Team ENIGMA the journey of making BAJA 2020 All Terrain Vehicle by Department of Mechanical Engineering

Nitish, Team captain says being a member of Team ENIGMA from 3 years; I have led the team for the project BAJA 2020. SAE BAJA is an off-road buggy design event where colleges all over India participate and design a buggy to drive over rough terrain. The span of project has been 6 months including design and manufacturing phase. The project commenced with the design phase in July 2019 with 20 members in the group, sub categorized into five departments viz. Transmission, Suspension, Steering, Brakes and Roll cage. The team participated in SAE Virtual BAJA where it presented its design and approach to building the vehicle for BAJA 2020, and secured qualified with good results out of 200 teams. The manufacturing phase comprised of conducting market surveys, procuring materials, and manufacturing of parts, marketing through sponsorships and finally assembling the vehicle and testing. The project has provided us students with a platform for learning leadership skills, team spirit, finance management, practical fabrication skills, marketing and a full-fledged exposure in industrial sector. The team cleared all the technical tests and was approved with the certification. Previous year BAJA students are very well placed in Mahindra GE, L&T, Quest and Reliance companies with a pay package of 4.5 to 8.5 lakh annual packages.

Aditi – Female Driver says, my journey, being the only female member of Team Enigma was really exciting. Being an automobile enthusiast, I am so happy to get a hands-on experience of building a car. And that's not all.. There are all-girls teams, where the drivers are obviously girls. But being the only one in the team, and still to be chosen to be one of the two drivers of our Team, how cool is that!! Just thinking of driving the car, always gave me an Adrenaline rush. So I was really eager to get on with the project to build the car asap, so that I'll get to drive it one day soon! 

As the manufacturing phase began, all of us geared up, building our own sub systems. I belonged to the Steering Department and all I had till then, was theoretical knowledge. I hadn't imagined that, one day, I would apply that and build a steering system for a car. The practical knowledge we get cannot be matched with our classroom sessions; you get so happy to see your hands dirty with grease and dust. Especially, being a girl with no clean, soft hands, makes others look at you in awe. When I told other people that we were building a car and that I was the driver, that proud expression they always had on their faces made me proud of myself! 

Working in Team ENIGMA, not only did we learn a lot of technical aspects, but also learnt to deal with the situations when we went through a lot of hardships, be it the poor coordination sometimes between the team members. We learnt that, no matter what happens, work must go on and on, because Time stops for none. 

Once the car was built, I felt emotional when I first saw the car running, just like a mother and father when they see their child's first baby steps. I felt really proud to have built a car from scratch; it was just nuts and bolts and pipes a few months ago, but not anymore! I remember jumping around the field when I first saw Sneh, my co driver perform some super stunts with the car. And when I first sat inside the car, and the engine was cranked, I felt the car's vibration and my heartbeat resonating within me, Oh My God!! I cannot explain in words. I was even more thrilled when my fellow teammates complimented me for my driving skills, yes! I performed quite some stunts too, during the testing phase. 

I am so grateful to my college and especially to Satish sir, to have given me such a wonderful opportunity, where I learnt that one should never give up, whatever the situation may be and to never forget your goal and strive towards it. 

Also, it's given me a taste of being in a male dominated field, which is definitely a stepping stone for my future endeavors, and breaking the society stereotypes. 

Most importantly, on behalf of our entire team and our faculty advisor Dr. SV Satish, I would like to thank The Organic World and Invitro Research Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for so kindly sponsoring our team. If not for their contribution, we wouldn't have been able to build a much better car this year. Thank you so much and we hope you continue to support us the same way in the near future as well.