Mumbai, Jan 5 (IANS) The 15th edition of Techfest by Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay (IIT-B), kicks off Friday with over 150 events spread across three days. The fest will include competitions, lecture series, exhibitions, workshops and others initiatives, an official said.

“With over 140 international exhibits from 16 countries, Techfest is all about the opportunity to explore and experience the state of art technology in the world. Over the years we are having the world award winning exhibits including two-time RoboSoccer champion, World’s Best Humanoid and The Last Supper Interactive,” said the festival’s media coordinator Sumant Deshmukh.

Also on the platter are lecture series by eminent personalities like Nobel Laureate and Padma Bhushan Venkataraman Ramakrishnan and MP3 inventor Karlheinz Brandenburg, among others.

“A major attraction will also be the Japan Media Art Festival, an annual contest for media art works which include arts, entertainment, animation and Japanese comics. One of the most unique point of Japan Media Arts Festival is these four different fields are presenting as an one field of Media Arts,” Deshmukh said.

Competitions like Robowars - the inter collegiate event of combat robotics - and Full Throttle - IC (internal combustion) modelled cars vying to finish fastest in a race - with additions of more obstacles and the dirt terrain promise to keep the tempo going at the fest.

“We have also planned an initiative called Ummeed-e-Milaap, by the core team of Techfest- IIT Bombay to unite the students of India and Pakistan, brushing aside all their differences and voice their opinion for a peaceful tomorrow,” Deshmukh said.

A part of this initiative is the Indo-Pak Diary Campaign. A diary will be circulated among 30 colleges of Mumbai and 20 colleges in Pakistan, in which students will pen down their comments, the best of 20 comments from each college will be posted in the diary.

“The diary will be unveiled to the public in India Friday and in Pakistan on January 18,” Deshmukh said.