IIT Madras to host student-run tech festival Shaastra

An exhibition featuring startups, student innovations, and visiting teams will be held at IIT Madras campus between January 3 and 6.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) is all set to host Shaastra 2020, one of the largest tech festivals in India which will be completely run by students. This event is scheduled to be held between January 3 and January 6, 2020, with a host of events planned. This will be the 20th edition of this annual event. Nearly 40 events and 30 workshops have been scheduled this year and a total footfall of over 40,000 participants, students, and visitors expected. An exhibition featuring student innovations, startups and visiting college teams is being organized at the KV Grounds in IIT Madras campus on all four days, which will be open to the public.

The theme for this year's edition of Shaastra is 'Parsec to Plank,' focusing on miniaturization, the technological trend in which the sizes of mechanical, electronic and optical products are constantly being scaled down in size while maintaining the same or superior quality.

Highlighting the unique aspects of Shaastra 2020, Prof M.S. Sivakumar, Dean (Students), IIT Madras, said, "As a premier institute leading in the fields of engineering, technology and sciences, we put extensive efforts in building an ecosystem that provides opportunities to learn, collaborate and innovate. These efforts culminate into the mega-event that Shaastra is."

This year, Shaastra is collaborating with defence technology start-ups, manufacturers and the military to host a 'Defence Expo', which will shed light on the technological advancements in the robust and dynamic Defence Technology space."

Sharing the student experiences in organizing such a massive event, Kollipara Pravallika, Co-Curricular Affairs Secretary, IIT Madras, said, "Every edition of Shaastra rolls out multiple events, shows, lectures and workshops with a single goal in mind, to promote 'the Spirit of Engineering.' Shaastra 2020 upholds the same spirit through the myriad of events it organises. This year's Shaastra will be hosting prominent leaders from various fields, such as Dr VK Saraswat, former director-general of DRDO and Lord Meghnad Desai, eminent economist."

Kollipara Pravallika added, "We are also holding competitions at an unprecedented scale, like Boeing's National Aeromodelling Competition and the Indian Drone Racing League."

Alexandre Agular, Vice President, Engineering of Socure, Shaastra 2020's title sponsor, added, "Socure is proud to associate with South India's largest technical festival and we are looking forward to the events and workshops scheduled during the 4 days of Shaastra and to engage with the student community."

Shaastra 2020 will also host Defence Tech Summit, which consists of lectures from the best minds in the field, live demos, hands-on workshops, a defence expo showcasing tech from the Armed Forces, defence tech companies and start-ups, and competitions that will challenge the participants to go beyond their boundaries.

The Defence Expo is an exhibition of the products of nascent defence technology start-ups, established manufacturers and the military. It will be conducted over the course of the 3 days of the Summit. Through this, the Defence Tech Summit intends to bring exposure to the participants of both Summit and Shaastra alike in the Defence Technology space.

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