The National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering (NICEE) at IIT Kanpur successfully conducted its 16th annual Inter-School Quiz Competition on Earthquake Safety, with Gwalior Glory High School emerging as the champions. The final round, brought together seven prestigious schools from across North India, demonstrating the institution's commitment to promoting earthquake safety awareness among young students.
The competition, based on NICEE's comprehensive publication "IITK-BMTPC Earthquake Tips" by Prof. CVR Murty, featured four challenging rounds - Round Robin, Picture Round, Rapid Fire Round, and Lucky Number Round. Seven elite schools participated in the finals, with Gwalior Glory High School, Gwalior clinching first place, followed by Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's Prism School, Satna, and Sheiling House School, Kanpur in second and third positions respectively.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Durgesh C. Rai highlighted the crucial role of young minds in disseminating earthquake safety awareness throughout their communities. He emphasized how such educational initiatives contribute to developing effective damage mitigation strategies at the grassroots level.
The quiz competition, which began in 2009, has become a significant annual event in NICEE's outreach calendar. The selection process begins in March when participating schools receive 50 copies of the earthquake safety publication to prepare their four-member teams. This year's event was successfully coordinated by the NICEE team, led by Cdr. Suresh Ailawadi (Retd.), along with Mr. Shivesh Pandey, Ms. Shradha Shukla, and Mr. Moti Lal.
Expressing gratitude to all stakeholders, Cdr. Ailawadi acknowledged the support of participants, teachers, principals, parents, and various IIT Kanpur departments, including Civil Engineering, the Visitors Hostel, and the Outreach Auditorium, in making the event a success.
This initiative continues to serve as a vital platform for promoting seismic safety awareness among school students, aligning with NICEE's mission to enhance earthquake safety knowledge across India.