Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is all set to host the 26th Edition of Shaastra, one of the largest student-run Tech Festivals in India, from 3rd to 7th January 2025.
Entirely managed by students, this massive event has over 750 students of IIT Madras working in various organizational roles. This ISO 9001:2015-certified festival will feature a lineup of 80 events, 130 stalls, and an expected footfall of over 70,000 across five days. Shaastra celebrates science and technology through competitions, summits, lectures, exhibitions, and workshops.
Addressing a Press Conference on the campus today (30th Dec 2024) to announce Shaastra 2025, Prof. 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.”
Further, Dr. Balaji Ramakrishnan, Director, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), which is one of the collaborators of Shaastra 2025, said, “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.”
Dr. Balaji Ramakrishnan added, “By engaging with a premier technical event like Shaastra, we aim to inspire the next generation to explore solutions for sustainable ocean exploration and climate resilience while promoting STEM careers that advance India’s technological and scientific capabilities. This partnership underscores our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and highlights India’s vision of becoming a global leader in ocean technology and development.”
There are multiple tech events being held for the first time including:
- Shaastra Aerial Robotics Challenge: Involves autonomous drone delivery. Drones autonomously navigate a geo-fenced area to locate a target and drop a payload accurately, demonstrating their programming and sensor capabilities.
- RoboSoccer: This event will feature teams presenting their custom-designed robots in competitive soccer matches. Demonstrating advanced programming and strategic gameplay, these robots will exhibit impressive skills, including dribbling, passing, and scoring
- Algo Trading: It offers a unique platform for 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. The wet lab competition is being conducted for the first time in Shaastra, taking place in the laboratories of IIT Madras Biotechnology department, sponsored by NIOT.
Highlighting the benefit to students from such events, Prof. Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, Dean (Students), IIT Madras, said, “We completed the 25th edition (silver jubilee) and entered into the 26th edition of Shaastra. It is my pleasure to invite all the media friends, participants, speakers, judges, and other stakeholders to Shaastra 2025. This year, we are introducing two new areas in the Shaastra Summit and Research Conference: ‘Future Cities’ and ‘Smart Manufacturing’. We are looking forward to the contributions from all the stakeholders towards sustainable approaches in these domains. I am thankful to the student team of 300+ led by the faculty advisor who are working for the whole year to take 26th edition of Shaastra to a new level. I wish the entire student team a grand success.”
Further, Dr. Murugaiyan Amirthalingam, Co-Curricular Advisor, IIT Madras, “Shaastra, the flagship annual technical event of IIT Madras, is one of Asia’s largest student-run techno-managerial festivals. The 26th annual event offers a diverse range of events, workshops, exhibitions and shows across multiple technical and business domains. Events include workshops on artificial intelligence, autonomous rover challenges, exhibitions by armed forces, and robot wars, among other areas. We request that school, college students, and techno enthusiasts participate in the events and get immersed in this futuristic tech festival in the country.”
STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCE
Sharing the experience of students, Mr. Sukheth Kallupalli, Co-Curricular Affairs Secretary, IIT Madras, said, “Shaastra has been a celebration of technical innovation for 25 years now. This year, we are taking it a step further by making the labs and centres of IIT Madras accessible to all for two days during the ‘Institute Open House’. The five-day event packages exhibitions, competitions, comedy and music shows, conferences and more in an effort to provide an all-around experience to the visitors and participants. We are excited about the opportunities this enables and are looking forward to hosting everyone at our vibrant campus.”
Mr. Sree Sudhan, Student Core, Shaastra 2025, IIT Madras and Mr. Anumala Sathwik, Student Core, Shaastra 2025, IIT Madras also addressed the press conference.
CONFERENCES, SUMMITS, SHOWS & LECTURES
Shaastra 2025 also includes several conferences and summits, including
IndustriAI Conference: First 3-Day International Research Conference in the history of Shaastra. The conference which explores rapid integration of AI, Big Data Analytics, Robotics etc. in revolutionizing industries has “Smart Manufacturing” as its theme is being sponsored by NIOT and Temenos.
Future Cities Summit: The 3-day Future Cities Summit focuses on urban planning, sustainability, energy, and advanced technologies, featuring panels, hands-on demos, and startups from IIT Madras Research Park. Highlights include lab tours, global expert insights, and networking opportunities with industry leaders.
SHOWS
Tech-Entertainment Night: Shaastra’s Tech-Entertainment Night will feature a mix of techno music and lively beats. Hip-hop artist Karan Kanchan and international DJ Camilla will perform at the event. They will bring a variety of rhythms and melodies to the stage.
Comedy Night: From relatable everyday experiences to absurd observations, the comedians will have the audience laughing out loud. Featuring Standup Comedian Gurleen Pannu
SPOTLIGHT LECTURES
- Mr Nambi Narayanan, renowned aerospace scientist, Padma Bhushan Awardee
- Ruchira Kamboj, Former Permanent Ambassador of India to the UN
- Dr Sujatha Ramadorai, Mathematician, Padma Shri Awardee
