On August 21, 2025, under the Institute’s Innovation Cell and the Association of Information Science and Engineering (AISE) and Association of Computer Science and Design(ACODE), the Department of ISE and CSD organized a contest named “Bug busters”.

The Bug Bash Activity is designed to help students practice debugging and innovation in C programming. They will be given small programs with intentional errors—such as array indexing mistakes, wrong format specifiers, unsafe functions, and logical flaws—to identify and fix. Along with correcting bugs, students are encouraged to extend the programs creatively by adding features like grading systems, prime number lists, or advanced palindrome checks. Each fix will be documented using a Bug Report Template, where students explain the issue, show the corrected code, and provide proof of correct output. This activity builds logical thinking, problem-solving, and safe coding practices in a fun, hands-on way. Students from both departments, including ISE, and CSD, participated enthusiastically in large numbers, making the event a grand success. The contest showcased the student’s technical acumen and fostered inter-departmental collaboration and learning.

The event was supported by Prof. Sudarshan K., Head of the Department (HOD), ISE and CSD. It was skilfully conducted by Medha Shetty, Sanika, Sanjana NN and Sanjana R from the 5th semester ISE and CSD. The event was coordinated by Ms. Aparna N under the guidance of Prof. Sowmya and Prof. Archana, Staff Advisor of AISE and ACODE. Their teamwork and dedication ensured the smooth execution of the contest.

This activity is needed because debugging is one of the most essential skills for any programmer. Many students focus only on writing new code but struggle when errors appear, which is a real challenge in software development. By working on buggy programs, students learn to carefully analyze logic, trace errors, and think critically rather than just memorizing syntax. It also teaches them safe coding practices, like avoiding unsafe functions and handling edge cases. Adding innovative extensions encourages creativity and problem-solving beyond the basics, preparing students for real-world coding situations where fixing and improving existing code is more common than writing from scratch.