The two-day technical and cultural festival “Garuda’26” was inaugurated at Nandha Engineering College as part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations. The event aims to showcase students’ academic excellence, research capabilities, and artistic talents.
The festival was held under the leadership of Mr. V. Shanmugan, Chairman of the Sri Nandha Educational Trust. Mrs. Bhanumathi Shanmugan, Trustee of the Trust, inaugurated the event by lighting the traditional lamp. The function was attended by Joint Managing Trustees S. Nandakumar Pradeep and S. Thirumoorthy, College Principal Dr. U.S. Raghupathi, and Administrative Officer of Nandha Technical Campus, Mr. A.K. Velusamy.
On the first day, a 24-hour “Meckathon’26” was launched by the Interdisciplinary Research Centre of Nandha Engineering College in association with the Institution’s Innovation Council under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. A total of 120 students, divided into 30 teams from Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics, and other engineering disciplines, began developing innovative engineering and technology solutions as part of this continuous hackathon.
The projects and innovations presented by the student teams were evaluated over 24 hours by special judges including Prof. Dr. Abdul Rab Hanifa, Managing Director of Q-Bot Automation, Coimbatore; Dr. Abhishek Padej, Data Science Expert from ABB Global Industries, Bengaluru; and Mr. J. Vijayakumar, Head of Provacure Software Technologies, Erode.
Various competitions such as Robo Race, Short Film Making, Pulse Innova, Green Energy, and Word Play were also conducted across different departments. More than 1,200 participants from engineering and technology colleges across the state took part in these events. Winners of each competition were honored with prizes.
In the evening, a live music show was held featuring popular music event host Mr. Madhan DJ, where students enthusiastically sang and danced along with the performances.
On the second day, an exhibition showcasing more than 40 innovative student projects developed through research initiatives was inaugurated by Mr. Sivaraj Ramanathan, Executive Director of StartupTN (Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission), who attended as the chief guest and cut the ribbon to open the exhibition.
The exhibition featured unique innovations such as:
A potato harvesting design and application system
An IoT-based idol theft detection and alert system
An emergency life-saving device
An integrated hydroponic farming system
Robotic-assisted non-surgical removal of kidney and gallbladder stones
Smart glasses for the visually impaired
Smart city waste management solutions
A women’s safety device
The best innovations from the exhibition will be selected and supported in obtaining patents. Further assistance will also be provided to secure funding from investors to develop these innovations into commercial products, according to the press release.
Later in the evening, a grand cultural festival featuring well-known television and music personalities Karthik Devaraj, Pooja Venkat, Haripriya, R.K. Adithya, and Divakar will be held, with more than 4,000 students expected to participate enthusiastically.
The members of the Nandha Educational Institutions also expressed their appreciation and gratitude to Mr. K. Gunasekar, Head of the Student Welfare Department of Nandha Technical Campus; Dr. M.K. Moorthy, Head of the Students’ Affairs Department of the Engineering College; along with other professors, assistant professors, faculty members, and students who coordinated and organized the festival successfully.