Ever since it was born in 2003, Cognizance, the technical festival of IIT-Roorkee, has grown by leaps and bounds. Today, it stands as the second largest festival of its kind in the Indian subcontinent, at the tender age of six years. It is home to over 150 events, encompassing almost every possible aspect of technical education. Cognizance 2009 reached unprecedented heights, with over 8,000 participants from across the country, a footfall of 40,000 recorded along with global outreach programs for many events. But with great power comes great responsibility, and this is exactly what Cognizance is all about. Last year’s edition looked to the future with the theme “Think Energy, Go Green.” Shouldering the responsibility for environment-efficient sustainable technologies while simultaneously trying to solve the country’s energy troubles, Cognizance 2009 made a sizeable contribution towards this crucial global issue. Taking a cue from its glorious past and continuing to take big steps forward, Cognizance 2010’s theme is “Technovating India”, with a view to bringing a transformation to the very grassroots of the country.
Cognizance was founded with a dream- to provide a platform for bright young students from all over the country in a plethora of technical events, spread over numerous genres, organized under various departments. The word “Cognizance” stands for knowledge and awareness, and the logo corresponds to Cognizance’s motto “Where ideas converge”. This realization of knowledge and convergence of fresh, bright ideas is what Cognizance aims at, and the utilization of these ideas for the nation’s benefit is its central objective.
Cognizance has made giant leaps in testifying its motto. It has been the focal point of ideas, young and old, amateurs and professionals, and n00bs and pros. It’s mascots Prakriti and Urja have led cognizance to pristine levels of success in celebrating Science and Technology.
The very popular mascots for Cognizance 2009, Prakriti and Urja, had much more to them than just their cute caricatures! This central-level paper presentation contest on the theme “Think Energy, Go Green” drew a huge response with over 75 entries, and the winning entries were given a chance by leading companies for real-time implementation.
Cognizance 2008 saw Robosapiens going outside Roorkee, to colleges around the country, holding workshops on robot modeling, creation and working, selecting contestants from these colleges, and culminating in the grand battle at Robosapiens in the campus. Last year’s robotics workshop was, in fact, the largest robotics workshop in the country!
Staying true to its theme, Cognizance 2009 was certified as the only carbon neutral festival of its kind by Gensol Consultants Private Limited. Another first for the trendsetting festival that is Cognizance!
Established Events
Ideaz
With Cognizance’s motto being “Where ideas converge”, Ideaz has carried the tag of the festival’s flagship event ably over the past six years. Mirroring the growth of Cognizance, last year’s edition saw over 800 papers being submitted in the 16 departments. Last year’s edition also saw the publication of selected papers in the Cognizance Journal.
Insomnia
For those who truly love coding, night or day makes no difference- it’s all just 24 hours. Serving these enthusiasts is Insomnia, now a huge brand name in itself. With the biggest names not only in the country, but the world vying for the delicious problems and prizes on offer, it is every geek’s heaven.
Robosapiens
Sample this- a jam-packed amphitheatre with hundreds of people’s oohs and aahs ringing through the air, as robots in the centre go against each other to solve the most challenging of problem statements. Robosapiens has grown to be one of the biggest crowd-pullers at Cognizance, and now even goes outside the campus, to colleges across the country to find the most innovative and advanced mechanisms and constructions in robotics, all to crown one coveted champion.
Quizzotica
The smartest minds converge in one big cauldron, in a tense battle to find India’s best quizzers, with the best names from the quizzing world throwing questions at the knowledge-hungry crowd. Quizzotica has emerged as one of the nation’s premier quizzing events, with high-voltage competition and frenzied quizzing for the exciting moolah at stake.
Chaos
When it comes to gaming, it rarely gets bigger than this. The biggest names in the world of Age of Empires, CountrStrike, FIFA, Defence of the Ancients and many others converge to fight it out for the top honours in one of India’s biggest gaming carnivals.
Enquesta
In the small span of two years, this online quizzing event has grown to huge proportions, attracting over 10,000 participants in the 5 sub-events under its umbrella. This year it plans to go one step ahead, with more topics, more problems and more prizes up for grabs!
Corpostrat
Preparing today’s technocrats for tomorrow’s managerial challenges, this event is another of the most popular events in Cognizance, attracting crowds of all ages and from all fields, with last year’s participation going over 2,000 entries.
Guest Lectures
We can only learn so much in class, and the rest comes from those who have fought it out in big bad world outside. Bringing their stories to all attendees are the guest lectures, which has seen the who’s who of science, technology, management and culture share their valuable experience with the young future of the country at Cognizance. Past editions have seen the likes of Manish Tripathi (of dabbawallahs fame), Dr. H.C. Verma, Dr. John C. Mather, Dr. James Sylvester Gates, Padmabhushan Dr. Yashpal Sharma and many more.
Workshops
Putting the immense theoretical knowledge gained in college to practical use is the essence of a successful engineer. With entertaining and interactive workshops spread over various diverse fields like robotics, MAYA animation, aeromodelling, six-sigma and 3-D photography, Cognizance has made work fun year after year! In fact, India’s largest robotics workshop was held in Cognizance 2009.
Departmental Events
And all this is not it! The 16 departments of IIT-Roorkee have their own teams that organize various events. Some, like Electrical department’s Techase and Civil Deparment’s Popsicle Bridge are huge standalone events in their own right. All departments have their own paper presentations, and area-specific events, attracting both branch-specific and general crowds.
Looking Ahead- Cognizance 2010
After the tremendous success of the previous edition, Cognizance 2010 strives for further growth and improvement, while looking to serve the common masses, utilizing the effervescence of India’s burgeoning youth with the theme “Technovating India”. Using the dual power of technical know-how and innovation, Cognizance 2010 aims for practically applicable and sustainable solutions for the common man’s problems, showcasing the latest technologies for this purpose and involving the brilliant young minds in this process with its colourful array of events. Come be a part of this endeavour, to use the bright young minds of the nation for its own good. Come and stimulate your intellectual powers. Come together to grow. Come together to know. Come and be cognizant. Welcome to Cognizance 2010!
