T h e E - S u m m i t ‘ 0 9
It is often said that the best laid plans are often the ones most susceptible to falling apart when it matters the most and things that happen were actually never even on the drawing board, to begin with. That precisely was the case with this event, a first in the history of DCE. The idea was first brought up in the month of December, and was envisioned as a platform that could act as a point of convergence for the entrepreneurial passions of the students of the country. It was, therefore, with great apprehension that the team of ED Cell undertook the task, knowing full well that the times weren’t conducive to expect any support from the industry. The actual work started in January, when the team started approaching the people from the corporate sector.
On the itinerary of the Summit were a total of five events, namely the B-plan competition, Innovation Challenge, VC Pitch, Leadership Lecture and Panel Discussions. It was a stressful time for the organisers to coordinate the various events, publicize them, follow up with the visiting delegates from the corporate sector, while simultaneously looking for financial support. Till the end of January, all that the team had in their hands were the confirmation of participation by some of the best institutions and universities of the country, but not one sponsor or chief guest for the event Leadership Lecture. Since this event was envisioned as a turning point in the history of DCE, it was necessary to make the right first impression. Therefore, famous youth icons like Mr. Rahul Gandhi, and business tycoons like Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj(MD, Bajaj Capital) were invited. It was disappointing
to not be able to get Mr. Gandhi as a guest of honor (which perhaps was due to his commitments to election campaign), but the letters of confirmation of participation
by some very notable names from the corporate sector, such as the CEOs of Yatra.com, Naukri.com, Minda Group, Alstom (India), Yahoo! India, and Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj himself along with many others couldn’t help but lift our spirits. Things started falling into place only by the first week of February, with some sponsors showing their willingness to support our initiative.
When the day of the event dawned, there were more butterflies in our stomach than perhaps in the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan around this time of the year! The main event of the Summit, B Plan competition, was a runaway success. With an informal setting, allowing for discussions and intense questioning by the judges, participants sweated it out for a first prize of 60 grand. It was finally bagged by the team from IIT Delhi.
The team owes its success not only to the work put in by the ED Cell members but also to the help and support rendered by our esteemed Director, Dr. P.B. Sharma, and senior faculty member Dr. R.C. Sharma. Their implicit trust in our abilities to pull off such a huge event was a major factor in ensuring that we never faced any delays, administrative or otherwise.
NOSTALGIA – ENGIFEST
DCE’s antique annual cultural fest brought with itself, a constellation of cultures, eclectic events, ‘subtle’ sponsors, miraculous minds, taciturn talents, gamut of glamour and the nectar of nostalgia. Last time around engifest was baptized as ‘ABHYUDAYA’. But I guess the name wasn’t a hit with the people because of its palaeolithic nature and the name was thus reverted back to ‘engifest’! Last year its theme was derived from the medieval world – that is to say, the epoch comprising of the 70s and 80s. This year though, the engifest czars decided to quote the ‘spirit of Delhi’ as its theme. And believe me, this year we had more than the optimum level of funds to run the fest, thanks to the munificence of the sponsors! So all the pessimistic people out there who speculated that this year’s engifest was going to be a damp squib (as usual!) should try and purge their diabolical minds of the misconceptions! 
A standout event at the engifest was the ‘car & bike show’, where the Defianz vehicle (built by our college team) showcased it’s prowess at the ‘drag’ event. Besides, the event had bikes and cars zooming and zipping through the college streets at breakneck speeds, making the event pump adrenalin into the spectators’ senses. The engifest comprised of a panoply of other eye-grabbing events such as the ‘war of the DJs’(which had a pan-Indian approach and boasted of talented people from across the country), ‘Indian and western song competition’(where one got the opportunity to trill his way into the spectators’ ears),’Indian and western dance competition’(wherein the participants enthralled the audience with their lissome moves), ‘kavi sammelan’ (where one couldn’t help but kept rolling off his seat!), the ‘literary event’(where people were judged on their eloquence and oration skills) and other motley renditions which duly sated the cultural appetite. The last day of the fest was bejewelled by the charming presence of Bollywood singing sensation Neha Bhasin who cast a spell on the audience with her warbling voice. So it can proudly be said that our very own cultural Poseidon ended on a high and sanguine note.
