IIT Madras’s 26th tech festival ‘Shaastra’ starts on January 3; over 70,000 to participate

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) will host the annual tech festival ‘Shaastra’ from January 3 to January 7. Over 70,000 participants will take part in the annual tech festival which will feature a lineup of 80 events, and 130 stalls, the institute said in an official statement.

The management institute will organise the 26th edition of ‘Shaastra’, a student-run tech festival to celebrate science and technology through competitions, summits, lectures, exhibitions, and workshops.

Recently, the IIT Madras researchers developed a new casting process for manufacturing magnesium . The process enables the creation of strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant magnesium castings suitable for automobiles, aerospace and many other sectors.

Giving some insights on the upcoming event, V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, said: “Organizing a massive event like Shaastra inculcates valuable traits in students like management skills, commitment, responsibility and the ability to work in large teams towards a common purpose. Further, IIT Madras students gain valuable exposure through such national events as many Government agencies, industries, corporate firms, startups and entrepreneurs besides eminent personalities are invited to participate in the event. The students learn how to interact and deal with all of them.”

“NIOT is proud to support Shaastra 2025, IIT Madras, as it aligns with our vision of fostering innovation and encouraging young minds to address real-world challenges in technology and ocean sciences. This collaboration provides a unique platform for knowledge exchange between academia and NIOT's expertise, enabling collaborative research and skill development in cutting-edge fields such as AI, robotics, and sustainable ocean technologies,” Balaji Ramakrishnan, director, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), one of the collaborators of Shaastra 2025 said.

IIT-M ‘Shaastra’ 2025: Major tech events, conferences, shows

Shaastra aerial robotics challenge: This will show autonomous drone delivery that will automatically navigate a geo-fenced area to locate targets and drop a payload.

RoboSoccer: It will feature teams, presenting their designed robots in soccer matches, showcasing skills including dribbling, passing and scoring.

Algo Trading: This will include participants to design and implement trading algorithms. Teams will compete on the AlgoBulls platform, showcasing strategies in an event that merges coding and financial acumen.

Petri-dish challenge: The event involves identifying an unknown bacteria through a series of rigorous laboratory experiments.

Moreover, ‘Shaastra’ 2025 will also include several conferences and summits, including IndustriAI conference, future cities summit, the institute said.

The institute further said that shows such as tech-entertainment night and comedy night will be part of the event. Nambi Narayanan, renowned aerospace scientist, Padma Bhushan Awardee; Ruchira Kamboj, Former Permanent Ambassador of India to the UN; Sujatha Ramadorai, Mathematician, Padma Shri Awardee will also be delivering lecture during the five-day event.