BAJA SAE India 2015 ends on a thrilling high

Building a car isn’t an easy task, no matter what kind of background one comes from.  So if you’re a budding engineer building a car to represent your alma mater to compete against students from various engineering colleges on a national-level, the stakes are pretty high. The basic idea of the BAJA SAE India is for students to build a a rugged single seat, off-road recreational four-wheel vehicle with a set list of parameters, including engineering design, cost and technology innovation. The objective of the competition is to simulate real world engineering design projects and their related challenges which helps the students understand the various nuisances of manufacturing and marketing a product. Students were given a free hand with respect to design with the only restriction being the fact that the cars shouldn't exceed the 60kmph speed limit set for BAJA SAE India. 

The 2015 edition of BAJA SAE India was held at Pithampur on the outskirts of Indore. 323 teams from across India had registered for the event out of which only 74 teams competed in the endurance round after scrutiny. The event started with basic Static Evaluation round which comprised of design evaluation, cost evaluation and marketing presentation. Following it was the Dynamic Evaluation round that tested the vehicles for acceleration, speed, hill climb, manoeuvrability. The Durability Evaluation Round saw the vehicles undergo endurance tests. In this round each vehicle’s ability to operate continuously and at a speed over rough terrain containing obstacles in varying conditions. 

It was College of Engineering, Pune which emerged victorious in the overall category of  BAJA SAE India 2015. The students from Pune also won the endurance round and their buggy was also the lightest at about 160kgs. D.Y Patil College of Engineering, Pune and Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore finished in second and third place respectively. 

The 2015 edition of the BAJA SAE India was a tough one for students owing to the new track design. The track length had been increased to 4.5km with many new obstacles to put the buggy through a grueling test. It was also the first occasion that e–BAJA was held. As opposed to the conventional BAJA buggys that were powered by internal combustion engines, the e-BAJA vehicles were propelled by an electric motor powered by rechargeable battery packs. KL University, Guntur won the inaugural edition of e-BAJA. The BAJA SAE India 2015 witnessed a total of 8,000 students participating in the event, given the enthusiasm the budding engineers had it is safe to say that the 2016-edition will see the number of competitors increasing significantly. 

Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “It’s heartening to see thousands of students coming together once again to celebrate the spirit of BAJA. Increase in participation from colleges and BAJA SAEINDIA’s growth since inception indicates its growing popularity and national significance. This forum gives young engineering talent an opportunity to showcase their skills, innovate and acquire a real life experience posed with challenges which is critical to their success in the long term. Mahindra & Mahindra is delighted to be associated with BAJA SAEINDIA 2015 as the title sponsor and with BAJA, we are taking forward the philosophy of Mahindra Rise to the next level”.