Of 150 registered with prestigious Indian Institute of Sciences Alumni Association, only four have confirmed their participation in corporate relay to be held on Monday
Of 150 registered with prestigious Indian Institute of Sciences Alumni Association, only four have confirmed their participation in corporate relay to be held on Monday
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The relay has been organised to gather funds for the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Companies like Motorola say it is exorbitant Rs 25,000 being charged as registration fee that is to blame for the poor participation.
The second edition of the Science and Technology Run hosted by the Alumni Association of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore on April 11 will feature a new event aimed solely at attracting participants from major corporate houses. Each participating company is required to pay Rs 25,000 as registration fees.
Students of Center for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning (CISTUP), IISC, participated in a bicycle rally earlier this month to create awareness about global warming in the city. |
The main aim of the IISc, according to Deepak Malani, the head of the Alumni Association, is to attract more people towards the world of science.
The organisers expect around 150 major multinational companies like Oracle, Toyota, Samsung, IBM, Google and Philips to attend the relay. These companies, have however, not confirmed their participation.
"Yes, for now only four have been officially registered. However, over the next few days we expect more participants. This year, we expect at least 20 teams to participate in the relay," said Malani.
However, Gopal Chandra Halder, the operations manager of Motorola, and a former student of the IISc, said, "I find that the corporate relay is too expensive. It's just not worth it. However, I am looking forward to participating in the other events."
Last year's event, according to the IISc, was a huge success with about 900 participants showing up for the event.
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The event generated Rs 4 lakh. The money was used to cover the organising expenses for the event.
Everything from the ambulance on standby, the water bottles and free T-shirts that was handed out to participants. This year, the IISc team expects to repeat its success.
20
The number of participants expected by organisers for the corporate relay at the IISc alumni event on Sunday
900
The number of participants who turned up at the IISc alumni event last year
Rs 4 lakh
The amount generated at the last IISc alumni event last year
Rs 2,500
The registration fee for participating in the corporate relay in the IISc alumni event this year