Baja Saeindia organizes phase 2 of Baja Saeindia 2023: A student design challenge at Chitkara University

Chandigarh, December 17, 2022: The Phase 2 of the 17th edition of Baja Saeindia commenced on the 16th of December, 2022 virtually hosted by Chitkara University. 181 teams from various parts of the country are taking part in the event. The event has two categories of vehicles; mBAJA for the I.C. engine powered buggies and eBAJA for those with an electric powertrain.

Phase 2 of Baja Saeindia 2023 is a unique challenge where students are required to deliver presentations for the static events namely, Design, Cost, Sales, Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) and Go-Greenfollowed by simulating their designs using globally benchmarked automotive testing software – IPG CarMaker for the Virtual Dynamic Events of Maneuverability and All-Terrain Performance. Virtual Baja Saeindia is a unique event where teams are able to witness their vehicle’s performance and get it assessed in real time without needing to build a physical vehicle.

The press conference kicked off with the inaugural note of K Venkataraj, Deputy Director General, Saeindia wherein he said, “Saeindia organizes various events to upskill the student community every year, howeverBAJA SAEINDIA stands as the SAEINDIA’s flagship event. It is an educational pursuit for engineering college students, an out-of-classroom-education system, where engineering students can participate as a team, giving them pragmatic exposure to real-world challenges as faced in the industry.

BAJA SAEINDIA has grown consistently as an event of the highest magnitude among the student fraternity, due to the support of its sponsors. Saeindia expresses its deepest gratitude to an umbrella of 35 sponsors incl. numerous industry partners, host institutions, and supporting organizations this year, for their innate confidence in the BAJA SAEINDIA series. Through the BAJA HR Meet, they also provide an opportunity to the students to kickstart their careers in the core automotive field.”

Following it,  Sanjay Nibandhe, Chairman, Organizing Committee, Baja Saeindia 2023 & Senior Deputy Director, ARAI in his address to the presssaid, "BAJA SAEINDIA has always been well accepted by the student community, as it helps them upskill themselves and helps them improve their technical knowledge. It requires an enormous skillset to design, manufacture and then make the buggy run successfully on the proving grounds in the Phase 3 of the event and all the students participating in BAJA SAEINDIA series have constantly been doing that since all these years. BAJA SAEINDIA rolls out a theme every year, and this year it is "Refuel, Recharge, Reinvent" to emphasise on the resilience and tenacity of the teams as they prepare for the challenges that lay ahead.”

Rugwed Ainapure, Convener Virtual Baja Saeindia 2023 & Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship added, “This year, there are quite a few challenges which have been designed and introduced so as to give a more opportunistic and perspective-driven learning to the students. For the cost event, some key OEM Components' cost has been regularised, which will compel the teams to seek out alternate strategies for cost optimization. For the sales event, this year additionally, the teams' have to present a plan to market their vehicle as a commodity, concurrent to commercial automotive market. While, in the Virtual Dynamic Events the tracks have been designed such that the vehicles would be facing a mixture of off-road terrains of varying intensity, in the two tracks itself; while some sectors have been designed so as to emulate some actual race scenarios.”

“Overall, it is going to be an intense and exciting event; while the added difficulty would only ensure a steeper learning curve for the participants”,he added.

The virtual event is being hosted by Chitkara University, Chandigarh. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro-Chancellor, Chitkara University said, “It gives us immense pleasure to announce that Chitkara University is hosting the Virtual Baja Saeindia 2023 from 16th- 18thDecember, 2022 at the Punjab campus. Chitkara University has been hosting the virtual & physical rounds of Baja Saeindia every year since 2015. The vision of the Baja Saeindia series and our university is in sync with our strong belief in collaborative approach for promoting research and innovation along with industry and academic institutions. As the host institute of Virtual Baja Saeindia for the last 8 years, we feel proud in supporting this program.”

“This one-year project inculcates and channelizes the exuberance of the youth by providing them a global platform to display their creativity, giving them pragmatic exposure to the real-world challenges of the automotive industry.” she added.