Shaastra is the annual technical festival of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai, India.
The Sanskrit word ‘Shaastra’ means a subject of study/branch of knowledge and the festival accordingly consists of various engineering, science and technology competitions, summits, lectures, video conferences, exhibitions, demonstrations and workshops.
Shaastra attracts participation from all over India, and seeks to provide collegiate students with a platform to showcase their scientific and engineering talents.
A set of colleges around the country was targeted and the amount required to run the event was raised through sponsorship agreements.
These editions featured several prominent speakers gracing the fest, including Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Ms. Carolina Marin & Dr. John L. Hennessy.