Apr 08, 2024
NIT Calicut hosts the 17th edition of FOSSMeet
The 17th edition of FOSSMeet, India's longest-running Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) conference, unfolded its potential at NIT Calicut. Over the course of three days, the event shed light on the significance of Open Source Software through keynote addresses delivered by Mr. Manoj N Palat, Engineering Lead at IBM and NITC alumnus, and Mr. Rajagopalan Anayath, System Analyst (Retd.), NITC.
Notable figures in the FOSS community such as Dr. Virendra Singh, Mr. Pirate Praveen, Dr. Sunil Thomas, Mr. Subin Siby, and Mr. Het Joshi, representing various domains and industries, graced the occasion.
A diverse array of FOSS-related topics were explored, including Open Source Entrepreneurship led by Ms. Shobhankita Reddy, Professional Investment Analyst, and an Introduction to Trust Lab by Palak Chopra, intern at IITB Trust Lab. Birds of a Feather (BOF) sessions towards the conclusion of the event provided a platform for speakers and participants to exchange knowledge and experiences on free and open-source software and technologies. An introduction to Devika AI, one of the most trending projects in the open-source realm, was presented by its creator, Mr. Mufeedh V H.
The event witnessed active participation from over 150 attendees. The participants attended lectures and immersive hands-on workshops spanning six hours each. These workshops delved into cutting-edge topics such as Large Language Models (LLMs), Godot game development, Rust Programming, and FastAPI.
A noteworthy highlight of FOSSMeet was the launch of the latest Malayalam Unicode Character Set, Poorna, by the Swathanthra Malayalam Community (SMC). Additionally, SMC curated an archive of all IT@School GNU/Linux distributions and their ISOs, preserving a rich legacy.
As the curtains drew to a close, Mr. Mohamed Afthab E K, Secretary of FOSSCell NITC, delivered a closing speech, extending an invitation to all attendees to reconvene for FOSSMeet'25 next year
