Mahindra sponsored 11th edition of BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 kicks off in Indore

2024-04-19 12:59:53 Events / Trade Shows

1157

? A unique platform for engineering students to showcase their passion for automobiles by transforming theory into practice
? Set to celebrate the passion, hard work and perseverance of the budding engineers with the theme of ?Ground to Glory?
? 221 colleges from 388 entries qualify for the finale

Indore, January 24, 2018: SAEINDIA, a professional Society of Automotive Engineers, today flagged off the 11th edition of the much-awaited BAJA series. The finale of the event, with Mahindra as a title sponsor and over 35 other industry sponsors, will be held at the NATRIP facility at Pithampur near Indore, from 24th to 28th January 2018. About 388 entries were received for BAJA SAEINDIA 2018, out of which 180 teams were shortlisted for conventional BAJA and 41 teams were shortlisted for eBAJA in the virtual round. It will be followed by the HR meet on January 29th & 30th 2018.

Mahindra BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 has received an overwhelming response with representation from all zones- Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern zones in India.

The four-day event will include Technical Inspection, Static Evaluation such as Design, Cost & Sales Presentation and Dynamic Events such as Acceleration, Sled Pull, Suspension & Traction and Manoeuvrability. The endurance round of 2 hours for eBAJA and 4 hours for mBAJA will be held at the NATRAX facility at Pithampur near Indore under the aegis of NATRIP, from 24th to 28th January 2018.
A remarkable feature, unique to BAJA SAEINDIA, is the adoption of a new theme every year. This year the theme for BAJA 2018 is ?Ground to Glory? which celebrates the passion, hard work and perseverance of the budding engineers who start their journey from scratch and traverse throughout the year to turn their dreams into reality. The theme rejoices the fervour of the students to take up challenges to attain glory. It stands for the journey of the students and the boundaries they are ready to challenge, making BAJA the Ground for Glory for all the people associated with the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd said, ?This is the 11th year of Mahindra?s association with BAJA SAEINDIA and given its increasing popularity, we are proud to take it to the next level, this year by hosting two events. We will celebrate the spirit of innovation, one that is aptly themed around Ground to Glory. At Mahindra we are dedicated to hone the skills of young engineering students and develop the engineering potential of the youth and the technical human resource required for India. It gives us immense pride to champion a forum that gives the young engineering talent a platform to turn their dreams into reality?.

Mr. Mukesh K. Tiwari, Convener BAJA SAEINDIA 2018 said, ?As the competition commences and the talented participants unleash their ingenuity towards achieving out of the box solutions, it gives each one of us immense pleasure to have been associated with BAJA SAEINDIA since the last eleven years. Over the years, we have witnessed that the enthusiasm level of the participants have increased significantly and participation levels continue to soar. We are certain that the current edition will outshine all previous years and set a new benchmark in terms of innovation.?

Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman AICTE said, ?BAJA SAEINDA is performing extremely well and is contributing in arousing interest of students in hands on experiential learning in engineering education. The event has grown multifold since its inception in 2007. I congratulate SAEINDIA for entering its 11th year. It is desired that the students who perform well in such national level events get an opportunity to participate in corresponding international competitions. However, funding required for registration, shipping of vehicle and students? travel is huge and a lot of efforts go in obtaining sponsorship. It gives me immense pleasure in announcing that the teams who perform well in BAJA SAEINDIA and receive top honours will be provided funding of Rupees 1 lakh/student for a team of upto 10 students for their participation in International event. Winning teams are required to apply in the prescribed format available on AICTE website. This scheme is designed with an aim to bring laurels to the country. These awards will help in raising the bar of the Indian event too. I wish SAEINDIA and participating teams a good luck?
For the BAJA 2018 finale, entries from engineering colleges from across the country were screened at the Virtual Round held at Chitkara University, Chandigarh in July of 2017, where they presented their Designs for the BAJA Buggy vehicle that they wished to design for the final event. The qualifying teams were selected through a thorough analysis and comparison of their written test, CAD Designs, the CAE analysis and the designs of Roll Cage, Suspension, Steering and Brakes. The entries presented at the virtual BAJA were virtual mock-ups that would be created with exact specifications by the participants. The teams in the final round will showcase their skill, understanding and passion for automobiles while having manufactured their own buggy race car.

BAJA SAEINDIA also initiated the eBAJA series in 2015, to leverage the onset of Electric Mobility in India. The mBAJA vehicles run on 10 HP B&S Gasoline Engine, common for all 180 teams, whereas eBAJA vehicles will run on electricity, propelled by an electric motor and powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack.

With the increasing popularity of BAJA SAEINDIA, two BAJA?s will be held this year onwards. While one continues to be in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, the other one will be held at IIT Ropar in Punjab from 8th March to 11th March 2018. This move will help cater to 60 more teams who will have the opportunity to participate.

About BAJA SAEINDIA
BAJA SAEINDIA is an educational pursuit for the engineering college students, an out-of-classroom-education system, where engineering students from all over India can participate as a team, giving them pragmatic exposure to real world challenges as faced in the industry. Originally started in the USA by the SAE International as Mini BAJA SAE, today it is being organized in several countries. In India, it is being organized as BAJA SAEINDIA. An international student level competition in which teams from universities all over the country, design, analyze, fabricate and validate an all-terrain vehicle. This is evaluated during a series of Static, Dynamic and Durability events like design, cost evaluation, sales presentation, acceleration, maneuverability, hill climb and endurance.
Over the years, BAJA has grown in popularity and has become a bigger event nationally signifying its increasing popularity. It serves as a platform for young engineering talent to showcase their skills and acquire a real-life experience while overcoming obstacles and challenges- something that is critical for their long-term success. These engineers showcase their passion for automobiles by conceiving, designing and fabricating a 4-wheeled single-seater All-Terrain Vehicle.
Mahindra is playing a prominent role in slating the event since its inception under the able leadership of Dr. Pawan Goenka as the Chairman of the Steering committee of BAJA SAEINDIA. Since last 8 years Mahindra is the title sponsor and proudly continue to remain the same this year too, and others like ARAI, Altair, Anand Automotives, Ansys, ASDC, AVL, Bharat Petroleum, BKT, Bosch, Briggs & Stratton, Chitkara University, Continental, Cummins, Eleation, GM, IIT Ropar, iCAT, ITW Chemin, Lear, L&T, LNCT Indore, Math Works, Medanta Hospital, Mentor Graphics, M P Consulting, MYFM, NATRiP, OYO Rooms, Padmini Engineering, Polaris, Priya Events, PTC, Radisson Hotels, V J Productions, Varroc, Volvo and Wurth are also proudly continuing their support towards the event. It is also supported by SIAM, ACMA, ASDC & AICTE
About eBAJA
eBAJA is an event initiated by SC and OC of BAJA SAEINDIA which engages more than 1000 engineering students every year. To leverage the onset of electric mobility in India we had started this event under the convenorship of Mr. Subodh Morye in 2015. This is a platform where engineering students get an opportunity to build an electric vehicle on the same dynamics of BAJA rulebook and experience the wonder that this vehicle does with electric power. During a session with, His Excellency Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, he suggested the organizing committee to utilize this platform for national prosperity. Overwhelmed by his thoughts the organizing committee decided to include a new sub event to its 8th season ? named eBAJA. As the conventional BAJA is all about petrol driven ATVs, eBAJA vehicles will run on electric motor powered by rechargeable Lithium ion battery pack.
eBAJA is the concept of electric driven BAJA ATVs to lay emphasis on ?Electrical Mobility. Fossil fuels take millions of years of solar energy and rare geographical events to get produced and are harmful in nature. Hence, there is a need to move towards sustainable as well as clean technology which can help us achieve energy independence and stabilize human -induced climatic change. Also, these fuels are perishable resources of energy, which can cause energy scarcity in future, we need to come up with alternate resources of energy for the development of mobility and have a sustainable growth. Therefore, we believe that electric mobility is the future which will play a significant role in the growth of the nation.
Through this event we intent young minds of our nation get an opportunity to experiment and explore the electric science of mobility which is to be the future.