaining team receiving their points. During the Country Music round, the panel forbade the use of Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, even though the artist famously called out Billboard for not including the song in their Country Music Charts.

The third round involved predicting the year of well-known songs like Running Up The Hill, Titanium, and Mitwa which led to hilariously bad answers, such as one team stating that Nirvana was making music in 2013. In the final round, each team had to answer an essay-based question with a twist. Any other team could opt to answer that question by inviting a panel member, and if they answered correctly, they could steal your points, but if they answered incorrectly, a penalty was imposed. These questions included the meteoric rise of Dhanush with his song Why This Kolaveri Di, the terrifying story behind MJ’s iconic Billie Jean and many more.

The event ended with Sharad, Samarth, and Hriman winning the competition and bagging a cash prize of Rs. 1500. The participants thoroughly enjoyed the event, saying that it offered a fun and engaging platform for them to showcase their love for music and interact with fellow enthusiasts.

Riffusion

Ayush Acharya Staff Writer

(Credits: Ishaan Sharma/PAV)

The answer to all your musical thoughts and cravings, the melody to our ears, the tunes to our strumming and the voice to our vocals, Riffusion by Chords & Co. held on 19th of February was a celebration of live music and honouring its legacy with passion-filled electrifying performances. The event was held in front of the Student Plaza, with students gathering around the stage. After all, who wouldn’t want to join in a crowd and sing along, right?

More than thirteen participants and groups made their mark on stage ranging from solo performances to instrumental bands, to even beatboxing, and got the people all pumped up. Many of the performances took listeners on a nostalgia trip through the early 2000s of Bollywood’s musical brilliance. Songs like Iktara from Wake Up Sid, Mitwa by Shankar Mahadevan and many more unlocked old memories from the our childhood. Many performers chose newer songs and artists. From Kesariya to Kabira to Fitoor; not a single masterpiece from Arijit Singh’s reign of singing was missed. The event lasted for about 2 hours long with the crowd, yearning for more. Overall, the event was filled with many classics of our generation and the event, sure can be concluded as a success all round.

Karaoke Night

Deepali Vengala Staff Writer

(Credits: Aman Kumar/PAV)

Chords & Co. organized a Karaoke Night event on the 17th of February, held in the quads of FC-1. The event drew a crowd of music enthusiasts from different backgrounds, with about 50 participants coming together to sing along to their favourite music. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful, with everyone excited to show off their vocal skills.

The participants sang a wide range of genres, including pop, rock, R&B, and country, making it a diverse and engaging event. The audience cheered and clapped along, creating a supportive and enthusiastic environment. The event proved an excellent opportunity for music enthusiasts to showcase their talent and connect with other music lovers in the college community.

Swaranjali

Sneha Bhowmik | Staff Writer

(Credits: Tejasvee Dwivedi/PAV)

Organised as a celebration of Indian classical music, Swaranjali was held on 18th February 2023. It featured performances of both Hindustani music from North India and Carnatic music from the South. The event showcased the abilities of talented musicians and their own unique renditions of Indian classical music. Participants dressed in beautiful traditional dresses, blowing the crowd away with their soulful performances. It was an event where they displayed their passion and knowledge of their craft with pride. It was an evening characterized by melodic vocals and harmonized instruments that left the audience wanting for more. Swaranjali was a fulfilling event that set the hallmark for future classical music endeavors in Manipal.

DJ Night

Sowmya G Staff Writer

On the evening of 17th February 2023, Chords & Co. organized a DJ night outside Food Court 1, where they featured a student DJ, Shreyash Singh, who is a student of MIT Manipal. The event started at 9:30 pm with the energetic and enthusiastic DJ playing a mixture of old and new tracks that kept the audience engaged and entertained throughout the night. The music was loud, vibrant, and electrifying, and the entire area was transformed into a dance floor where students could let loose and have fun. The crowd was incredibly enthusiastic and supportive of the DJ as they cheered him on throughout the event. Despite being inside the campus, the students seemed to thoroughly enjoy the night and danced to their heart’s content. The energy and excitement were palpable in the air, and it was evident that the students were having a great time.

(Credits: Aman Kumar/PAV)

(Featured Image Credits: Aritro Biswas/PCB)




The Romance of Aviation—A Guest Lecture by Dr. A. K. Ghosh

Dr. A. K. Ghosh, a professor at the Department of Aerospace at IIT Kanpur and a highly regarded scientist in his field was invited to give a guest lecture at MIT about his life experiences and the most recent advancements in aeronautics and aviation. He has multiple feathers in his cap, including mentoring a number of start-ups such as Aurora Integrated Systems in Bengaluru and Shastra Automation Laboratories in Kanpur among others.

Dr. Ghosh expressed how he never lies to the young and never tells the truth to the old. The young have the power to bring about change, so withholding information from them will impede progress, while the elderly will worry about change, so keeping the truth from them will prevent this worry. He used the phrase “Noblesse oblige,” which refers to the idea that being noble entails responsibility, and that if you are in a position of privilege, you must make sure that you lend a hand to those without it. 

Dr. A. K. Ghosh takes to the podium. [Image credit: Lakshya]

He claimed that the field of aeronautics is only for those who are romantic; loving what you do is one of the essential components of success in a profession that is characterised by constant disappointment and failure. When everything does come together eventually, the time and effort you put in will be entirely worthwhile.

As he began to discuss the significance of electrical and avionic systems replacing their fuel-based counterparts, he encouraged the institute to work with the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Electrical and Electronics Engineering to add an elective on battery technology. He urged the students to explore these fields and to advance and innovate in them, noting that one of the biggest challenges the Indian aeronautical industry is currently facing is a lack of domestic manufacturing of components, particularly the sensors and materials needed for aerial vehicles.

The audience listens with rapt attention. [Image credit: Kushala]

He then dove into an equally enlightening, lengthy Q&A session, during which he went into more detail about his personal experiences, his time at ARDE, Pune, his thoughts on supersonic travel, its difficulties, its potential, and the future of electric aviation. It was a brilliant talk by a brilliant academic, surely inspired a new era of aviation enthusiasts.

[Featured image credit: Lakshya]




Crypto Bust—A Look Back at the Collapse of FTX

Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency secured by cryptography which makes it impossible to forge or spend a second time. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized in nature and are based on blockchain technology—an online ledger which contains a list of transactions. It is almost impossible to forge transaction histories since the transactions have to be independently verified by each member of the network. Cryptocurrencies eliminate the need for an intermediary, such as a bank between two or more parties. Due to the presence of an online ledger, they leave a trail that law enforcement authorities can decode.

FTX (Futures Exchange) was a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange started by Sam Bankman-Fried in 2019 which enabled customers to trade digital currencies for other digital currencies or traditional money, and vice versa. It mostly supported commonly traded cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Tether, Ethereum, etc. Users would deposit fiat money (any government-issued currency) into their FTX account and then use the money to buy and sell cryptocurrency.

When rumours spread about FTX’s financial condition and Alameda Research, its sister company, users frantically withdrew their money. FTX, being an exchange that connected two or more parties, was incompetent to handle mass withdrawals, since such institutions have mechanisms in place to recover the money and FTX was unable to do so.

A notable early investor was Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao. By 2021, FTX was worth $30 billion, second only to Binance. Changpeng Zhao’s relationship with FTX soon turned sour and he sold his stake back in 2021. His familiarity with the inner workings of FTX played a crucial role in FTX’s debacle.

FTT is a token used by FTX. Like many cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. FTT has value, can be used while trading and is used during transactions. For a while, FTT was a massive source of wealth for FTX. Investors were won over by the idea of FTX offering rewards in exchange for ownership of the token, which included trading discounts and VIP status on the site. To support the value of FTT, FTX regularly repurchases and burns its tokens. It does so by purchasing FTX tokens with 33 percent fees generated on the platform.

As of September 2021, FTT hit an all-time high of $85 in exchange and as of 22 Dec. 2022, 1 FTT is worth $0.84. This is one of the greatest ever destructions of wealth. The sudden crash was caused due to FTX’s insolvency and its inability to return users’ funds.

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange registered in the Cayman Islands. It offers crypto-to-crypto trading in more than 600 cryptocurrencies and virtual tokens such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Binance’s very own Binance Coin (BNB). Binance was started by Changpeng Zhao 2017, a developer who previously created high-frequency trading software. He wanted to create a platform that was independent of fiat currencies. Binance emerged during the crypto boom of 2017 and soared in popularity by offering a plethora of facilities, such as digital assets and innovation, including its blockchain. By 2018, the number of users increased from 2 million to 10 million.

People Involved in the FTX Collapse

Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried (Source: Reuters)

Son of two Stanford Law School professors, an alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Physics, Bankman-Fried founded FTX’s sister firm, Alameda Research in 2017. He founded FTX in 2019 and was its CEO until he resigned in November 2022. FTX rode a bull for crypto with a $32 billion valuation before its collapse. He was the man behind FTX securing investments from firms like Sequoia Capital and SoftBank.

He has also had a prominent presence on Capitol Hill as the second largest donor to the US Democratic Party politicians in recent years, has testified before US Congress about crypto, and also put forth his suggested draft of a potential framework calling for the regulation of the crypto industry.

Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities who charged him with eight criminal offenses, including conspiracy and wire fraud against investors, and has been extradited to the United States. He concealed from investors the diversion of FTX customer funds to his crypto trading firm Alameda Research. When word spread that Alameda’s balance sheet was made of FTT’s, it sent the market into upheaval, and investors and users began withdrawing their money. Even after pausing withdrawals, they were unable to get Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to throw them a lifeline. He later said that they had mishandled customer funds.

John Ray III, the current CEO of FTX, called it, “really old-fashioned embezzlement” while testifying in front of the House financial services committee. He told lawmakers that there is an excess of $7 billion in lost FTX funds from 7.6 million accounts, out of which 2.7 million were based in the US, while providing information on the company’s internal investigation. There was no corporate oversight. The owners, businesses, and senior management had virtual control of all accounts and could move money or assets if they desired, undetected by customers.

Caroline Ellison

Caroline Ellison. (Source: Twitter)

She was the CEO of Alameda Research as of its collapse. She joined Alameda in 2018, was a co-CEO with Sam Trambucco in October 2021, and became its sole CEO in August 2022. She is the daughter of two academics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She is a maths whiz who loves Harry Potter and fringe political philosophy. She was a maths major at Stanford. After graduating, she became a trader at Jane Street, where she met Bankman-Fried. He convinced her to join Alameda Research and by the end of 2018, he moved Alameda’s headquarters from Berkeley to Hong Kong.

She, along with FTX co-founder Gary Wang was charged with a multiyear scheme to defraud investors in FTX. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, she was directed by Sam Bankman Fried to manipulate the financials of the crypto-trading firm.

Timeline

FTX decided to help BlockFi from going bankrupt in May of 2022. When a series of crypto collapses took place, it triggered a wave of bankruptcy among Celsius, BlockFi, and Voyager. FTX helping BlockFi cemented FTX as one of the strongest players in the crypto world.

November 2, 2022

The leaked balance sheet by CoinDesk from Alameda Research displayed a suspicious relationship between the trading firm and FTX. A large amount of the trading firm’s assets was held in FTX native token FTT. At the time FTT token was worth $25.50.

This triggered the beginning of the end for FTX.

Tweet from Binance announcing liquidation of FTT. (Source: Twitter)

November 6, 2022

Changpeng Zhao announced the following:

Due to this, the token’s price began to fluctuate instantaneously, dropping to 10% and dipping below $22.

FTX Token plummets after Binance withdrawal (Source: CoinDesk)

November 8, 2022

Changpeng Zhao revealed that Binance has entered into a non-binding agreement to purchase FTX.

The very next day, Federal agencies begin their investigation into FTX. The same day, a Binance spokesperson declared “As a result of corporate due diligence, as well as the latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations, we have decided that we will not pursue the potential acquisition of FTX.com.”

November 10, 2022

The following was released and implemented:

Statement from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas announcing freezing of FTX’s assets. (Source: Twitter)

November 11, 2022

FTX, FTX.us, Alameda, and other subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in the USA. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO, opening space for John J. Ray III, a lawyer who helped run disgraced energy company Enron post-bankruptcy.

November 12, 2022

It was reported that around $1 billion in FTX customer funds were unaccounted for. After Sam Bankman-Fried had moved $10 billion from FTX to Alameda Research, a large chunk of that sum ($1 to 2 billion) had vanished.

November 15, 2022

A class action lawsuit was filed against FTX in Florida.

November 16, 2022

It was announced that the hearings will take place in December.

On the very next day, the new CEO of FTX said, “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated, and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented.”

November 22, 2022

Specifics of the finances behind Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire begin to emerge as bankruptcy proceedings moved forward.

December 12, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas. The arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed charges against Sam Bankman-Fried and was likely to request his extradition.

December 13, 2022

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sam Bankman-Fried with eight criminal charges, which includes defrauding investors, money laundering, and conspiracy.

Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested in The Bahamas (Source: Business Insider)

December 21, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States.

December 23, 2022

Sam Bankman Fried released on $250 million bail as he awaits trial.

Fluctuations in Cryptocurrency and FTX Impact

For a while, cryptocurrency has been struggling to convince investors, regulators, and customers of its trustworthiness. The fall of FTX has helped accelerate the two-faced persona of cryptocurrency.

When the cryptocurrency market suffered losses worth $2 trillion in 2022, FTX came with monetary lifeboats to help several collapsing firms. A ripple effect of this loss: lenders such as Genesis and BlockFi have announced pauses in operations. The rapid fall of FTX made it clear that regulation is needed to protect investors and reduce crimes in the cryptocurrency market if any.

FTX’s collapse came in the wake of months of losses in the cryptocurrency market which was set off by a catastrophic crash that triggered a massive pullback from crypto assets. This crash pushed many cryptocurrency exchanges into bankruptcy. Bitcoin has been trading for less than $17,000, down from $75,000 a year ago.

Charley Cooper, managing director of blockchain company R3 and a crypto visionary said “The original idea behind cryptocurrency was to rewrite the rules of finance on a global basis but we are now in a more centralized industry than banking.”

Investors of FTX

At the time of the collapse, FTX had total funding of $1.8 billion, 6 acquisitions, 21 investments, and 3 diversity investments. In the year 2019, the total money raised was $8 million having the lead investor as Race Capital. In 2021, they raised a huge amount in two separate increments. The first one was $1 billion with Sequoia Capital. The second was $420.7 million with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Sequoia Capital. In the year 2022, SoftBank Vision Fund and Temasek Holdings raised $400 million.

Law Enforcement Intervention

The US Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had already been investigating the cryptocurrency exchange before its collapse, according to the Wall Street Journal. The investigation was focused on the exchange’s US branch.

Hacking of FTX

A few days after FTX declared bankruptcy, a hacker stole almost $400M worth of crypto from FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried is estimated to have lost more than $15 billion in less than a week. It is said that the authorities know the identity of this hacker, but are keeping it under wraps.

Future of FTX

The downfall of FTX has raised questions on whether cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges should be regulated to protect investors and users. FTX’s downfall could lead to a domino effect, where its borrowers could go down, taking the investors down as well. Companies and organizations liquidating their assets or declaring bankruptcy is also a possibility.

This situation could be an opportunity in disguise for Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange. However, users might be wary of switching between cryptocurrency exchanges due to the current situation. They might keep their existing crypto tokens in a cold wallet till the market stabilizes.

Talking about the future of FTX, Prashant Kumar, CEO of weTrade, said, “The fallout between Binance and FTX has larger ramifications for the entire crypto market. As we have been seeing, cryptocurrencies across the globe have seen losses. However, the incident has brought up the need for regulations in the sector. The step taken by Binance to launch an industry recovery fund to help projects during a liquidity crunch is a positive step in that direction.”

The collapse of a single cryptocurrency exchange has thrown the emerging industry into a crisis that will set it years back. This was once a medium where two parties could safely trade digital currencies and FTX’s fall from power and grace has left investors, executives, enthusiasts, and users questioning the future of the industry.

[Featured Image Credits: Getty Images]




Sitting down with The Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri

Dr G. Satheesh Reddy is the Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri. A proponent of indigenization, he guides the development of significant programmes on missiles and strategic systems, fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial defence systems, underwater systems, radar systems, strategic materials, and armaments among other futuristic technologies. The MIT Post had the fortune to interact with and interview Satheesh Sir about his expert experience and in-exhaustive knowledge in the scientific domain.

Under your tenure as the Chairman of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), various indigenous projects like the fourth-generation TEJAS and DRDO-Ghatak were integrated.
In comparison with our imports, where do these indigenous projects stand, sir?

Most of the latest technologies in the aeronautical sector have come a long way.  A lot of things have been developed in the country.  Academia and accreditations have come up with many innovative solutions and systems. Lots of infrastructure has come into the country like wind tunnel testing, and so on. The government has planned an order for 83 TEJAS jets which has given a major boost to the indigenous aeronautics industry today. The industry plays a major role in the supply chain of the various parts and subsystems. In the coming aircrafts, the indigenous content will be very high and now, the country is poised to make state-of-the-art five-plus generation aircrafts. The country is already working on the design and is in the R&D phase of the design.

Project Shakti 2019 or the Anti-SAT programme was also undertaken with your wise guidance. While planning for the entire project, how did you monitor the entire programme so that the debris would not fall on the Earth or not collide with the satellites orbiting around the lower orbit?

Lots of studies, simulations, and analyses have gone into the study. The site chosen was the lower side of the lower orbit. We have also seen the impact angle at which the impact of the physical collision occurs. We have seen the angles at which the distortion improves and doesn’t go higher in altitude. Whatever debris is generated dies down quickly. There is barely any debris in space this way. Many countries have done this safely and so have we.

The Russia-Ukrainian war is a significant stressor for the Government since our nation’s Defence sector was virtually on tip-toes and both of our partners, that is, the Western Front and the Russian Front are at war with each other. During such times, does it seem like a stressor for you as a strategic advisor?

I’m a scientific adviser, with more emphasis on technology and this is more inclined towards international affairs and related parameters.

As a scientific advisor, does your expertise extend to the definition of the Defence Budget appointed to the Defence sector in a fiscal year?

As a scientific adviser, you are finalizing the technology, the research, and the designs that have to be completed, the weapons, the systems, and the tools being developed also come under your purview. So you also make a road map on that on the technologies and the areas in which the systems will be set. Naturally, inter-institutional departments work very well to take care of the allocation work that needs to happen.

There are brilliant establishments like iDEX that empower the youth to invest and come up with projects in the Defence sector. However, post inception, we have heard that it takes nearly thirty years, on average, to implement the idea as in the case of Tejas. Is there a system that helps in cutting off the thirty-year phase that goes into finalising and applying it?

It does not take thirty years to finalise an idea. In thirty years, the idea does not remain valid at all. It takes a maximum of one to two years to finalise an idea, depending on the complexity of the system. If the armed forces need it urgently, the delay is even lesser. Once the prototype is seen by the Department of Production, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Armed Forces, it is taken to the next level. From there, the product is brought to life and thereupon only minor arrangements are necessary.

You are one of the only people in the last hundred years to be nominated as a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society of London and its American equivalent. How does that make you feel about the entire aeronautical domain and how can it be expanded further in India?

This shows that the ecosystem method in the aerospace department of the country is defined by what is required by the public in the country. If a country is coming up with a lot of technologies, systems, and research and is recognized in the name of a person, we need to note that the achievements are not in the name of a person but for the whole country. So, India has been taking the leading role in the aeronautics sector.