Bengaluru: MVJ College of Engineering bags first prize in design competition

Bengaluru: MVJ College of Engineering has bagged the first prize in the virtual National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition (NACDeC-IV) held recently.

The college beat top institutions like IIT Bombay, BMS College of Engineering, Sastra University and Manipal Institute of Technology, to take home the prestigious prize. The MVJ team, named Abhimanyu 4.0, was awarded a cash prize of Rs 20,000 and certificates, for their excellent work. The competition was organised by the Design Division and Mumbai branch of The Aeronautical Society of India.

The theme of the project was related to the conceptual design of Inter-city Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft (ICeVTOLA). The competition witnessed participation of 26 teams, of which 5 were shortlisted for the final round (4th round). After these five teams presented the salient features of their projects, the MVJCE team was declared winners.

The team members were Keerthi G N, Amruthamshu K P, Koushik Udayachandran, Mithun Francis P and Atyab Hakeem from Aeronautical Engineering. MVJ College of Engineering has been the winner of National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition consecutively for four years from 2017-18 to 2020-21.

This conceptual design is a potential idea that can usher in a remarkable revolution in the aviation industry. The transportation sector faces the challenge of meeting a growing demand for convenient passenger mobility, while reducing congestion, improving safety and mitigating emissions.

ICeVTOLA could overcome these limitations of surface transportation, by enabling urban and regional aerial travel services and is a technology that could end traffic jams. It connects the metros to nearby cities, provides connectivity to augment tourism, and aids in the strategic travel by public agencies.

Urban air mobility (UAM) is an emerging aviation market that seeks to revolutionize mobility around metropolitan areas, via a safe, efficient, and accessible on-demand air transportation system, for passengers and cargo.

The MVJCE students from the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, who worked on the project, said, "The project was a challenging task as we had to discuss, communicate and do all the work, virtually. Since ICeVTOLA is a new concept, there were no online resources, and hence it required rigorous brainstorming. Through the NACDEC competition, we were able to develop theoretical concepts that can aid practical applications. This integration helped us design the airship.

It has enhanced our understanding of the topic and opened up opportunities for us to perform even better in future and prove our capabilities. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our college, Head of Department Aeronautical Engineering, Prof S. C. Gupta, mentor Dr. R Rajasekar, and all other faculty members, for their constant support."

Commenting on the students' performance and the project, Prof. S C. Gupta said, "I believe our students represent the true spirit of our motto, 'Engineering A Better Tomorrow'.

The project concept was meticulously developed, and a lot of thinking went into the integration of theoretical aspects for practical applications. We commend the hard work and effort of the students who have crafted a futuristic concept. I am very grateful to all the faculty for nurturing such talents."