FOSSDay 2024: Event Summary
Overview
FOSSDay 2024 was a landmark event at St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology, marking the official launch of Nexus, a new FOSS club inspired by the late Abraham Raji. Raji, a passionate advocate of Free Software, left a legacy that champions openness, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. FOSSDay 2024 embraced these values, bringing together students, educators, and tech enthusiasts for a day dedicated to open-source culture, community building, and skill development.
Inauguration Highlights
The event began with a powerful speech from Prof. Sarju S, who recounted the journey of Nexus and the lasting impact of Abraham Raji on the college’s open-source community. He emphasized how Raji’s vision of curiosity-driven learning and mentorship became foundational pillars of Nexus. The college manager, Rev. Fr. Mathew Korampuzha, followed with reflections on the ethos of “free” in free software, highlighting the dedication of contributors who make this software possible. Fr. Mathew underscored the importance of gratitude and responsibility within the open-source community, encouraging attendees to build software with care and respect.
Abid Aboobaker from Tinkerhub gave an inspiring talk on the significance of FOSS communities and the unique learning opportunities they offer, from real-world problem-solving to skill-building. Abid and Subin Siby (Kochi FOSS) led a symbolic inauguration of Nexus through a live GitHub pull request, transforming the traditional ceremony into a real-time display of collaborative coding. This unique kickoff underscored the open-source values of community and shared development.
Featured Talks
The event included a series of insightful talks:
- Subin Siby (Kochi FOSS) - Presented “Swathantra Software,” discussing the philosophical and practical values of free software. Subin highlighted the importance of digital rights and user empowerment, drawing connections to real-world impacts of software freedom and how young developers can contribute to this movement.
- Panel on Prav App - Founders Ambady Anand S and Badri Sunderarajan shared the journey of developing Prav, a privacy-centered application rooted in FOSS principles. The discussion covered user privacy, ethical development, and how to balance functionality with security.
- Govind on “Entropix” - Explored cutting-edge AI optimization, showcasing how minor adjustments can lead to significant performance gains. Govind’s talk highlighted the power of open-source collaboration in accelerating innovation across the AI community.
Project Showcases
FOSSDay 2024 also featured standout projects by students that demonstrated the potential of open-source innovation:
- Milan Suman & Goutham Sreeram SB: Showcased a custom web browser built from the ground up with a focus on developer-friendly tools and privacy. This browser integrates AI capabilities that run locally, ensuring data privacy while offering powerful assistive features for developers and general users.
- Aibel Bin Zacaria: Presented his research on brain-computer interfacing, highlighting how brain signals can be converted into computer commands. His live demonstration captivated the audience, illustrating both the current capabilities and the exciting potential applications in assistive technology.
Workshops
A set of afternoon workshops provided hands-on learning experiences for participants of all skill levels:
- DevOps & CI/CD with GitHub Actions (Alwin John, Frontend Engineer and GitHub Campus Expert): Alwin guided attendees through GitHub Actions setup and usage, emphasizing its automation power for modern CI/CD workflows. Participants learned practical skills to implement CI/CD in their projects, earning positive feedback for the session’s clarity and applicability.
- 3D Web Development with Three.js (Sanu K. Joseph): Sanu introduced participants to 3D elements in web design, covering key concepts of Three.js like scenes, cameras, lighting, and interactivity. His accessible approach equipped attendees to explore 3D development in web projects.
- Intro to Git (Reenphy George): Designed for beginners, this workshop led attendees through Git basics, including creating repositories, forking, and essential commands like commit and push. This hands-on introduction demystified version control, preparing participants for future open-source contributions.
- Docker & DevOps Basics (Advaith Narayanan): Advaith covered Docker’s fundamentals, from installation to container management, and introduced participants to CI/CD in DevOps. The session included a demonstration on creating a personal home server, inspiring attendees to experiment with Docker in their own environments.
Conclusion
FOSSDay 2024 was more than an event; it was a celebration of open-source values and the power of community. Honoring the memory of Abraham Raji, Nexus successfully created an inclusive space for learning and collaboration, uniting students and tech enthusiasts under a common mission of fostering open-source culture. With overwhelmingly positive feedback, FOSSDay 2024 laid a solid foundation for Nexus to continue Raji’s legacy and inspire future generations at St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology.