Print Olympiad 2024 – South Zone Inaugurated

24 January 2024: Sixth edition of Print Olympiad, India’s biggest talent hunt in printing and the only competition of its kind anywhere in the world, is in progress these days. The first round of competition for the students currently studying in printing institutions of South India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Lakshadweep and Puducherry) was organised at virtual platform on 21 January.

As per standard norms, to select the top student of each of the four zones (North, South, East and West), the regional level competition is to be organized online and will be organised under the supervision of two regional coordinators. The regional coordinators will organise one or two rounds of online competition(s) to select top three to five students of the region. The final round to select the top student of the region, will be organised in the physical mood, under the supervision of a national team where these/five students will have to speak on a given topic for a specific time. This will also involve votes from the audience present on the occasion to get the ‘Top Print Student’ of the Region. After completing the regional competitions, the national finale will be organised in the physical mood at a leading university/institution in the presence of International Jury. 

Prof. Kamal Chopra is the brain of the Print Olympiad concept. He conceived the idea of Print Olympiad to drill out the best brains among the printing students and award them handsomely. First prize is Rs 1,00,000. Speaking about the necessity of Print Olympiad, Chopra gave a quick brief about the objectives of Print Olympiad, which is to give opportunities to students of printing to highlight their technical knowledge and their technology-readiness.

South Zone competitions are hosted by Anna University Guindy, Chennai and AGP, Sivakasi. The south Zone coordinators for Print Olympiad are Dr. M. Nandakumar, Principal, Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic College, Sivakasi and Dr. M. Kanchana, Associate Professor, Dept. of Printing Technology, College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University, Chennai. This unique event has attracted the attention of the students all over the India to join in Printing Courses. The South Zone attracted considerable number of contestants of around 13 participants in Diploma category and twenty-seven participants in Engineering category.

Chief Co-ordinator Dr. TKS Lakshmi Priya, Academic Consultant spoke about the concept and significance of Print Olympiad. She briefly explained the rules and regulations for the participants to appear in the exam through online. She introduced the Chief Guest and Guest of Honor. Chief Guest S. Mohan Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Prakash Flexibles (P) Ltd. addressed the audience by his enthusiastic motivational speech.

The judges analysed the results and declared five students eligible for the next round. Announcing the named of these students, Prof. Kamal Chopra said that the top five best contestants of the first round include two students from Diploma category and three are from Engineering category. All these are now eligible to participate in the regional finale to be held in physical mood. These students are Janis D and Praveen Kumar M S both from Anna University, Guindy, Chennai; B Madhumitha from Avinashillingam University, Coimbatore; Dinesh Kiruthik G from Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic, Sivakasi and Sreesankar E from Govt. Polytechnic College, Palakkad, Shoranur.