True to the saying “Change is the Only Constant”, the past year for IRIS has been characterized by the commencement of new projects, various new feature introductions, and numerous modifications to all the products and services of the IRIS Team. As the year comes to a close, the time is ripe to reflect upon the significant accomplishments and extend our gratitude to all our stakeholders.
As NITK switched to its first full academic year in offline mode post the COVID-19 lockdown, the hostel room and mess allotment process to take place at the hostel office for approximately 6000 students was something that the entire NITK community wanted to avoid. The long cruel queues became a thing of the past in just a few weeks as the IRIS Team digitized the entire process completely. After innumerable iterations, the hostel module has taken a steady shape, to say the least. In view of the grave challenges faced during the entire journey, we would like to thank the Hostel Office, Students’ Council, Hostel Council, Taskforce, the students, and their parents for all their understanding and support.
The IRIS mobile app witnessed unprecedented growth with around 3000 new downloads. The most significant achievement has been the introduction of the iOS app thereby ensuring accessibility and convenience for all. The aim was to improve the student experience at NITK which has been accomplished through the introduction of various new modules such as the mess menu, freshers’ cup, etc.
Apart from the IRIS app and website, the team also undertook various other projects. In collaboration with the Centre for System Design (CSD), the team developed a working prototype of a mobile app to provide software support for Urja, NITK’s solar-powered charging station for e-mobility. The website of the Career Development Centre (CDC) was completely developed by the IRIS Team and inaugurated at the start of the placement season.
As always, the team members found immense satisfaction in engaging with the student community. A total of 5 students were recruited to intern with the web and app development teams as part of the Code-In 107 internship program. A Product Bootcamp was introduced by the Product Team as part of the recruitment process while the traditional tracks of Ruby on Rails and Flutter witnessed active participation. The “Intro to Systems” workshop conducted by the Systems team was also well received.
The credit goes to the team of developers, product managers, and the various team leads for their exceptional expertise, dedication, and commitment. We appreciate Dr. Sathyabodh M Kulkarni (Chairman, Management Information System (MIS)), Dr. Basavaraj Talawar (Faculty-in-Charge MIS Office), Dr. Gangadharan KV (Coordinator, CSD), and Dr. Manjunatha Sharma (Associate Dean Academic, UG) for their instrumental contribution towards incentivizing the team with a credits system through the recent modifications to the academic curriculum. A special thanks to Dr. Mohit P Tahiliani (IRIS Faculty Advisor) for his continuous guidance.
We also recognize and acknowledge the involvement of all our stakeholders – the Director, Deans, Registrar, Assistant Registrars, CDC, Central Computer Centre, the MIS Officers, and all the faculties and students of NITK. We shall remain indebted to our seniors and alumni mentors for their valuable mentorship. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Salman Shah (Tech Lead 2018-19) for sharing his IRIS experience with the team, providing perspective, and motivating the team during his visit to the NITK campus.
Looking ahead, there is a huge potential for further growth and the future looks very bright and optimistic to reach greater heights.
Signing off,
Guhan Sidharth M (Admin Lead 2022-23)
Sushanth Rao (Tech Lead 2022-23)
List of Projects and Modules
IRIS Website
Sl No.
Project/Module
Contributors
Status
1
Changes to Admission & Application Portal
Hrushikesh J, Guhan Sidharth M
Ongoing
2
Academic Certificates
Anirudh Prabhakaran, Ananya Chavali
Ongoing
3
Changes to Convocation Module
Sushanth Rao
Completed
4
Changes to Minor Degree Allocation Module
Gaurang Velingkar, Guhan Sidharth M
Completed
5
SBI ePay Integration & Changes to Fee Payment Module
