IIT Madras to host Shaastra 2026 from January 2 to 6; 80 events planned across five days

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras) will host Shaastra 2026, its annual technical festival, from January 2 to January 6, 2026, on its campus. As per the institute, the five-day event is expected to attract over 80,000 visitors and feature around 80 events, along with 130 stalls showcasing innovations developed at IIT Madras.

Shaastra 2026 will include competitions, exhibitions, workshops, conferences and stage shows across engineering, science, policy and entrepreneurship domains. IIT Madras states that the festival is entirely student-managed and is ISO 9001:2015 certified. More than 750 students are involved in organising the event.

Shaastra has been organised since 2000 and is being held for the 27th time in 2026, establishing itself as a platform for science and technology engagement at the national level. The theme for this edition, “Artifacts of Arcade,” frames the festival as an interactive, game-style ecosystem in which events are designed as progressive challenges.

New events introduced at Shaastra 2026

As per the official press release, several new events will be introduced this year. These include Robo GP, a robotic racing competition; BioBattle, focused on biomimicry and healthcare solutions; NeuroHack, a brain–computer interface hackathon using EEG data; E-Contest, based on esoteric programming languages; Quantified Dilemma, centred on game theory and strategy; and an Educators Conclave under the VidhyaVahak programme for professional development and networking.

Academic platforms at Shaastra 2026 will include ICON26, an international conference on smart manufacturing, and the Digital Governance Summit, which will focus on citizen-centric and open-source digital systems. Spotlight lectures are scheduled to be delivered by speakers from academia, government and research institutions.

The festival will also include evening programmes such as a tech-entertainment music event and a stand-up comedy show. Outreach initiatives under Enreach will focus on digital transformation support for small and medium enterprises, accessibility-focused ideathons, and cybersecurity awareness sessions for senior citizens.

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IIT Madras’ Shaastra 2026: Hear4You 5K run scheduled for December 28

Shaastra will continue its social initiative Hear4You, which focuses on hearing health and accessibility. As part of this campaign, a Hear4You 5K Run is scheduled for December 28, 2025, aimed at raising public awareness on hearing loss and inclusive communication.

“The campaign aims to raise awareness about preventable and treatable hearing loss and promote inclusive communication. A key public milestone is the Hear4You 5K Run, scheduled for December 28, 2025, designed as an inclusive, non-competitive run to bring conversations on hearing health into public spaces,” the official press release said.

Speaking at a press conference at IIT Madras, director V Kamakoti, said, “Adhering to our motto of "IITM for all" the Shaastra has helped in reaching out all our technical efforts to the public, demonstrating them and engaging the public to take it forward. Many first-of-its-kind hackathons in core technology areas are planned this year.”