The Women in Power community of IEEE PES Kerala Chapter triumphantly organized ‘Orion 2.0’, the second edition of our signature event Orion, exclusively for all the IEEE and IEEE PES Student members across IEEE Kerala Section. The 6-day virtual technical extravaganza was scheduled from 27th May 2021 -1st June 2021 and aimed to provide a platform for the students to exhibit their technical, leadership, and soft skills among the members within every IEEE student branch.

The event comprised 20 competitions, divided into four main categories-Maissa, Bellatrix, Rigel, and Saiph, which showcase the diverse skillsets. A prize pool of ₹30,000/- is awarded for the winners of the competitions. Registration fees were introduced for the students to participate in various bouts. The event received overwhelming registrations of over 1300 due to the incomparable efforts of the PES Student Team, WiP Representatives, and Student Branch Representatives.

Two of the events also had collaborators where we featured the branding of their firm/company in the poster of Orion 2.0 as a token of gratitude. T-horizons and Blusteak served as the collaborators for the events, Mock Interview and Sell Me a Pen, respectively.

The Grand curtain-raiser for Orion 2.0 was conducted on 27th May 2021at 5:30 PM (IST), graced by the presence of the Chief Guests – Dr. Thiago Ribeiro de Alencar (Chairperson, IEEE PES CSAC) and Ms. Simay Akar (Chairperson, IEEE PES Young Professionals). Successively, the closing Ceremony of Orion 2.0 was organized on 1st June 2021 at 6.00 PM (IST), helmed by the Chief Guests, Ms. Mercy Chelangat (Women in Power Lead, IEEE PES Region 8) and Dr. Shay Bahramirad (VP of New Initiative and Outreach, IEEE PES). Both the events were also honoured by the presence of Er. Suhair A K (Chairperson, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter), Dr. Sobha Manakkal (Vice-Chair, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter), Er. Ajith Gopi (Vice-Chair, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter), Dr. Boby Philip (Secretary, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter), Dr. Nafeesa K (WiP Activity Coordinator, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter), Er. Staji Wilson (Sub-Regional Representative, IEEE PES WiP), Er. K S Saran (Student Activity Coordinator, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter), Er. Anandhu S Kumar (Activity Coordinator, IEEE PES YP Kerala), Er. Anish M S (Global Relation Coordinator, IEEE PES YP Kerala), Er. Shyam Pradeep Alil (Industrial Engagement and Entrepreneurship Coordinator, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter) and Ms. Raneena Raoof (VSAC-Malabar Hub, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter).

The Overall Champions of ORION 2.0 were separated into 3 categories-large, medium, and small based on the member count of each IEEE Student Branch college. In the Large category, the first position was bagged by ASIET Kalady, whereas the second and third positions were awarded to RSET Kochi and CE Chengannur, respectively. In the Medium category, the first position was bagged by GEC Thrissur, whereas the second and third positions were awarded to VJCET Ernakulum and RIT Kottayam, respectively. Lastly, in the Small category, the first position was bagged by SIMAT Palakkad and the second position was shared by CE Adoor and MESCE Kuttipuram, and finally, the third position was bagged by CE Cherthala.