IIT Madras gears up for Shaastra 2026

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) will host Shaastra 2026, its annual technical festival, from January 2 to 6, 2026, on campus.

The five-day festival is expected to draw over 80,000 visitors, featuring 80 events, 130 stalls exhibiting innovations of IIT Madras, and a diverse programme of competitions, exhibitions, workshops, conferences, and shows.

It is entirely student-managed and ISO 9001:2015-certified. This year’s theme, ‘Artifacts of Arcade’, reimagines the festival as an interactive, game-like ecosystem where each competition or workshop feels like a new level to conquer, blending hands-on learning with nostalgia-driven engagement.

One of the key initiatives this year is VidhyaVahak. Under this program, 150 teachers from rural areas will be equipped with modern teaching technologies including AI tools. Mith R Jain, Student Co-Curricular Affairs Secretary, IIT Madras highlighted another initiative called ‘Hear4You’. The campaign aims to raise awareness about preventable and treatable hearing loss and promote inclusive communication

Murugaiyan Amirthalingam, Co-Curricular Advisor, IIT Madras, said, Robowars, Shaastra’s flagship combat robotics championship will see international participation this year. Teams from Malaysia, Brazil, and Russia are participating.

V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras said that the first two weeks of January 2026 is filled with events at campus. “We have our open house, Shaastra 2026 and then Saarang 2026. We are also opening our IIT Madras Global Research Foundation. This will be inaugurated by Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar on January 2, 2026,” he said.

Shaastra 2026 will also feature spotlight lectures by eminent scientists, administrators, and thought leaders including Jeffrey Ullman, Turing Award laureate; Subra Suresh, former Director of the US National Science Foundation and Vidita Vaidya, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize-winning neuroscientist.