BITS Pilani, with a legacy of 60 glorious years is an Institute of Eminence (IoE) known globally for its excellence in teaching, research, innovation, focus on entrepreneurship, futuristic pedagogy and much more. On 02 Nov, 2002 a seed of this “educational legacy” was sown in the state of Goa, which began germinating in 2004 with a modest beginning of 562 students and 23 faculties. The highly qualified faculty and talented students with the able support from staff and the beautiful ambience of the magical state of Goa nurtured BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus and fuelled its growth for two decades. With more than 220 faculties, 4500 students, 245 staff members, 11500 graduates and 250 PhD degrees, the institute has achieved remarkable progress. The institute has produced two Unicorns for the country and many accomplished academicians and professionals in all walks of life.  

To reminisce in and relive this journey, from Nov 01 to 06, 2023, the Institute embarked on a year-long celebration, with a whirlwind of events. This included public lecture by Dr Jayant Murthy, a celebrated astrophysicist on the 01 Nov on an intriguing topic: “Nightfall: An Asimov Tribute or How I made it into Wikipedia”. He explored if the planetary system based on Isaac Asimov’s novel "Nightfall" is feasible, from the duration of the eclipse, the "invisibility" of the universe to the complex orbital dynamics. On November 2nd, the Vice Chancellor Prof. V Ramgopal Rao and Director of BITS Goa Prof. Suman Kundu inaugurated the Molecular and Structural Biology Laboratory as a part of the grand Bio-Cyber Physical Systems Technology Incubator Hub (BioCyTiH) Foundation. The duo, along with Dean Administration Prof. Meenal Kowshik, also inaugurated a newly developed Biodiversity Pavilion, showcasing the winged inhabitants of the Campus. This contains carefully curated photographs of birds taken on the Campus by its students, faculty members and their family members.

Another highlight of the celebration was the hosting of the 89th Annual Meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore from 02-05 Nov, co-hosted with National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, that included public lectures, talks and symposia by the Academy fellow and Associates including researchers from BITS Goa and NCPOR, public lecture by Dean D’Cruz, an eminent architect from Goa, on The Art and Science of Design and by Prof. Gurmeet Kaur, from Panjab University, Chandigarh, on The Saga of Laterite. As part of this event a teacher training program was also conducted on 02 Nov where 28 college and university teachers from Goa also participated along with teachers chosen from all over India.

On November 5th, a formal inaugural event graced by dignitaries such as VC and Directors, Deans, Former VCs, Former Directors, Senior Professors, Advisors to Chancellor, Heads of Educational Institutes of Goa was the hallmark of the celebrations, that showcased the history of the institute and its achievements.  

This was followed by the Open Day on November 6th. Faculty members and Research Scholars of all the Departments, faculty led start-ups, campus Incubators and special centres exhibited their research work/products/scientific experiments in the form of digital simulations, technology innovations, posters, videos and prototypes. Students' clubs (Society of Automotive Engineers, Aerodynamics Club, Electronics and Robotics Club, The Sandbox Lab of Prototyping, Art-N-Deco of celebratory decorations, Department of Photography, Project Kratos for the Mars Rover and others) exhibited their activities and products, as well. Various competitions (with exciting prizes), hackathons, design experiments, quizzes, debates, poetry, mathematics and science games were held on the campus for students and visitors. Departments exhibited their sophisticated instruments and models, display of unique facilities like green house, animal house and biomedical implants, herbariums, training session on Indian stock markets, posters on research or concepts of sciences, hall of fame, virtual tourism, live demonstration of chemical reactions and engineering experiments, mathematics of natural phenomena, reactors, image processing and 3D printing, observatory, advanced robotics. They also discussed career prospects with visitors.

Over 1000 students from different high schools and colleges gathered to experience the Open Day at BITS Goa campus. The Campus has become an integral part of Goa now, and plans to continue to develop more cohesive bonds throughout the year of 20 Years’ Celebration.