Asterion: Day 1

Amidst the gloomy monsoons of Manipal, KMC brings forth Asterion, a vibrant academic fest spanning over 4 days from 23rd -26th August 2018. With a better than modest crowd for the first-ever academic fest of KMC, the T.M.A Pai Hall 3 was buzzing with energy as Dharini and Abhishek of KMC started off with a brief introduction of Asterion. It is the brainchild of 3 student clubs of KMC, namely Tempus Pretioso (the in-house Emergency Medicine club), Justitia (the Forensic Medicine club) and Cutting Edge (the Surgical Society). This was followed by a small, soulful incantation rendered by the students of KMC and the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Dr. Pragna Rao, the Dean of KMC and other faculty members of KMC. Picking up the pace, each student club was introduced by their respective Presidents, Tempus Pretioso headed by Vinaayak Mehta, Justitia headed by K.P. Ashwin and Cutting Edge headed by Adithi Shankar. Also present were the faculty advisors of these clubs, Dr. Ramya Kumar, Dr. Vikram Palimar and Dr. Vivek Pandey. To conclude the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Pragna Rao and Dr. Vikram Palimar graced the audience with their encouraging words, thus inspiring students to strive for conceptual knowledge and learn beyond the books.

Compos Mentis: Compos Mentis is a national level forensics quiz conducted by Justitia. It is designed to test the contestants’ knowledge of forensic medicine, toxicology and of course, their interpretation of cases. The rounds were intense, questions grueling and competition fierce. Round one consisted of 50 multiple choice questions with a time limit of 60 minutes. Round two involved solving problems based on medical cases, ranging from accidents to poisoning and homicide, all within a span of 1.5 hours.

Criminology Workshop: Day one of Asterion was served a main course of crime drama with an appetizer of medical mystery and curiosity at the Department of Forensic Medicine. Justitia, the only forensic medicine club of its kind in the country organized a criminology workshop for the delegates of Asterion in association with the Roshni Nilaya College of Social work. With the assistance of the Postgraduate students of the college, an entire crime scene was set up meticulously considering every detail and based on real-life situations, complete with a dead body played by a member of the club itself. The dedication of the member who lay in the position for more than two hours without the slightest movement was highly appreciated by all the participants of the workshop. The participants were taken through a journey of appropriate reactionto a suspected scene of crime, assessment and sample collection from the crime scene. The workshop covered even the minutest details including proper steps of measurements and packaging of the collected evidence. Lastly, the workshop ended with a seminar on Fingerprint collection examination and interpretations. The participants appeared very keen and shot constant questions at the abled presenters who were well equipped for the interactive session. The hard work and perfectionism of the members of the club under the able guidance of the event head Mr. Ashwin Thaliyil seemed to have paid off in terms of appreciation and applause. A lot of teams were seen interacting with the coordinators to gain inputs in setting up similar clubs and organizing similar workshops at their colleges too.

Fastest Brains: In the life of a medical professional, making decisions will have far-reaching consequences on the lives of others. This was the premise of the ‘Fastest Brains’, an event by Tempus Pretioso where participants in teams of three were put in high-pressure situations where their decisions led to numerous consequences in a kind of butterfly effect where all their choices affect the end result, much like real life. This unique insight into the life of doctors was a learning experience for the budding medical professionals and showcased the challenges faced by them on a daily basis.

Enigma: The adrenaline rush of solving puzzles has made mystery rooms around the world a massive hit. This concept was given a medical twist by cutting edge in their event ‘ENIGMA’ where the lecture halls that are the inescapable prison in a student’s life were literally converted into inescapable rooms with clues strewn about the hall. The participants entered in teams of three and deciphered the hints and solved them to escape in under 20 minutes. Cracking the clues needed the participants to reflect on all they have learned in the course of their degree and more, with some hints being provided optionally. The event was a fun way for the participants to conclude their first day of Asterion.

Written by- Rohan Basak, Vinay Reddy, Rupa Neelakantan, Shrey Srivastava

Photographer- Nithin Davuluri, Bhavesh Varandani

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