TEJAS 2K24: The Day 140 Student Ideas Walked Into the Real World
On January 28, 2024, something quietly remarkable happened at Anurag University. One hundred and forty student projects walked out of classrooms and labs and into the real world not as assignments, not as presentations, but as actual working solutions to actual human problems. TEJAS 2K24 wasn't just an expo. It was proof that when you give engineering students a problem worth solving, they show up in ways that surprise even themselves.
A Room Full of Ideas That Could Change Things
Inaugurated at Dr. Abdul Kalam Hall, TEJAS 2K24 drew students, faculty, industry experts, and school children from both private and government institutions all gathering to witness what Anurag's students had been quietly building. The projects on display weren't theoretical exercises. They were answers to questions that matter. A Smart EV Campus Mobility Car offering pollution-free commutes for over 100 km on a single charge. An AI-Based Smart Podium that automatically adjusts height and microphone settings for speaker comfort. A Low-Cost Cloth Dryer built for everyday households. An IoT-based Smart Cradle System designed to give parents peace of mind. An Anurag Operating System a student-built, low-cost alternative to Microsoft Windows. Smart Toilets, Exoskeleton Chairs for industrial workers, a Hybrid Floor Cleaning Machine, and a Smart Dustbin that thinks for itself. Every project on that floor started with one student asking what if we could fix this?
Conversations That Pushed Students Further
TEJAS 2K24 also featured a panel discussion on Exploring Experiential Learning for Startup Innovation, bringing together voices that students don't often get to hear from in a classroom setting. Prof. William Oakes, Sateesh Andra, and Shanta Thoutam shared perspectives that went beyond textbooks on entrepreneurship, on impact, and on the kind of thinking that turns a good idea into something real. Prof. Oakes put it simply great ideas can come from anywhere, at any time. All you need is the habit of paying attention. For many students in that room, it was the kind of conversation that shifts something.
What TEJAS Really Meant
As Prof. Balaji Utla, Registrar of Anurag University, noted TEJAS gave students a platform to take theoretical knowledge and turn it into solutions that serve people. That's a deceptively simple idea, but it's one that most engineering programmes struggle to deliver on. TEJAS 2K24 did it with 140 projects, a hall full of curious school children, and a group of students who discovered that engineering feels completely different when what you're building actually matters.
This was the first TEJAS. It won't be the last.
Want to be part of what Anurag University is building next? Your ideas belong here.
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