About the association

CFRA — Computer Science Forum: Realm of Academics

CFRA is the official student association of the Department of Computer Science at College of Engineering Karunagappally.

What CFRA is

CFRA stands for Computer Science Forum: Realm of Academics. It is the departmental association — often called the CS association or the computer science student forum — of the Department of Computer Science at College of Engineering Karunagappally, a government engineering college in Karunagappally, in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. The college, widely known by the short form CEK, was established in 2000 and is affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, or KTU. CFRA marks 15 September as its founding day.

The association is run by students, for students, under the guidance of the department’s faculty. Its purpose is straightforward: to give computer science students at CEK a place to learn the things a syllabus cannot cover on its own — shipping real projects, speaking in public, running events, and meeting people already working in the field.

The department and its programmes

The Department of Computer Science at College of Engineering Karunagappally runs three programmes, and CFRA serves students across all of them:

  • B.Tech Computer Science & Engineering (4 years) — The core craft — algorithms, systems, networks and the software that runs the world. Where most of the forum learns to build and ship.
  • B.Tech Artificial Intelligence & Data Science (4 years) — The maths behind intelligence — statistics, models and neural networks that turn raw data into decisions.
  • BCA Computer Applications (3 years) — Applications-first computing — programming, databases and the web, built for those who want to ship products fast.

A student joins CFRA in their first year and stays a member for the duration of the programme, whichever of the three they are enrolled in.

What CFRA does

CFRA organises hands-on technical workshops, coding and technology quizzes, project expos and talks by alumni and industry speakers. Recent work includes a workshop on deploying an AI web app to production, Openova — a quiz on artificial intelligence and open source that drew over four hundred participants — a two-day expo of student-built projects, and a talk by CEK alumnus Kurian Jacob, Chief Operating Officer of the TinkerHub Foundation. The full record of every event the association has conducted is kept in the CFRA events archive.

Who leads CFRA

The department is headed by Dr. Smitha P, Professor & Head · Dept. of Computer Science, and SYAMA S Rserves as the association’s Faculty-in-Charge. Day-to-day work is carried out by an elected student executive committee. The current committee is:

  • Abhimanyu — Chair Person
  • Rohith — Vice Chair person
  • Adith — Secretary
  • Anjima — Joint Secretary
  • Althaf — Treasurer
  • Shammas — Event Head
  • Mahima — Outreach Head
  • Nobin — Documentation Head
  • Johan — Technical Head
  • Malavika — Social Media Manager
  • Alan — Alumni Relation Coordinator

Profiles of the current committee and every past team are on the CFRA team page, and the faculty of the department are listed on the Department of Computer Science faculty page.

Getting in touch

Students, alumni, speakers and other associations are welcome to reach the association through the CFRA contact page. Notices and announcements are published on the CFRA news page.

Frequently asked questions

What is CFRA?
CFRA is the official student association of the Department of Computer Science at College of Engineering Karunagappally. The name expands to Computer Science Forum: Realm of Academics. It is run by students of the department under the guidance of the department's faculty, and it organises the technical and academic activities that sit outside the formal syllabus.
Which college does CFRA belong to?
CFRA belongs to College of Engineering Karunagappally, commonly abbreviated CEK. It is a government engineering college in Karunagappally, in the Kollam district of Kerala, India, established in 2000 and affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU).
Who can join CFRA?
Membership is open to students of the Department of Computer Science at College of Engineering Karunagappally, across all three of its programmes: B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering, B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, and BCA. Students join in their first year and can stand for the executive committee in later years.
What events does CFRA run?
CFRA runs hands-on technical workshops, coding and technology quizzes, project expos, and talks by alumni and industry speakers. Recent editions include a workshop on deploying an AI web app, the Openova quiz on AI and open source, a two-day project expo, and a talk by CEK alumnus Kurian Jacob. Every event CFRA has run is listed in the events archive.
How is CFRA led?
The Department of Computer Science provides the faculty patrons, and an elected student executive committee runs the association day to day. The committee is led by a chairperson and vice chairperson, with a secretary, joint secretary and treasurer, plus heads for events, outreach, documentation, technical work, social media and alumni relations.