Chitkara University to host Virtual Rounds for BAJA SAEINDIA 2020, on July 12-13

SAEINDIA, a professional Society of Automotive Engineers, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd announced the commencement of the redesigned Virtual Round of BAJA SAEINDIA, which will be held on July 12-13, 2019 at Chitkara University, Punjab campus. The Virtual Round also flags off the 13th edition of the much-awaited BAJA series with Mahindra as the title sponsor.

Dr K C Vora, Sr. Deputy Director of ARAI; is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, with S Balraj as Convener for Pithampur; and Shoaib Sadiq as Convener for Chandigarh.

The BAJA SAEINDIA series is a well-known competition among engineering students, who participate in the event with great zeal and passion. With around 280 teams from various engineering colleges of India, 25 students from each team, totalling over 6,000 students, the battlefield is all set for participants to come up with their innovative ideas. The teams registered for this season are spread across 24 different states, including 4 teams from Punjab. This year, a total of 225 teams have registered for the conventional format of the event i.e. mBaja; and 55 teams have opted for the electric version of BAJA SAEINDIA i.e. eBaja.

During the course of Virtual Baja, the registered teams will be scrutinized for their knowledge, creativity, concepts, virtual design and capability to participate successfully in the main event. The teams at the Virtual BAJA will make a presentation on their design, followed by an Online Test which will carry equal weightage in their final selection. The teams would be judged on various parameters in the virtual BAJA like knowledge of the rulebook, the concept of the buggy, the project plan, the design methodology, CAE Analysis, the Design Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (DFMEA) and Design Validation Plan (DVP), college workshop facilities and team formation. The Online Test will check every participant’s knowledge of Rulebook and general Mechanical and Automotive Engineering. Based on the performance in Virtual BAJA, the teams will be selected for participation in the main event, scheduled to be held in NATRAX facility of NATRIP, Pithampur near Indore and Chitkara University, Punjab. Eminent personalities from the automotive and engineering industry will serve in the panel for the latest edition of BAJA SAEINDIA.

Each team is tasked to create a vehicle known as ‘Buggy’, an All-Terrain Vehicle, which has to comply with multiple parameters & technical inspection before it is allowed to compete in the dynamic events and final endurance race. Students are expected to design Buggy having the best suspension, steering & brakes with a strong roll cage, considering the New Product Development (NPD) Cycle with all quality and safety aspects. Many teams target weight of the buggy to be less than 125kg.

A remarkable feature unique to BAJA SAEINDIA is the adoption of a new theme every year. This year the theme for BAJA 2020 is ‘Breaking Conventions’.

Hon’ble Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University; said, “As the host institute for Virtual BAJA SAEINDIA for the last 3 years, we are proud to support this program. Quality competitions from SAEINDIA, like BAJA, are improving the engineering skills of young graduates and providing them with a platform to learn in a real environment with a project-based approach. Each year, the growing number of teams in eBAJA is a testament to the fact that we are moving in the right direction towards sustainable mobility for the future.”

Mr. Subodh Morye, Head Marketing & PR, BAJA SAEINDIA; mentioned, “BAJA SAEINDIA has been improving year on year since its inception in 2007 by reloading the enthusiasm in teams and has finally reached to a stage where it can break conventions. Every year, we see active participation from the Organizing and Alumni Committee to shape this event into an extraordinary competition. The support from the Steering Committee headed by Dr Pawan Goenka, MD of M&M; has been pivotal in driving the event towards a promising future through wisdom and vision. We will continue supporting the teams and encouraging them to adopt innovative ways to cope up with the challenges which await them in the future of Automotive Industry.”

Dr Bala Bharadwaj, MD of Boeing India and President of SAEINDIA; send his best wishes to the BAJA Organizing Committee for the successful conduction of Virtual BAJA.

The finale will be held at the NATRAX facility of NATRIP at Pithampur near Indore, from January 23-26, 2020, followed by HR meet on January 27-28, 2020. The 2nd part of 13thedition of BAJA SAEINDIA 2020 is scheduled to be held at Chitkara University, Punjab; from March 5-8, 2020, followed by HR meet on March 9, 2020.

As for eBAJA, more and more teams are getting ready to participate and learn eMobility technology, which is moving very fast in the country. To promote electric mobility and develop human resource for working in this area, SAEINDIA has declared financial support of Rs.50,000 to all the new eBAJA teams.