The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has won the National Inter-College Crossword Expedition (NICE-22) 2022 contest by securing 180 marks in the final tally. The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (SABVMCRI) Bengaluru stood first and second runners up with 160 and 120 marks, respectively. The two-day grand finale of the inaugural NICE-22 was held on August 8 and 9.
The contest went through two stages – the first an online individual round and the second of five offline zonal finals involving teams of two students each from top-performing institutes. The five zonal finals were held in Guwahati (Northeast), Patna (East), New Delhi (North), Pune (West) and Bangalore (South). There were a total of 16 teams from institutes of higher education across India that participated in the contest to compete for the National Crossword Champion trophy of the three-stage contest that started with a Practice Round on April 2.
The competition started with a pen and paper round followed by Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav round for all the qualified teams. The top nine teams who scored the most, in both the initial rounds were qualified for the quarter-final rounds. A total of six teams qualified for the semi-finals and they were the IIT Delhi, Nalanda College of Engineering, Chandi; Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore; IIM Kozhikode, and SABVMCRI Bangalore.
The teams qualified for the grand finale were the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore; Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, Government Engineering College, Vaishali; Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore; IIT Delhi; Delhi University (DU), RV College of Engineering, Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode; Nalanda College of Engineering, Chandi; Hansraj College, Scholar's Institute of Technology and Management, Guwahati; SABVMCRI Bangalore; MCE Society's Allana College of Pharmacy, Pune and Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida.
The inaugural event was held on August 8 and it was graced by Vivek Kumar Singh, IAS, Development Commissioner, Bihar, Professor Rajive Kumar, Member Secretary, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Ramki Krishnan, National Crossword Champion cum Chief Arbiter, NICE 22.
The event was officially inaugurated by Chief Guest Professor Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman AICTE urging the students to take up crosswords so as to increase their vocabulary of words, helping them in their careers and life. He also talked about the schemes of AICTE particularly the Pragati Scheme for Girls, Saksham for the disabilities and Swanath for the martyrs, widows and children whose parents expired from Covid. The competition was conducted by Alan B Cowell, Quiz Master NICE-22.
Harshul Sagar and Arush Utkarsh from IIT Delhi secured the first prize and stated that this contest has been a great opportunity to participate in the National Level Crossword Contest. Mr Sagar said, "All the participants were highly competitive and demonstrated a great show during the contest. Whereas Arush said, "Such contests not only enhance our thinking ability but also give us ideas of managing our career challenges and daily activities as well."
Amar Mishra and Rajaram K from IIM Kozhikode and Ayedha Nimisha and Prathama Priyadarshini from SABVMCRI, Bengaluru participated in the crossword contest.
