Onam goes digital for students

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To keep the festivities alive during Onam for students, the industry body of technology companies in Kerala, GTech is organising a first-of-its-kind online celebration as part of its MU Learn initiative — which aims to bridge the gap between the IT industry and academia in the state. 

Around 5,000 students from 154 engineering colleges will attend the three-day MU Onam event. The programme features a slew of online events, including social media, photography and ‘code a pookkalam’ competitions. Deepu S Nath, the convenor of GTech Academy and Technology Focus Group, said the event would help bridge the skill gap and offer learning opportunities to students. “As a physical celebration is not possible, we are organising competitions digitally. More than 3,000 students are taking part in the ‘code a pookalam’ competition,” said Deepu.

The competitions will be conducted dividing the state into three zones — Malabar, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. “Many students haven’t even met their classmates after joining.

This event will offer a perfect opportunity for them to develop coordinating skills. Each zone will organise a one-day Onam event with the participation of colleges falling under the zone,” said Deepu. Many companies that are part of the GTech have come forward to sponsor prizes for the winners. 

“I am in my second year of engineering course and have not seen most of my classmates yet. We have limited social exposure and this event is an opportunity to connect with students from other colleges. It will be a great relief during these testing times,” said Angel Rose, a student of Government Engineering College, Palakkad.

An online digital drawing competition, kazhachapadu, is also being organised as part of the event. “The theme of the drawing competition is the struggle everybody is going through because of the pandemic. The participants should ideate solutions to these problems,” Deepu added. The event, which will have many social media competitions, will conclude on Monday.