Here’s a selection of interesting stuff happening in Indian colleges these days: (Smriti Irani, we hope you take note).

1. ACYUT – BITS Pilani

The student community of BITS Pilani not only created India’s first humanoid but also earned laurels for India at International RoboGames 2009.

Might we add, the yellow stress ball seems like a cute spin-off of Wall-E.

Source: Sahil Engineering

2. IIT Kanpur’s own airstrip for aeronautical engineering students

What do you do when you do not have an airport in the vicinity for your aeronautical engineering students to use? You build one, of course.

The airstrip now also helps companies visit the town for recruitment. Some of the company professionals who have used this route to visit campus are known to have uttered the words, ‘The name’s Bond. James Bond’ after disembarking and putting on stylish shades.

Source: Wikipedia

3. MICAVAANI – MICA

The students of MICA got fed up of the local radio and took it upon themselves to change the radio scene in the idyllic Shela village.

MICAVAANI was thus born in 2005, a student run radio channel that transmits upto 7 kms from the college.The station caters to 4 villages and has collaborated with UNICEF in the past. We suggest you to give them a try at 90.4 FM if you’re in and around Shela.

Source: Mica

4. TANSTAAFL Café – IIM Ahmedabad

The mecca of management studies in India ensures that no opportunity for learning management principles is lost.

The 24 hour café at IIM A is thus aptly named after Nobel Laureate’s Milton Friedman’s book, ‘There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch’. The name cautions its patrons that spending too much leisurely time at the 24-hour café may come at the cost of poor grades in classes.

Source: IIM Ahmedabad

5. HR Manager – SRCC Delhi

SRCC is known to conduct a rigorous simulation with industry mentors wherein they demand certain requirements from students and check their tact. The one who’s most convincing wins the contest.

The apprentice with an Indian twist. 😉

Source: Fuccha

6. Abhyudaya, SP Jain Mumbai

A unique mentorship program wherein all first year MBA students are required to mentor underprivileged kids (they call them ‘Sitaras’) from neighboring government schools for an year. It is a mandatory for all first year students to participate as it is a graded 1.5 credit course.

Charity, it seems, now begins at B-school.

Source: Slideshare

7. Solaris, Delhi Technological University

While most of us were still driving around in our petrol/diesel cars, a bunch of students at DCE (now DTU) are said to be credited with creating India’s first indigenous car back in 2007.

The team also developed Solar rickshaw and other car models few years ago. The drivers of the car are known to feel like ‘David Hasselhoff’ from Knight Rider.

Source: Solaris

8. Bhooklagi, IIM Kozhikode

A student run delivery service that supplies food to the lazy bums on ‘Kampus’. The venture is owned by a team of PGP students who handle the entire operations, marketing and finance of the firm.

And as part of tradition, each year the venture is up for auction for juniors to take over and run. The below psychedelic cat is its symbol.

Source: Bhook Lagi

9. Merchants of Delhi, FMS

Each year the first year students are divided in teams of 14 and given Rs. 500 per team to maximize in 6 hours. The teams had garnered over Rs. 1 lakh in 6 hours last year with an initial sum of less than 7500 rupees. 11X+ return in 6 hours? Shut up and take my money.

Source: Fuccha

10. Rural Immersion Program, IIM Indore

IIM Indore is the only institute that offers a week long rural immersion program in addition to summer internships. Introduced in 2008, the students go on a week-long trip to MP hinterlands. Students interact with locals and it sensitizes them to how the system works at zilla parishad and panchayat level.

Source: Inside IIM

11. Illumina, MDI Gurgaon

Disguised Marketing Research is a very niche area of expertise, something that MDI Gurgaon has been familiar with over the last 20 years through its rural and urban initiatives partnering with huge brands like Coca-Cola, Airtel, Flipkart, Mahindra in the past. The club’s alumni are now VPs, senior marketing professionals at various MNCs. It’s not a surprise then that the club is only 2 letters of ‘Illuminati’ ;).

Drop by and see the urban Illumina live on 8th November between 2-8 pm at the MDI, Gurgaon campus.