Miniatures to make maximum show at IIT-M’s Shaastra 2020

Nearly 40 events and 30 workshops have been scheduled for the tech fest this year, expecting a footfall of over 40,000 students and public.

An exhibition featuring student innovations, start-ups and visiting college teams will be organised at the KV Grounds in IIT Madras campus on all four days.

The theme for this year’s edition of ‘Shaastra’ is ‘Parsec to Plank,’ focussing on miniaturisation, which deals with the technological trend of reducing the size of mechanical, electronic and optical products while maintaining its quality.

The first ‘computer’, ENIAC, developed on this method occupied around 18,000 square feet and weighed almost50 tons.

Speaking to the media, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras, said, “We have many clubs to encourage co-curricular activities. This event is completely run by students, with faculty only having an advisory role. Everybody gets benefited, including the the visiting students.”

This year, IIT Madras students have introduced ‘Assistive Technology (AT) Makeathon’ in collaboration with IIT Madras’ TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2), which developed India’s first indigenously designed standing wheelchair. The objective is to provide solutions to elderly, adults and children with disabilities by implementing successful prototypes and create a mindset for social entrepreneurship.

Highlighting the unique aspects of ‘Shaastra 2020’, Prof MS 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.”