Bengaluru: Autodesk, a leader in 3D design technology, in partnership with the National Institute of Design (NID) and Maruti Suzuki, announced the winners of the India Design Challenge 2017 contest at the Autodesk University, India & SAARC 2017, Bengaluru. The contest witnessed participation from fulltime students of undergraduate and postgraduate courses from various design schools across the country. Participants used Fusion 360, the cloud-based product design software from Autodesk, to conceptualize and build out-of-the-box industry design solutions.
All participating teams at the India Design Challenge submitted their unique designs and concepts on two design topics: Personal Mobility Solution for Urban Youth – 2025 and Design of Green Vehicle in year 2025 (full brief). Akhilesh Manchandani and Aravind S (Team Fortnight) from Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) won the first prize for their design of an electric compact SUV, capable of running through all types of terrain.
Sharing details of their project, Akhilesh Manchandani and Aravind S, said, “As design students we had a great experience working on Autodesk’s Fusion 360 with mentors from the industry and leading academicians. Our endeavor was to style the vehicle with a very unconventional body shape focusing more on its functional parts without losing the aesthetic values. It was indeed a unique opportunity for us to attain hands-on training and understand the intricacies of modern day designing.” The winners will now get an opportunity to intern with Maruti Suzuki for a period of 6 months.
The first runners up position was bagged by Komal Karnik and Samarjitsinh Waghela (Team Strings) from NID for the design of their green vehicle, while Vishnu C P and Dheeraj K (Team Transhumans) from IIT Bombay were the second runners up with their design of a sustainable car for greener future.
Commenting on the India Design Challenge and the role of NID Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry of India, Mr. Suresh Prabhu said, “Mobility is going to be the key of the future as you will see its different dimensions in the future. If we continue to use mobility the way we are using today, we will face lot of challenges because of the environment, climate change and others. So, let us think about new ideas, new solutions and there is no other better institute than NID to do this.”
Mr. Pradeep Nair, Managing Director, Autodesk India & SAARC said, “The best part about conducting the India Design Challenge year on year is that we get the opportunity to mentor young design talent and enable them to be future ready. Our aim is to shape young talent to be drivers of innovation. As leaders in 3D design technology we work with several higher education institutions and vocational schools in India to provide training and free access to our design software for students and educators. Our partnership this year with a premier design school, NID and the leading auto maker, Maruti Suzuki, also contributes to several Government initiatives such as Skill India and Make in India.”
The winners of the Indian Design Challenge were selected from the top 25 entries which were shortlisted basis their design objective, technology usage (Fusion 360), creativity, novelty of design, design process and overall presentation. These teams were then mentored by experts from NID and Maruti Suzuki over a period of four weeks to finalize the three winners.
