Cuttack, Oct 26: More than 1,000 contestants participated in the 10th edition of Synapse–2026, a two-day bilingual inter-school quiz festival held at Saheed Bhawan in Cuttack, with teams from KIIT International School, DAV Public School, CDA, Secondary Board High School and Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR) emerging as winners in different categories.

The event was jointly organised by Team Quizzard and Team White Canvas and sponsored by Ruchi Foodline and Dambaru App.

In the Odia quiz category, Mihir Satapathy and Sritam Priyadarshi Sahoo of Secondary Board High School secured first place. Sandeep Samantaray and Soma Prayas Maharana finished second, while Amrita Guru and Asima Baral of SSVM, Nayabazar came third and won the Best All-Girls Team award.

Meanwhile in the English category, Adwaita Sadangi and Swastika Mishra of KIIT International School clinched the top spot. They were followed by Swarit Kumar Swain and Priyanshu Pratik Pradhan of DAV Public School, CDA for the second position. Abhijwala Mohanty and Aditya Baral of Loyola School, Bhubaneswar, secured third place.

The 10th edition also introduced the ‘Fam Jam’ quiz category for the first time to encourage younger participants and promote family participation. Sai Sahasranshu and his mother, Padmini Priyadarshini, of DAV Public School, CDA, won the category. Hambika Digbi and her father, Prafulla Das, of SAI International School finished second, while Kshirabdhi Ray and her father, Raja Sandeep Ray, of DAV Public School, CDA, secured third place.

In the undergraduate division, Aadarsh Mishra of OUTR won first place. Ashirbad Nayak of SCB Medical College and Hospital finished second, while Abhinav Prakash Agrawal, also from the institution, secured third place.

The festival also presented special recognitions under the Lucky Draw, Online Quiz and Spirit of Synapse categories.

The event was inaugurated by former Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim, Cuttack-Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous, Samyak Mohanty, founder of Dambaru, and Sangita Sahoo, chairperson of Ruchi Foodline.

Vice-Chancellor of Ravenshaw University Arka Kumar Das Mohapatra was the chief guest for the mega quiz event. He attended the prize distribution ceremony along with Cuttack Mayor Subhash Singh and other dignitaries.

The festival aimed to encourage students’ knowledge, curiosity and competitive spirit. More than 500 parents and intellectuals attended the two-day event, according to the organisers. Guests appreciated the initiative and called for expanding the competition in subsequent editions.