COEP's Abhishta Ceremony: A Confluence of Tech, Social Work, and Innovation

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Pune, 9th October 2023: The College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) hosted the Abhishta ceremony, organized by its social initiative Spandan, from 3rd to 8th October. The event took place in the Mini Auditorium of COEP and was graced by a host of dignitaries from various sectors.

Dignitaries in Attendance

Among the chief guests were Dr. Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman of NETF, NAAC & NBA; Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World; Shravan Hardikar IAS, Managing Director of Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation; Sudhir Hiremath IPS (Deputy Inspector General – DIG of Police CBI Pune); Dr. Amol Shinde ICLS (PS to Chief Minister of Maharashtra); Prof. S.D. Agashe (Vice Chancellor COEP Tech University), Spandan and COEP alumnus Hrushikesh Sagar (Sr. Director @Tesla Motors) and Sneha Nagrale (Social Entrepreneur).

Spandan 2.0 Unveiled

Hrishikesh Humbe, the founder of Spandan, shared the 20-year journey of the initiative, which began in COEP in 2003. Humbe introduced Spandan 2.0, expressing the desire to expand the scope of their social work to include other colleges.

Expert Insights

Dr. Anil Sahasrabuddhe commended the Spandan team for their new initiative, Spandan 2.0, and discussed innovative changes in the technical education system. Dr. Ganesh Natarajan emphasized the importance of scaling up to create a real social impact, sharing stories from his own LightHouse project.

Voices for Social Change

Pradeep Bhargava spoke on the social responsibility of the corporate world, while DIG Sudhir Hiremath inspired the audience with stories of social work in remote areas. Dr. Amol Shinde discussed grassroots-level changes being implemented by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Awards and Recognition

The ceremony also featured the presentation of two inaugural awards: the “Shakuntala Patade Best Woman Entrepreneur” award went to Mukta Narvekar, founder of BELIEF, and the “Best Social Venture” award was given to Santosh Phad, founder of ThinkSharp Foundation.