From workshops and lectures to exhibitions and quizzes, Shaastra 2015, IIT Madras’ technical fest has only grown bigger this year. The fest, which will go on till January 6, has already garnered over 20,000 registrations for their workshops and international participation as well. The theme for this year’s event is entrepreneurship.
“There is a growing trend in this country now, where students are thinking out of the box and looking at ways to figure out what they want. A broad term to explain this phenomenon is entrepreneurship. This year, so many of our students took up jobs in start-ups, rather than established companies. It’s a risk but they are willing to take it for the exposure it provides,” says Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras. “At IIT, we want students to learn other things even while they are pursuing their degree, as this will make them self-driven and will make a difference to their productivity. So, our broad theme this year is entrepreneurship and start-ups, in order to encourage them to go beyond the normal path.”
Shaastra 2015, the only student-run ISO certified technical fest, has workshops on different topics like robotics, energy, automobile engineering, electrical engineering, android app development, analytical and big data this year. Most of these workshops are pre-registered and are already booked. “Last year we had about 7,000 registrations but this year we have already crossed 22,000. All the workshops are run by students and we don’t charge except for the kit. Anyone interested can attend them. Through the fest, we want to share what we learn at IIT with students in other colleges,” says Siddharth Dialani, Secretary, Co-Curricular, IIT Madras. The prize money is worth Rs. 25 lakh this year. “Students from business and Arts colleges have also registered. We have even received registrations from colleges in Germany, Dubai and Sweden,” he adds. For more information, visit www.shaastra.org.
