LINUX WORKSHOP

Date of Event: 05/11/2025
Participants:
• Students: 54
• Faculty: 7
• External Participants: 0
Total Expenditure: ₹ 360 (approximately)
Event Introduction
The Linux Workshop was an interactive, hands-on session designed to introduce students to the world of open-source computing. Through engaging presentations, live demonstrations, and fun challenges, participants explored how Linux evolved — from its UNIX roots to becoming the backbone of modern technology. The event covered the journey of pioneers like Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds, showcased different Linux distributions, and demonstrated practical tools, commands, and cybersecurity concepts. Attendees also got to experience real-time tasks, try out terminal commands, and take part in a fun quiz and interactive demos. To make the session memorable, the organizers kicked off the event with a creative twist — a masked character named “Cipher” made a mysterious appearance to spark curiosity and excitement before diving into the world of Linux.The workshop aimed to make learning both educational and fun, helping juniors understand not just how Linux works, but why it powers most of today’s servers, AI systems, and even space missions.

Part 1: Presentation
The workshop began with an engaging and visually appealing PowerPoint presentation titled “The Linux Story: From UNIX to GNU to a Global Revolution.” This presentation took participants on a journey through the evolution of Linux — beginning with the development of UNIX at Bell Labs by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, followed by Richard Stallman’s GNU Project and the founding of the Free Software Foundation, and culminating in Linus Torvalds’ creation of the Linux kernel. It also highlighted how the combination of GNU tools and the Linux kernel formed the complete GNU/Linux system that revolutionized open-source computing.
The session introduced students to the core features, architecture, and distributions of Linux, explaining how it differs from other operating systems such as Windows and macOS. Participants learned about Linux’s file system structure, its flexibility across environments, and its applications in areas like AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and space technology. The presenters also demonstrated howcompanies like OpenAI use Ubuntu for training large AI models, emphasizing Linux’s dominance in high-performance computing.

The presentation effectively blended technical knowledge with storytelling, making it both educational and enjoyable. It succeeded in setting the stage for the hands-on sessions that followed by sparking curiosity among the juniors.

Part 2: The challenge After the presentation, participants were introduced to a hands-on Linux challenge hosted on a virtual AWS server specially set up for the event. Each student received individual login credentials to securely SSH into their own environment, giving them firsthand experience of working on a real Linux system.
The challenge was designed as a three-level interactive problem-solving activity. At each level, participants were given clues stored within a shared directory accessible to everyone. They had to execute the correct Linux commands to solve the clue and uncover the next one. Through this process, students practiced essential commands such as cat, ls, cd, grep, find, strings, and file permission handling — learning how each command functioned in a real-world scenario.

Along the way, they also explored the concept of private and shared directories, understanding how Linux enforces security and user access control. This allowed them to experience, practically, how each user’s data remains isolated and protected from others unless explicitly shared — demonstrating one of Linux’s strongest features: user-level security. At the end of the third level, participants were required to reach a specific target file. The system was configured such that the first five students to reach the end successfully had their usernames
automatically appended to a winners’ list within that file. These five students emerged as the top performers and were rewarded for their speed, problem-solving, and command-line skills. This segment of the workshop turned out to be the most engaging and memorable for participants. It combined competition, collaboration, and hands-on practice in an exciting environment. Students showed great enthusiasm, often helping each other while maintaining a healthy sense of competition. They quickly grasped fundamental Linux concepts through
experimentation, making the activity both challenging and deeply rewarding.

Part 3: The quiz
A After the hands-on SSH challenge, the participants took part in a quiz round to test their understanding of the concepts covered throughout the workshop. The quiz included a mix of questions on Linux history, basic commands, system architecture, and distributions. It was hosted online, making it easy for everyone to join in and respond in real time. The questions were designed to be both educational and fun, with some light-hearted options that kept the atmosphere lively and engaging. This helped participants recall what they had learned during the presentation and challenge while still enjoying the process. The quiz encouraged quick thinking, reinforced key takeaways, and created healthy competition among students. At the end of the round, the top five students who scored the highest were rewarded for their performance, adding a fun and motivating conclusion to the activity. Overall, the quiz served as a great way to wrap up the technical sessions, ensuring that the workshop ended on an interactive and enjoyable note.

Rewards
To celebrate participation and encourage active engagement, the top five students who completed the SSH challenge and performed well in the quiz were rewarded. Winners got to choose their preferred snacks from a variety that the organizers had prepared in advance. This small yet thoughtful gesture added excitement to the event, motivating others to participate wholeheartedly. The reward segment ended the session on a cheerful note, with participants sharing their experiences, discussing what they learned, and expressing their interest in exploring Linux further. The combination of learning, challenge, and fun made the event a memorable and impactful experience for everyone involved.