Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) is all set to host Shaastra 2020, one of India’s largest student-run tech festivals.
A defence expo which will throw light on the technologies and equipment employed by armed forces is also planned for the students. The festival from 3 to 6 January will feature nearly 40 events and 30 workshops.
The theme for this year’s Shaastra is ”Parsec to Plank”, focusing on miniaturisation, a technological trend in which the sizes of mechanical, electronic and optical products are constantly being scaled down in size while maintaining the same or a superior quality.
Addressing the mediapersons here yesterday, IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, ”The event will see participation of more than 40,000 students from all over the globe. We believe that classroom is not the only place to learn. The festival has a long history of being the birth place for many ideas and startups.”
”We have introduced ‘Assistive Technology Makeathon’ in collaboration with TTK Centre for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development which developed India’s first standing wheelchair. This makeathon will be a platform for budding social entrepreneurs,” he added.
Highlighting about the unique aspects of this year’s edition, IIT-M co-curricular affairs secretary Kollipara Pravallika said, ”Shaastra 2020’s main focus is to make technology user friendly for differently-abled. We have a collaboration with Indian Vision Institute and visually challenged students from the city will also take part in this festival.”
Talking about the defence expo, IIT-M dean M S Sivakumar said, ”The defence tech summit will consists of lectures, live demos and hands-on workshops. An exhibition of products of defence technology start-up, established manufacturers and military will take place. The expo will educate students on the defence tech arena.”
Shaastra is also known for holding competitions at an unprecedented scale. Boeing’s National Aeromodelling competition and the Indian Drone Racing League are scheduled for this year’s edition.