ZIRO, SEP 7:
Saint Claret College (Autonomous), Ziro (SCCZ), in collaboration with the FOSSEE Project of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, organised a national-level workshop on opportunities in open-source technologies and an awareness programme on the FOSSEE Project at the college campus here on Monday.
The programme was organised under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), Ministry of Education, Government of India, in hybrid mode.
Students and faculty members of SCCZ and Nealam Taram Government College, Yachuli, participated in person, while others joined online.
Lower Subansiri Deputy Commissioner Oli Perme attended the programme as chief guest, while Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) Dean, Environmental Sciences, Prof Sailajananda Saikia, was the Guest of Honour.
IIT Bombay experts introduced participants to various opportunities under the FOSSEE Project. FOSSEE National Coordinator, Space and Geospatial (NMEICT), and Senior Research Scientist, IIT Bombay, Dr Mohamed Kasim Khan, highlighted internship opportunities and announced a National Geospatial Internship opportunity for SCCZ students, subject to the prescribed screening process.
Dr Khan said SCCZ was the first institute in Arunachal Pradesh to organise a FOSSEE programme, describing it as an important step towards promoting open-source technologies and knowledge-sharing in the Northeast.
He also announced SCCZ’s recognition at the National Geospatial Awards 2026 (Edition 03), jointly organised by the FOSSEE Project, IIT Bombay, and the Rural Data Research and Analysis (RuDRA) Lab under NMEICT. SCCZ received the Best College National Award (Outreach) for its outreach and capacity-building efforts in Arunachal Pradesh. Dr Vajana Thakuria, Head of the Department of Geography (PG), SCCZ, was also conferred the National Geospatial Faculty Fellow Award (Geospatial Outreach).
The technical sessions provided hands-on exposure to a range of open-source technologies. FOSSEE Principal Investigator and IIT Bombay Department of Aerospace Engineering faculty member Prof Prabhu Ramachandran gave an overview of the FOSSEE Project, while Senior Project Manager Usha Viswanathan spoke on FOSSEE activities and opportunities through the Knowledge Centre Connect.
Other sessions covered Open Source Hardware, Internet of Things (IoT) and Arduino on Cloud; Python programming; Open Source Animation and the Free and Open Source Creative Art Library (FOCAL); Scilab Scientific Computing; e-Sim (Open Source Electronic Simulation); OpenFOAM for Computational Fluid Dynamics; Koha Library Automation; and space and open-source geospatial technologies.
The workshop exposed students and faculty members to practical applications of open-source technologies while providing avenues for internships, capacity building, academic collaboration and skill development.
