Kerala Startup Mission organized the sixth edition of the flagship event IEDC Summit  2022, bringing together Student Innovators and all other connected stakeholders under one umbrella. This year, the IEDC Summit was hosted by St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology, Palai on 05th March 2022. Student innovators from IEDCs exhibited their innovations at the IEDC Summit. Knowledge and skill development sessions were an integral part of the summit and the presence of corporate leaders provided students with an insight about the latest technology trends.

A series of technology tracks, brainstorming sessions, interactive community meet-ups and product exhibitions were organized in the summit. Representing our college, a group of 3 teachers and 11 students registered and participated in the event. Many eminent personalities shared their experiences regarding innovations and startups.

Msgr. (Dr.) Joseph Maleparambil, Chairman at SJCET Palai gave the welcome speech which was followed by a presidential address by Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, Bishop of Palai Diocese.  Shri. Saji Cherian, Minister for Fisheries, Harbor Engineering, Culture and Youth Affairs inaugurated the event and addressed the audience about the journey of  KSUM (Kerala Startup Mission).

Shri. John M Thomas, CEO of Kerala Startup Mission gave us a brief idea about what KSUM is, who is an entrepreneur and what do you mean by entrepreneurship. The next     part of the discussion was handled by the Chief Guest Dr. Rajasree M.S., Vice Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. She gave us an idea about IEDC and how a student in a college can engage in startups and become a good entrepreneur in the near future.

After the inaugural ceremony, there were talks by imminent personalities. These sessions were conducted in the Einstein Hall, St. Joseph’s Seminar Hall, St. Francis Seminar Hall and the Mother Teresa Hall simultaneously. Founders and CEOs of various world  renowned companies shared their experiences. These included Pradeep P S (CEO of  Farmers Fresh Zone), Georgey Jacob (Founder of Taught), Archana Gopinath (Founder & CEO of The Reading Room), etc. Some of these founders elaborated on how they collaborated with KSUM which provided them with the motivation to pursue  their ideas. The Wonder Woman Talk helped women understand how, being a woman entrepreneur is more convenient in this era compared to the last decade.

Parallel Workshops were conducted in the campus on Introduction to 3D printing & Design, VR Experience Zone and Fundamentals of Industrial Robotic Arm. Various communities like Google Developer Community, GDSC, etc. put up stalls for awareness and educated us on how useful joining such groups is, especially at the college level.

The best part was the Low Code Space or Learning Stations setup by the TinkerHub community. It consisted of various Frontend, Backend, GitHub and various other learning stations which helped students gain understanding on Flutter, Android Development, UI/UX, Designing and Cyber Security.

The IEDC Summit concluded with a Martial Arts show    by 3 time Guinness World Record holder Mr. Abheesh P Dominic. This was followed by the Prize Distribution and Award ceremony. The vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. Sarju S, Nodal Officer of IEDC SJCET. All participants from our college took part in all the sessions and gained valuable insights from the talks. All the great speakers inspired and influenced us by making a consequential impact. The summit helped us connect with people and opportunities to nurture ourselves by having a lot of fun.