Step01
BeginnerTalkWorkshop Climbed
AI Unlocked
Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
What AI really is, what it isn't, and the map of the field you're about to climb.
- Sat, 29 Aug · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- Closed
Kottayam · IEEE SB CEK · Weekend AI series
Climb into the future of AI, one weekend at a time. Workshops, labs, talks and a 24-hour hackathon — one step every weekend at College of Engineering Kidangoor.
Next stepStep 04
Seeing Machines
Computer Vision with OpenCV & CNNs
5 days, 13 hours and 16 minutes until the next step
- Weekends
- 12
- Sessions
- 30+
- Participants
- 500+
- Speakers
- 20+
- Projects built
- 80+
- Machine Learning
- Deep Learning
- Computer Vision
- NLP
- LLMs
- AI Agents
- Generative AI
- Prompt Engineering
- AI Ethics
- Edge AI
About st(AI)rway
We believe every student can build with AI. st(AI)rway turns weekends into launchpads.
What it is
A 12-step weekend series on artificial intelligence. Each Saturday is one step — a workshop, lab, talk or challenge — ending in a 24-hour hackathon at the summit.
Why weekends
Learn without missing a single class. A steady weekly rhythm beats a one-off crash course; small steps add up to a real climb.
Who it's for
Every branch, every year. The first steps assume no prior AI knowledge — if you can open a laptop, you can start climbing.
What's different
You build, not just watch. Every step ends with something working on your machine, with industry mentors beside you.
Don't miss this one
Step 04 / 12
04
Seeing Machines
IntermediateLab
Seeing Machines
Computer Vision with OpenCV & CNNs
Pixels are just numbers — until you know what to do with them. Start with classic OpenCV (filters, edges, contours), then build and train a convolutional neural network that classifies images, and finish by running real-time object detection on your own webcam feed.
- Process images and video streams with OpenCV
- Explain convolutions, pooling and feature maps visually
- Train a CNN and use transfer learning with a pre-trained model
Saturday, 10 October 2026 · 9:30 am Main Seminar Hall, Block A
5 days, 13 hours and 16 minutes until the next step
- Arjun PillaiEdgeworks Robotics, Technopark
- Sneha ThomasIIIT Kottayam
12 / 60 seats left80% full
The roadmap
Twelve weekends. One stairway.
Every weekend is one step up. Start anywhere — each step lists exactly what you need to know first.
Progress
03 / 12
- Step02BeginnerLab Climbed
Python for AI
NumPy, Pandas & Data Thinking
Arrays, dataframes and the habit of asking good questions of messy data.
- Sat, 05 Sept · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- Closed
- Step03IntermediateWorkshop Climbed
Machine Learning from Scratch
Regression to Classification
Write gradient descent by hand, then let scikit-learn do it a thousand times faster.
- Sat, 19 Sept · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- Closed
- Step04IntermediateLabIn 06 days Next up
Seeing Machines
Computer Vision with OpenCV & CNNs
Teach a camera to see: filters, edges, and a CNN that recognises what's in front of it.
- Sat, 10 Oct · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 12 of 60 left
- Step05IntermediateWorkshopIn 20 days
Deep Learning Decoded
Neural Networks with PyTorch
Tensors, autograd and training loops — build a neural network you actually understand.
- Sat, 24 Oct · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 29 of 60 left
- Step06IntermediateWorkshopIn 34 days
Language & Machines
NLP and Transformers
From word counts to attention: how machines learned to read.
- Sat, 07 Nov · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 38 of 60 left
- Step07AdvancedTalkLabIn 48 days
Inside LLMs
How ChatGPT-like Models Work
Pre-training, fine-tuning, RLHF and inference — the full life of a large language model.
- Sat, 21 Nov · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 46 of 60 left
- Step08IntermediateHands-onIn 62 days
Prompt Engineering & AI Agents
Tools, memory and autonomous workflows
Turn a chatbot into a teammate: prompting patterns, tool use and agent loops.
- Sat, 05 Dec · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 61 of 70 left
- Step09IntermediateLabIn 97 days
Generative AI
Images, Audio & Creativity
Diffusion models, voice synthesis and the craft of making machines create.
- Sat, 09 Jan · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 55 of 60 left
- Step10AdvancedLabIn 111 days
AI on the Edge
AI with Microcontrollers & IoT
Shrink a model until it fits on a ₹500 board — and make it listen, see and react.
- Sat, 23 Jan · 9:30 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 37 of 40 left
- Step11All levelsPanelIn 125 days
Responsible AI
Ethics, Bias & Safety
Who gets hurt when models go wrong — and how builders can do better.
- Sat, 06 Feb · 10:00 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 138 of 150 left
- Step12All levelsHackathonCompetitionIn 146 days
THE SUMMIT
st(AI)rway 24-Hour AI Hackathon
24 hours, one problem statement, every step you've climbed. Build something that matters.
- Sat, 27 Feb · 10:00 am
- Main Seminar Hall, Block A, CEK
- 172 of 200 left
Learning tracks
Four levels. Level up at your pace.
Each track bundles the steps that build one layer of skill — Explorer to Summit.
- Lv.1
Explorer
Beginner
Find your footing.
- AI literacy
- Python & data
- Your first model
- Lv.2
Builder
Intermediate
Make things that learn.
- Classical ML
- Computer vision
- PyTorch
- NLP
- Lv.3
Innovator
Advanced
Push past the tutorial.
- LLMs
- AI agents
- Generative AI
- Edge AI
- Responsible AI
- Lv.4
Which step should you start from?
Q1 / 4Have you written Python before?
Speakers & mentors
Climb with people who've been up there.
Engineers, researchers and founders who build AI for a living — and remember what the first step felt like.
Want to speak at st(AI)rway?
Share what you know with 500+ students. Talks, labs and mentoring slots are open.
Apply to speak
Step 04 · Sat, 10 Oct
Learn from them this weekend.
12 of 60 seats left for Seeing Machines.
Leaderboard · Hall of fame
The climbers setting the pace.
10 points per weekend, bonuses for lab challenges and podium finishes. Keep your streak alive to earn badges.
Riya Benny
55 pts
2ndSreehari K.
60 pts
1stAkhil Sabu
50 pts
3rd
- 4Neha PhilipS5 EEE 3week streak45
- 5Anand V.S5 IT 2week streak45
- 6Christy MathewS3 CSE 2week streak35
- 7Arun DasS3 ME 2week streak30
- 8Lakshmi PriyaS7 ECE 1week streak25
Streak badges
- First StepAttend any weekend
- Three-Step Streak3 weekends in a row
- Halfway Climber6 weekends in a row
- Summit ClimberFinish the Summit hackathon
Best projects so far
- Step 03
Bus Delay Predictor
by Gradient Gang
Predicts KSRTC delays from route and weather data — MAE 3.2 minutes.
- Step 02
Rainfall Story Map
by Riya & Anand
Interactive visual story of 50 years of Kottayam rainfall.
- Step 01
Doodle Classifier
by Akhil Sabu
Teachable Machine model that recognises 12 hand-drawn campus landmarks.
What you'll experience
More than a seminar. A launchpad.
Every weekend mixes learning, building and people.
Hands-on Workshops
Build, don't just watch. Every session ends with working code on your laptop.
Expert Talks
Learn from people shipping AI in industry and research.
AI Labs
Real datasets, real models, real GPUs.
Competitions & Hackathons
Prizes, glory and a 24-hour summit.
Project Showcases
Demo your builds to mentors and peers.
Networking
Meet mentors, alumni and future co-founders.
Certificates
IEEE-backed recognition for every step.
Community
A WhatsApp & Discord crew that lasts beyond the weekends.
From the climbers
Heard on the stairway.
I walked in not knowing what a tensor was. By lunch I had trained my first model. By evening I'd signed up for every remaining step.
Resources hub
Missed a step? Catch up.
Slides, code, notebooks and recordings from every weekend we've climbed.
Perks & certificates
Every step counts.
What you take home besides the skills.
Participation certificates
Issued by IEEE SB CEK for every step you attend.
Merit certificates
For challenge winners and Summit finishers.
Prizes & swag
₹1,00,000 Summit prize pool, stickers, tees and more.
IEEE member benefits
Free entry, priority seats and IEEE Xplore access.
Portfolio-ready projects
Every step leaves you with code worth showing.
Mentorship & internships
Direct connections to our speakers' teams.
st(AI)rwayIEEE SB CEK
Certificate of participation
Your Name Here
has climbed Step 04 — Seeing Machines: Computer Vision with OpenCV & CNNs.
Branch Counselor
Step
04
04
The team
The crew building the steps.
Students and faculty of IEEE SB CEK who plan, build and run every weekend.
Dr. Lekshmi S.
Branch Counselor
Fun factHas graded 4,000+ lab records and still enjoys it.
Aaron Jacob
Chair
Fun factDebugs code by explaining it to his cat, Tensor.
Devika Suresh
Vice Chair
Fun factCan solve a Rubik's cube in under a minute — blindfolded attempts pending.
Harikrishnan P.
Secretary
Fun factKeeps a spreadsheet of his spreadsheets.
Nandana Rajeev
Treasurer
Fun factTracks every rupee — and every cup of chai.
Aditya Menon
Event Coordinator
Fun factHas walked every staircase on campus. Counted the steps too.
Fathima Rasheed
Event Coordinator
Fun factPlans events like heists. Nothing ever goes off-script.
Sidharth Unni
Tech Lead
Fun factWrote this site's neural field at 2 a.m. on instant noodles.
Gayathri Mohan
Web Developer
Fun factRefuses to ship anything without a dark mode.
Joel Thomas
Design Lead
Fun factHas opinions about kerning. Many opinions.
Ann Maria Joseph
Visual Designer
Fun factDesigned the (AI) glyph on a bus ride home.
Rohan George
Media Lead
Fun factShoots every event on a phone older than the freshers.
Sponsors & partners
The people holding the rail.
Title Sponsor
Community & media partners
Become a sponsor
Put your brand in front of 500+ engineering students across 12 weekends — and help build Kerala's next generation of AI builders.
FAQ
Questions before the first step?
Any student — any branch, any year, any college. Faculty and alumni are welcome too. If you're curious about AI, you belong on the stairway.
Most weekends are free for IEEE members and carry a small ₹100 fee for non-members to cover lunch and materials. The Summit hackathon has a ₹200 team fee. Fees are listed on each weekend's page.
Not for the early steps. Steps 01 and 02 assume nothing beyond basic Python curiosity. Later steps list their prerequisites clearly so you can decide where to jump in.
Absolutely. Register like everyone else and bring your college ID on the day.
No membership required. Members get free entry to most weekends, priority seats when a step is full, and IEEE-verified certificates.
No — each step stands on its own. But attending consecutive weekends earns streak badges, and the climb is more fun when you keep going.
A laptop with charger, Python installed, and a Google account for Colab. Each weekend page lists any extra software or hardware.
Yes. Every step you attend earns a participation certificate from IEEE SB CEK. Winners and Summit finishers receive merit certificates.
Talks are recorded and posted to the Resources hub within a week. Hands-on labs are best experienced live.
Offline first, at the College of Engineering Kidangoor. Selected talks are live-streamed on our YouTube channel.
Hit the WhatsApp button in the community section below. It's where we post announcements, resources and memes.
Speakers can apply through the speaker card in the Speakers section, volunteers through the community section, and sponsors can download our deck or email the sponsorship team.
Still have questions?
Contact the teamOrganised by
IEEE Student Branch, CEK.
IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organisation, dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.
The IEEE Student Branch at College of Engineering Kidangoor brings that mission to campus — workshops, hackathons, industrial visits and technical talks through its societies, including Computer Society, Robotics & Automation, Power & Energy and Women in Engineering.
st(AI)rway is our most ambitious series yet: a structured climb into artificial intelligence, open to every student.
IEEE
IEEE SB CEK
Kerala Section · Region 10
- IEEE members in 190+ countries
- 400K+
- Technical societies active at CEK
- 8
- Events run by IEEE SB CEK
- 60+
Step 04 · Seeing Machines
Your next step is waiting.
Doors open in
5 days, 13 hours and 16 minutes until the next step
12 / 60 seats left80% full
Newsletter & community
Never miss a step.
Weekly reminders, resources and first dibs on seats. Or skip the inbox and join 500+ climbers on WhatsApp.