Techkriti, Asia’s largest technical and entrepreneurial festival organized by IIT Kanpur,
marks a symbol of creation or innovation in technology. Many interesting workshops,
fascinating shows, enthralling talks, informal events, intriguing exhibitions and exciting
competitions together construct the face of technical innovation. The four days of the
festival attract footfall of over 40,000 from around 1500 prestigious colleges all over the
world. The fest, after completing its 24th anniversary in March 2018, celebrates its silver
jubilee from March 7, 2019 to March 10, 2019.
In addition to inspiring talks from eminent scientists and entrepreneurs, Techkriti also
hosts workshops that enhance the core skills required in the technology industry.
Among the workshops, Techkriti has hosted in the past are app integration by Microsoft,cloud computing by Amazon Web Services, ethical hacking, Internet of Things (IoT),Android app development, robotics, machine learning, data analytics and Python
programming. These workshops are conducted by reputed companies with a track
record of excellence in these domains.
Techkriti is known for hosting a variety of competitions with total prize money of more
than 70 Lacs. The competitions serve the backbone for fulfilling the basic motto of
Techkriti – developing interest and encouraging innovation in technology among
students. Competitions are classified in a few broad categories such as Robogames,
ECDC, Take Off, Software Corner, Mixed Bowl, Design, Technovation, Entrepreneurial
and Buizkriti.
Techkriti, in its past 24 years, witnessed various prominent personalities who showed
proper direction to many scientific minds by offering mind stimulating talks and
motivational speeches. Some of the speakers include Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
(Ex-President of India and Founder of India’s missile program), Richard Muller (famous
American physicist and professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley),
Richard Stallman (Founder of FSF and GNU Project), Vladimir Voevodsky (Fields
Medalist from Russia), Douglas Osheroff (Physics Nobel Laureate), Dr. Lyn Evans
(Director of LCC CERN), Michael Foreman (NASA Astronaut), Marshall Strabala
(Architect of Burj Khalifa), Jeff Liebermann (Host of Time Wrap), Victor Hayes (Fahher
of Wi-Fi), Dr. Hamid Karzai (Ex-President of Afghanistan), Prof. Henry Schaefer (one of
the most highly cited scientists in the world), Rajat Sharma (a renowned name in the
field of Indian Journalism), Prof. K.C. Nikolaou (2016 Wolf Prize recipient for
Chemistry), MK Amit Peretz (member of the Knesset and former Deputy Prime Minister
of Israel), Jitendra Nath Goswami (Padma Shri 2017 and popularly known as Moon Man
of India), Dr. Mohsin Wali (Honorary Physician to the President of India and Padma
Shri), etc. The words of such experienced people help to nurture the future technology
endeavors.
The exhibitions organized by Techkriti focus to present the fascinating things before the
fest audiences. Their prime objective is to shape the future innovation ideas and
thinking. Some of the past exhibitions at Techkriti include Eth Zurich (an autonomous
Soccer playing robot), Nino (first Indian humanoid robot), Remidi (world’s first wearable
device to record, play and perform), Hyperloop (a cool transportation system), OTO (a
controller come musical instrument of Germany), Indro (the tallest humanoid robot),
Holus (world’s first interactive tabletop holographic display), LIGO (gravitational waves
in action) Puzzlebox Orbit (a brain-controlled helicopter of USA), vintage car exhibitions
including Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Singer, Morris Cowley and Austin Saloon, Facebots
(robots which use Facebook account information to conversate with friends), etc. The
exhibitions provide visual instincts and insights to the audience, helping in development
of the rigorous and innovative thinking.
Besides workshops, talks and exhibitions, the fest conducts blasting shows and
performances as well. They mark the biggest centres of attraction for the audience. The
festival, in some past years, witnessed concert by Piyush Mishra, DJ night by Willy
William, stand up comedy Biswa Kalyan Rath, Drone Show, DJ night by Zephyrtone and
DJ Morgan, concert by Sonu Nigam, Edge Ryderz (motorbike stunt show), informal
session by TVF Pitchers team, breathtaking performance by Farhan Akhtar, Beltek and
NDS & Blues, Finnish rock band, 3D projection mapping show, fireworks and laser
shows, Sukhwinder Singh’s performance, concert by Kailash Kher, magic show by
magician Nigel Mead, The Laser Man, Feeding the Fish, air show by Akash Ganga
team of Indian Air Force and much more. The shows and performances truly
exponentiate the fascination among the fest attendees.
