Pune institute’s team wins Robocon 2012

Pune students have once again taken the lead in a national-level competition and proved why the city is known as the Oxford of the East.

Students from MAEER’s Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) beat Ahmedabad’s Nirma Institute of Technology to emerge victorious in robotics competition ‘Robocon 2012’. The winning team from the engineering college would now represent India at the International Robocon 2012 to be held in Hong Kong this year.

This is the second time that MIT Pune has won the prestigious event being organised jointly by Prasar Bharati and MAEER’s Maharashtra Academy of Engineering which is being organised since 2002.

“The theme for this year’s event was ‘Peng On Dai Gat’ which means in pursuit of peace and prosperity. The theme is based on the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, one of the traditional and most famous festivals of Hong Kong,’’ said Dr Milind Pande, convenor of Robocon India.

More than 70 engineering institutes including all IITs took part in Robocon 2012, a competition which brings engineers from different streams together towards a common game. The event provides an opportunity to all budding engineers to showcase their talent and take technology to new heights of innovation. The design and construction of robots, provides a real experience for faculties and future engineers.

“This contest gave way to creative ideas for research in robotics,’’ said Mukesh Sharma, director, Doordarshan Mumbai.

Dr John Chacko, chairman, Volkswagen India Limited, said a large number of engineering students should participate in such competitions as they help to supply technical manpower to industry. “This opens avenues for research and development and results in economic progress,’’ he said.