The first edition of the Annual All Kerala Antenna and Propagation Society Student’s Conclave (AKAPSSC’20) was conducted virtually from the 18th of September, 2020 to 20th of September, 2020. The event was jointly organized by the IEEE APS Student Branch Chapters of Kerala under the aegis of IEEE APS Kerala Section Chapter. The 5 student chapters are from Indian Institute of Space Sciences and Technology (IIST, Trivandrum) , Government Engineering College Barton Hill (GECBH, Trivandrum), Ahalia School of Engineering and Technology (ASET, Palakkad) , Musaliar College of Engineering Chirayinkeezhu (MCC, Trivandrum) and the newly formed SB Chapter at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT, Kochi). With more than 450 registered participants from all over India. The first edition of AKAPSSC was well received among students and academicians in the Antenna and Propagation Community. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation the conclave was held virtually via the Cisco Webex Online Conferencing Platform. This edition of the conclave featured online talk sessions and a panel discussion on relevant topics in a variety of fields in the antenna domain like RADARs, Metamaterials, Satellite Communication antennas, Energy Harvesting Technology and more, facilitated with the opportunity of direct interaction with domain experts.
The 3 day conclave was inaugurated by Dr Yahia M.M Antar, IEEE APS Global President Elect on 18th September 2020 in an inaugural session that was also graced by the presence of eminent dignitaries like Dr Jawad Y Siddiqui IEEE APS Region 10 head, Dr P Abdulla Present IEEE APS Kerala Section Chapter Chair and former Chairs of IEEE APS Kerala Section Chapter, Dr P Mohanan (Founding Chair 2014-15) , Dr C K Aanandan (2016-17) and Dr Chinmoy Saha (2018-19). The Inaugural ceremony also saw the inauguration of the IEEE APS CUSAT SB Chapter by Dr Yahia M.M Antar himself. The first session following the inauguration was a talk by Dr P Mohanan Coordinator of Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR), CUSAT on the indigenously developed, World’s first 205 MHz ‘ST RADAR at Cochin’.
Day 2 (19th September 2020) began with a talk by Dr Saptarshi Ghosh, (IIT, Indore) on ‘Metamaterials and their Applications in Microwave Devices’. It was followed by a Panel Discussion on ‘Roadmaps and Milestones towards a successful Research Journey: An Antenna Engineer’s Perspective’. The panel was moderated by Dr Chinmoy Saha (IIST, Tvm) and was joined by Dr Yahia M.M Antar (IEEE APS President Elect, Royal Engineering College of Canada) Dr Jawad Y Siddiqui (IEEE APS Region 10 Head, Radiophysics and Electronics-University of Calcutta & Royal Military College of Canada ), Dr S.Ghosh (IIT Indore) and Dr Debdeep Sarkar (IISC, Bangalore) in a highly productive discussion that addressed many of the concerns and doubts regarding research in the antenna domain from the participants. The third and the final day of the conclave (20th September, 2020) started with a talk on ‘Antennas for Energy Harvesting Systems’ by Dr Nasimuddin, IEEE APS Singapore Section Chapter Vice Chair and Scientist III at Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore. The second talk was on ‘Antennas for Satellite Tracking’ by Dr Sandip Sankar Roy of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
After 3 days of bringing together the Antenna and Propagation community to a summit where priceless knowledge and wisdom was disseminated by the stalwarts in the field, the first edition of the All Kerala APS Students Conclave officially came to an end on 20th September 2020. Former APS Kerala Chapter Chairs Dr C K Aanandan and Dr Chinmoy Saha and other dignitaries present including APS Kerala Chapter Secretary Arijit Mitra (VSSC) and Dr Raghavan (NIT, Trichy) congratulated the organizing committee on the successful completion of the event. Student Chairs of the SB Chapters, Elizabeth George (IIST, Tvm), Edwin Muriyaden Wilson (CUSAT, Kochi), Swapnil Sinha (GEC, Barton Hill), Ushmala B (ASET, Palakkad) and Subhana T.B (MCC, Tvm) spoke at the ceremony thanking all the dignitaries, participants and members of the organizing team who helped turned this conclave into a successful endeavour. The Advisory Committee including Dr. Abdulla P, Chair IEEE APS Kerala Chapter (CUSAT, Kochi) , Dr. Chinmoy Saha, APS Faculty Advisor (IIST,Tvm), Dr. Anu Muhammed, APS Faculty Advisor (GEC, Barton Hill), Dr. Deepti Das Krishna SB Counsellor (CUSAT), Dr.Krishna Kumar Kishor, APS Faculty Advisor ( ASET, Palakkad) and Dr. Asmin M.K., APS Faculty Advisor( MCC, Trivandrum) were especially remembered for their constant support and inspiration throughout.
