BITS Pilani's much-touted fest "APOGEE" to be held on 20th March

A year has passed since the campus shut down, and our beloved tech fest, APOGEE, was canceled. And so, a year later, the CoStAA is back with the 39 th edition of the fest, “The Digitized Renaissance”, to be held on the 20th and 21st of March. Renaissance is typically used to refer to a proverbial rebirth, anda an overhaul of the cultural, social, and political norms in the ages past. With the pandemic, digital has become the new standard, which this year’s title is a poetic nod to. And so, this year’s digital APOGEE is planned to be conducted on Gather.

Gather.town is a platform that provides a virtual space with a map, which allows users to interact with nearby avatars. This allows for custom maps and objects, which can enable for a virtual recreation of a part of the campus on the platform. The platform has also been used in the past at universities like Stanford and MIT.

Every year, the kernel events involve inviting distinguished guests and personalities to come and share their extensive knowledge and experience with the audience. This year is no different; there are a plethora of eminent personalities who will be a part of the events.

Professor H.C Verma, experimental physicist and Professor Emeritus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, has graciously consented to speak at the “Think Again Live”, which is the online edition of the “Think Again Conclave”. He is known for his popular publication, “Concepts of Physics”,which is considered a touchstone amongst students of the subject.

Other notable speakers include Vint Gray Cerf, and Reinhold Messner. Vint Cerf is widely regarded as one of the fathers of the internet. His work on the TCP/IP protocol along with Bob Kahn is arguably the biggest leap and catalyst in the rapid development of the internet. Reinhold Messner holds the distinction of being the first person to have ever made a solo ascent of Mount Everest. Also joining the event as a guest speaker is Suresh Prabhu, India’s representative to the G7 and G20, a former Minister of Railways, and the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation.

For the “Papyrus Trails”, which encompasses all things literary, renowned filmmaker and actor, Avijit Dutt, will be in attendance. His career has spanned over 100 plays in English, Hindi, and Bengali. He has also played a part in films such as Madras Café, and Jolly LLB2.

The transition to a virtual APOGEE has brought with it an ever-more impressive list of speakers from a wide array of fields. It promises to be as enjoyable as the previous years’, with something to offer to everyone.