Defying the scorching heat, a record 130 teams representing various city schools from Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula came all smiling at IGNITE 2011, a mutli-city, inter-school quiz contest organized by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at the Chandigarh City Museum and Art Gallery. The contest ended with winners from Bhavan Vidyalaya (Surya Karan Sambyal and Kushaan Dosajh) while Pranav Kumar and Amanat Kang of DPS-Chandigarh were the runners-up in the event. Addressing the students, Chief Guest Dr. Asha Sharma, Regional Director of IGNOU, said that, “IGNOU is promoting school education where the stress is being given to enhance teacher training in schools. The idea of such events is to ignite students' interest in higher education and make them aware of the Open and Distance Learning System. IGNOU has a plethora of vocational and job-oriented programmes that cater to the students ready to join the college.” The quiz, hosted by the quizmaster Mr. Adittya Mobayi, started with a written elimination round of 20 questions in which all the students present in the hall were asked to participate. Out of these, six teams were selected for the next and final round. The final contest comprised of six rounds of questions, including one round on music and another on visuals. A few questions were put to the audience and those who gave correct answers were also rewarded with prizes. The winners got individual trophy, a school trophy, book vouchers and a gift hamper each, while the runners-up got individual trophies, book vouchers and a gift hamper. A panel exhibition and a flash presentation were also organized to make the students aware of various programmes being offered by IGNOU.
