As companies in IT parks in Kerala prepare to resume work from office, FAYA:80, a popular technology knowledge community hosted the first major meet-up since the outbreak of the pandemic in Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram. The ninety-first edition of FAYA:80 was held in the park’s Thejaswini building on Wednesday and went on till the early hours of Thursday. Out of 300 registrations received, 280 participated, a spokesperson said. Management heads of various companies in Technopark also joined in.

Pandemic puts a halt

The pandemic had put a halt to the event in the past two years. With Technopark leading the way, Nasscom will host its own event in Infopark in Kochi on May 18, and at CAFIT in Cyberpark, Kozhikode, on May 25 under different themes. The spokesperson said all IT Parks in Kerala intend to hold such an event, with diverse themes, every month, going forward

FAYA:80 saw Gautam ST, Director, Gyanoholic International, and Koshy P Vaidyan, CEO, Trivandrum Engineering Research Park, lead from the front. The session themed ‘Driving disruption - Catching the new wave of electric vehicles’ sought to demystify electric vehicle (EV) technology and explore topics such as the role of IT in new-age cars, simulation and AI in Evs, research opportunities, EV Infrastructure in India and start-up prospects, among others.

Accelerated learning

Deepu S Nath, Managing Director of Faya Innovations, a US company based out of Technopark, said there has been a need for accelerated learning across all sectors to cope with the new normal. As an enabler of digital transformation, the IT Industry cannot afford any further delay in reigniting the knowledge-sharing platforms.

“This insight propelled us to show the way with the relaunch of FAYA:80”, said Nath. Post-event engagements and networking play a key role in the knowledge-sharing process. Hence, there has been a popular demand from technology enthusiasts to restart in-person sessions.

Inspirational get-together

Though most companies required their administration and support staff to work from office, engineering staff continued to work from home over the past two years. This was the first time a large group of software engineers gathered at the park in a long time.

Tina James, CEO, Reverie Global, said it is encouraging to see FAYA:80, a forum that captures our shared passion for learning, back with an in-person event. Events such as this will certainly inspire the Technopark community to slowly return to office through a hybrid work model.

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