L&T EduTech Sponsors IITM Shaastra 2024: Fostering Innovation for Urban Development
Shaastra, the esteemed annual technical festival hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), recently concluded its 24th edition successfully. Among its many highlights was the highly anticipated Smart City Challenge, sponsored by L&T EduTech, aimed at tackling real-world urban issues through innovation and creativity.
With 589 registrations, the Smart City Challenge drew talent from universities across India. Participants tackled diverse urban development challenges, leveraging interdisciplinary engineering and advanced tech like AI and data analytics to address issues including infrastructure maintenance, data privacy, waste management and digital transformation in construction.
At IIT Madras, the top 10 finalist teams presented their transformative ideas to a distinguished jury from L&T EduTech. The culmination of the challenge saw six teams awarded from a prize pool of Rs. 50,000. The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, clinched the top spot, with teams from Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai, Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, R.M.K Engineering College, Kavaraipettai and Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, also receiving accolades.
Top 10 teams showcase forward-thinking solutions at the Smart City Challenge grand finale, with six finalists receiving awards.
Additionally, as part of its sponsorship, L&T EduTech hosted a thought-provoking panel discussion on Interdisciplinary Engineering – Unlocking Innovation during the festival. The panel, convened at IIT Madras, explored various themes surrounding interdisciplinary engineering, including real-world applications, challenges, impacts on industry and society, educational perspectives and future trends.
Moderated by Dr Anbuthambi B, Head of Strategy at L&T EduTech, the panel featured distinguished leaders from Larsen & Toubro and L&T EduTech including Mahesh Chikodi, Chief Digital Officer at Larsen & Toubro; Lakshmi Prasad Emuri, Global Delivery Head at L&T Data Centre & Cloud Services; and Febin M F, Head of CollegeConnect at L&T EduTech.
In conclusion, the Smart City Challenge and panel discussion at IITM Shaastra 2024 underscore the transformative potential of interdisciplinary approaches in driving innovation and addressing societal challenges. As engineering continues to evolve, collaboration across diverse fields will play a crucial role in shaping the future of technology and engineering education in India.
L&T leaders discuss the topic ‘Interdisciplinary Engineering – Unlocking Innovation’ during the panel discussion at IITM Shaastra.
