DREAM BIG 2024
The Department of Computer Engineering, in association with the Training and Placement Cell, of our college (DBCE), organized the 3rd edition of ‘DBCE Dream Big’- an Industry Student Connect event, on March 15th, 2024, that aimed at promoting awareness about innovation in industrial and professional expertise amongst students.
The event commenced with Ms. Nicole Fernandes and Mr. Vedant Gad introducing ‘DBCE Dream Big 2024’. A video showcased the ten-year journey of the institute, highlighting achievements, initiatives, and awards of the Computer Engineering Department, along with glimpses of the previous editions of DBCE Dream Big. Dr. Neena Panandikar, the Principal, delivered a warm welcome address, underlining the significance of academic excellence coupled with industry exposure for holistic student development, encapsulating the spirit of “Dream big and make it happen!”
Rev. Fr. Kinley D’Cruz, the Director, expressed gratitude to all the attendees, invoking Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Your beliefs become your destiny,” emphasizing the event’s aim to motivate success. He concluded with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., “The time is right to do what is right.” Then an MOU between our college and Stanza Infotech was signed by the Director Rev. Fr. Kinley D’Cruz and Mr. Sachin Kale – Founder and Director of Stanza Infotech Pvt. Ltd and SK Group, for fostering Industry-Institute cooperation and innovation.
The first session began with Mr. Vadiraj introducing the esteemed speaker Mr. Sri Charan Lakkaraju Founder and CEO Student Tribe, Hyderabad. Mr. Lakkaraju spoke about his life and engineering journey and stressed on the importance of building a brand for ourselves instead of relying on others. He said that the question “How can we create the largest community of students?” was what catapulted him towards this career path. He concluded his talk by advising the students that the three most important things to take away were to be selfish in chasing their goals, the importance of creating a personal brand and the ability to stay curious through it all. This was then followed by an informative Q&A session moderated by Mr. Vadiraj Inamdar. Finally a memento was presented to Mr. Sri Charan Lakkaraju by the Director Rev. Fr. Kinley D’Cruz and an MOU between our college and Student Tribe was signed by the Director Rev. Fr. Kinley D’Cruz and Mr. Sri Charan Lakkaraju.
The second session was conducted by Mr Vishal Desai the Co-Founder and CEO of The Grit City, Goa. He spoke on the topic “Success Unplugged ” and introduced the students to two new terminologies; Neuroplasticity which is the ability of the brain to reorganise and evolve and Grit- a term used to express passion and perseverance for long term and meaningful goals. He also briefly introduced his company The Grit City and this was then followed by an engaging Q&A session hosted by Mr. Vedant Gad. He answered the question of “When can you say that a team is successful?” by emphasising that true success is achieved when the team members can freely express their ideas and work together to overcome their shortcomings. A memento was then presented to Mr Vishal Desai by the Director Rev. Fr. Kinley D’Cruz.
After the session, three MOUs were signed during the event with the Director Rev. Fr. Kinley D’Cruz representing our college. Ms. Pragati Tilve, HR Director, and Ms. Shruti Parab, PR Manager, signed on behalf of Creative Capsule, Mr. Damodar Pai Patnekar, CEO and Co-Founder, represented Bodhami, and Mr. Kirk Duarte, Senior HR Manager, represented Kilowott.
The third session was presented by Mr Srinivas Taluka, VP Facilities, T-HUB, Hyderabad. He spoke about T hub which is the world’s largest innovation hub, an initiative of the Govt. of Telangana, and is a public private partnership company facilitating the growth of innovation as well as a part of the Telangana innovation network. He also gave insight about the inner working of startups and the 6M & 2P methodology of startup incubation and acceleration used by them at T-HUB. Then this was followed by a stimulating Q&A session hosted by Mr. Nikhil Rao where Mr. Srinivas highlighted the necessity of networking by saying “Network is Net Worth”. He also emphasised the importance of leaders leading by example and that they should “walk the talk”. A memento was then presented to Mr. Srinivas Taluka by the Head of Computer Engineering Department Dr. Gaurang Patkar.
The fourth session was conducted by Mr. Damodar Pai Patnekar, CEO and Co-Founder of Bodhami. He began by introducing Bodhami and went on to talk about how the global market is shaping up, the new technology that engineers should look into and skill sets that they should develop. He spoke about the essential soft skills and technical skills to be equipped with to ensure corporate readiness to bridge the skill gap between engineers in this dynamic and ever-evolving industry. This was followed by an interactive Q&A session hosted by Ms. Nicole Fernandes. He stated “Jump in the well and you will learn how to swim” emphasising the importance of facing our problems head on rather than missing out on opportunities because of the fear of failure and limiting ourselves to our comfort zone.
Mr. Vishal Kumar Soni, VP Technologies at One Shield India, shared insights on hiring trends, career passions and placement opportunities for students in Goa. He emphasised that we as students should find passion in the job that we do so that we can ultimately find the best career path suited to our passions. A memento was then presented to Mr. Vishal by the Principal Dr. Neena Panandikar.
To express gratitude to the unwavering support offered our TPO Ms. Avila Naik was given a token of appreciation by the Principal Dr. Neena Panandikar. Finally to express sincere gratitude and appreciation to the sponsors for their partnership and invaluable support they were presented with mementoes by Dr. Gaurang Patkar HOD of the Computer Department and Asst. Prof. Janhavi Naik. Last but not the least, faculty coordinator Asst. Prof. Janhavi Naik proposed the vote of thanks thanking sponsors, guest speakers, faculty, MOU signatories, event coordinators, and students who made this event possible thus concluding DBCE Dream big 2024 on a high note.
