GenAIvation 2025: Neural Network Tools and Keras Hands-on

The Departments of Information Science & Engineering (ISE) and Computer Science & Design (CSD) at Srinivas Institute of Technology jointly organized a transformative 10-day internship bootcamp titled “GenAIvation 2025: Intelligence Innovation – From Models to Meaningful Manuscripts” from 21st April to 6th May 2025. Held at the ISE Lab, this intensive program was led by Mr. Prashanth Kannadaguli from Dharani Academy, Bengaluru, who served as the resource person and mentor throughout the session. The bootcamp focused on cutting-edge domains such as Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Generative AI, equipping students with both theoretical foundations and hands-on experience through expert-guided workshops, live projects, and real-time problem-solving exercises. On Day 5 of the GenAIvation 2025 bootcamp, the session provided a highly interactive and practical introduction to modern tools used in neural network development. The day began with an engaging demonstration using the TensorFlow Playground, offering a visual representation of how neural networks learn, which helped students intuitively understand concepts like weights, biases, and activation functions. The focus then shifted to Keras, a high-level deep learning API. Students learned to build and train Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLP) using Keras, starting with the Iris dataset for hands-on implementation. They covered essential steps such as data loading, preprocessing, and splitting datasets into training and testing sets. The practical component involved defining model architectures, training, and evaluating model performance using various metrics. Additionally, the session introduced tools like TensorBoard for real-time training visualization and SavedModel format for saving and deploying trained models. Students found the session very practical and engaging, highlighting that the hands-on coding experience and visual learning tools significantly improved their understanding of neural network workflows using Keras. The session was well-received by the participants, who appreciated the clarity of the explanations and the useful coding activities that followed. The hands-on approach helped in reinforcing the theoretical knowledge, making the learning experience more effective and engaging. The event received enthusiastic support from the institution’s leadership. Dr. Shrinivasa Mayya D, Principal of Srinivas Institute of Technology, commended the initiative and highlighted the critical role of such internships in preparing students to meet industry expectations. Dr. Praveen Shenoy, IIC Coordinator, ensured the event was in alignment with the IIC’s mission to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and practical learning among students. Prof. Sudarshan K, Head of the ISE Department, provided continuous encouragement and oversight throughout the event’s planning and execution. The smooth conduct and high engagement of the program were made possible through the dedicated coordination efforts of Prof. Rakesh Malya, Staff Coordinator from the Department of Electronics and Communication, and Prof. Sowmya, IIC Coordinator and Association Advisor from the Department of ISE. Their meticulous planning ensured that each student had the opportunity to learn, present, and receive valuable feedback on their work.