Mahindra and SAEINDIA announce the launch of BAJA SAEINDIA 5

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), a part of the US $12.5 billion Mahindra Group, in association SAEINDIA, a professional society of automotive engineers with a vision to continuously enrich their knowledge, today announced the launch of the 5th edition of BAJA SAEINDIA 2012. Aimed to provide an opportunity for showcasing their passion for automobiles to the young, enthusiastic and talented engineering students, BAJA SAEINDIA 2012 will facilitate young talents to conceive, design and fabricate 4-wheeled single-seater all terrain vehicles.

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 world plan, design, analyze, fabricate and validate an all terrain car which is evaluated during a series of Static, Dynamic and Durability events like design, cost evaluation, presentation, acceleration, manoeuvrability, hill climb and endurance.

The 5th edition of BAJA SAEINDIA 2012, saw registrations from 250 teams. These teams will now compete against each other in virtual BAJA, a selection criteria where virtual vehicle mock-ups are created with exact specifications. The final rounds will only have selected 100 teams showcase their skills, understanding and passion for automobiles. The contest will see these 100 teams compete with their dream vehicles at NATRiP site in Pithampur, near Indore in Februrary 2012.

Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra said, "At Mahindra we have championed the cause of BAJA SAEINDIA since its inception in the year 2007. Today Mahindra is delighted to be associated with BAJA SAEINDIA 2012 as the title sponsor and strengthen this association. We are dedicated to honing the skills of young engineering students, which goes a long way towards developing the engineering potential of the youth and the technical human resource required for India. Events like these will help young engineering talent to use their dexterity in formulating newer technologies and engineering processes. Further the idea is to build a sustainable talent pipeline for the industry and help students at a young age to engage in nurturing their imaginative acumen in maths, science and engineering".

Dr. Goenka further added, "In fact as an organization we have always promoted and provided opportunities for auto enthusiasts to engage in, through unique initiatives such as Auto Quotient. Today more than 25 BAJA team members work in Mahindra, who are selected through BAJA HR Meets scheduled at the end of each BAJA event".

According to R Dayal, Executive Officer, Production Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd & President, SAEINDIA, said, "This is a unique event that blends the learnings and experience in team work and engineering. The Auto Industry is fuelled by the energy and creativity of large number of professionals and technicians engaged within it. Especially in India where our industry is rapidly gaining maturity on a global scale, we will need to plan for a large intake of motivated and qualified young talent."

Through this initiative Mahindra and SAEINDIA are providing students, an innovative, hands-on and out-of-classroom education, a platform to prove their capability in designing a car, within the challenges faced by the auto industry.

The other sponsors include ARAI, ANSYS, BPCL, CUMMINS, NATRiP and VARROC. ARAI, Pune is sponsoring Engineering Design Award and ANSYS has thoroughly trained the teams in addition to providing them its simulation and design software.