The ‘International Day for Disaster Reduction’ was celebrated by Sardar Patel Institute of Technology in a different way. With the primary focus being the development of innovative and creative ideas to tackle problems related to disaster reduction, the students produced a plethora of solutions that were appreciated by the judges.
This was done as a part of the ‘Activity Based Learning – Fire Safety and Electronic Security’ course introduced by SPIT under its autonomy scheme. The course was conducted through a series of lectures by industry experts from the Fire and Safety Association of India (FSAI).
The event took place on the 12th of October, starting at 10 AM. SPIT’s FSAI Student Chapter Core Committee had made all the necessary arrangements for the students, the judges and the guests in the seminar hall. The dignitaries present as Chief Guests included: Mr. Chintu Asher, Mumbai Chapter President, FSAI; Dr. Abasaheb P. Kale, Vice President, Marsh Risk Consulting; and Mr. Madan Bandodkar, Certified Safety Auditor and Trainer, Milestone Safety Consultancy Services.
After an introduction by the professor in-charge, Dr. Surendra Rathod, Abasaheb Kale initiated the event with an inspiring speech that rekindled the flame of social awareness in the students assembled. With over two hundred and fifty students assembled, the informative talk by Dr. Abasaheb was received with cheers. Dr. Rathod guided the students about what FSAI offers and the significance of the course.
The installation ceremony for the FSAI SPIT student chapter core committee for the year 2019-2020, beginning with a short speech by the Student Chapter President, Vedant Sapte followed. The recipients took a pledge to serve the community with fortitude and vigor.
The office bearers for the current year are: Vedant Sapte(Chairperson) Vedant Kumar(Secretary) Rugved Bhise(Treasurer and Joint Secretary) Param Deshpande(Head of Events) Siddhant Kumar(Head of Operations) Anushka Panwal(Women’s Cell Head ) Manaswi Rananavare(Hospitality Head) Pratik Mane (Marketing Head) Sahil Gharat( Technical Head) Tanmay Varade( Logistics Head) Vedant Kayande (Social Media Head).
The ceremony ended with a lecture on women’s safety. Mr. Madan Bandodkar demonstrated with his team the primary techniques of defending against assailants, how to prevent and avoid threatening situations, along with techniques to use things on hand for first aid.
After the lunch break, the students competed for events that consisted of Project or App development competition, Skit Performances, Poster making competition, Short Film Competition, and Case Study Competition. The Chief Guests also served as judges for the competitions. After viewing all the performances, presentations and projects, the judges had the difficult task of picking out the top two out of each category. After a tough round of tiebreakers, the judges, along with Dr. Rathod and Dr. Rajendra Sutar, the Dean (Academics), felicitated the winners and runners-up of each competition.
The first place in app development was bagged by Afaan and group(SE Comps) while SE IT came second. Sagar and his group from SE IT grabbed the first place for Case Study, as SE Comps followed in second place. The first place in skit competition was awarded to Sakshi and the group(SE IT). SE EXTC followed in second place. Rucha and Khushi from SE Comps outperformed their competitors in poster making, by coming in the first place, while SE IT stood second.
The event ended with the winners being felicitated. Abasaheb gave an electrifying message to the students who were buzzing with the thirst to prove themselves in the society. We hope more such events enlighten the bright and young minds of this nation for a vibrant, new future.
– Husain Challawala, Junior Correspondent
Photography by Shreya Jain and Rugved Bhise