Schaeffler India Announces ‘Open Inspiration’, a platform for Indian Engineering students
New Delhi: Leading industrial and automotive supplier, Schaeffler India Limited (BSE:505790, NSE:SCHAEFFLER) today announced the ‘Open Inspiration India’ program, a platform for design thinkers, inventors and researchers to showcase their innovative ideas and products focused on developing sustainable solutions for a better tomorrow. Over 114teams from multiple colleges across India participated in Round 1 of the Program, which was first announced in July 2017. The shortlisted 14 teams will compete in the final round to be held in front of an eminent jury at the Schaeffler India office in Pune on 15th and 16th February 2018.
Students from leading institutes like BITS Pilani, Maharashtra Institute of Technology Pune, SRM Institute of Science & Tech Chennai, Army Institute of Technology Pune, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology Delhi, Birla Institute of Technology Patna, PVPIT Pune, MITCOE Pune, VIT Pune, Vellore Institute of Technology and others have been shortlisted to showcase their ideas at this platform. With focus on ‘Inter-Urban mobility’, ‘Eco-friendly drives’, ‘Energy Chain’, ‘ Production Technologies’, ‘Digitalisation and IoT’, the projects submitted include an automated 2-wheeler, a Vertical Axis Water Turbine, a modified wheel hub for tractor and off-road vehicles, a simple-to-manufacture Hot Air Engine amongst others.
Dr Alfred Rivinus, CTO Europe – Schaeffler, who is part of the jury for the final round, elaborated, “We are excited to introduce this program in India and have received a very encouraging response from the student community. Mutual inspiration and thinking outside the box are the focal topics at the Schaeffler “Open Inspiration” Program. Innovations are a crucial prerequisite for safeguarding our future. The aim is to boost ideas that can help make tomorrow’s world a little safer, smarter and efficient. We are excited to connect with the attendees and participants and have our team learn and get inspired by them. It will serve as an ideal platform for the students to showcase their community outreach research work and in turn receive the assistance that they deserve. The event will also facilitate in connecting with industry experts, discuss possible product application scenarios and explore possibilities to market and incubate the designs.”
Speaking about the event, Mr Dharmesh Arora, CEO – Schaeffler India said, “Innovation is one of the core foundation of Schaeffler and Open Inspiration is a global platform that celebrates ideas and inspirations. This is our first edition in India and we are excited to see the response we have received and more importantly, the inspiring ideas and efforts put in by the students. I congratulate all the participants and look forward to the event to see the ideas in action.”
Schaeffler AG has been organising the industry event globally for the past 2 years, however, this is the first time the company will host this event in India. Schaeffler India team visited 26 colleges across India in the past few months, involving 300 students, gathering a total of 114 entries for the event. 14 entries have been shortlisted after going through three screening rounds. A mentor from the Schaeffler team has worked with each of the 14 shortlisted teams and now two winners will be announced by the Jury panel during the event. The winners will be awarded cash prizes and sponsorships for their ideas by Schaeffler India.