Team from Isfahan University of Technology in Iran joins the 'Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) KOREA at Yeungnam University'
First appearance in international competition, scheduled to participate in event in South Africa 3 months later also
[July 7, 2010]
“We prepared very hard for the past year for this event, but we aren't thinking too much about the results. What's more important to us is that we do our best so that we have no regrets and that we make friends with university students around the world. At the automobile engineering student festival, we'll have fun."
On the morning of the 7th at the plant lab of Yeungnam University. The IUT team (photo) of the Isfahan University of Technology are working hard from early in the morning. After finally checking the vehicle that arrived late last night, they will be participate in the Baja SAE Korea at Yeungnam University that will be held from the afternoon on this day until the 10th.
IUT is the KAIST of Iran. It is a university geared to the engineering sector and is located approximately 400km from the capital, Tehran.
They decided to participate in the event after finding out that it would be held at Yeungnam University from the US SAE homepage last summer, but there were many obstacles to overcome.
The biggest obstacle was the financial issue. Not to mention the cost to manufacture a vehicle, but the round trip airfares and cost to transport the vehicle were quite expensive. After soliciting a number of companies, they received financial support from the well-known Iranian oil refinery companies Nargan and North Drilling Company.
The IUT team focused mainly on the suspension system for their vehicle. Because there is an offroad race, it absorbed shock from the road to minimize fatigue of the driver and controls irregular motion of the vehicle when driving on severely bumpy surfaces through increasing the tire grip for better control to enhance its driving power and braking power. Thus, they have strong confidence in the dynamic test that inspects the vehicle's braking power, traction power, control power, etc as well as in endurance race in which the track must be completed in 3 and a half hours.
The team's leader Mortez (23) stated, "It is not common for university students to receive support from a company in Iran to participate in an international event, so it was very difficult for us to find sponsors. But, after continuously persuading them without giving up they pledged their support to us beyond our expectation," and added, "We will do our best until the end for those who trusted and supported us."
Another hurdle to overcome was that they never experienced international competitions. The only experience is that their upperclassmen participated in an international competition five years ago in South Africa. Thus, for the past year the 6 mechanical engineering students, 1 industrial engineering student and 1 material engineering student came together as a team of pioneers and had to learn for theirselves and gain experience from A to Z.
Dr. Mohsen Esfahanian (46), who guided these students, stated, "We had to overcome many trials-and-errors to join this event in Korea, but I am very proud of the students who solved and overcame every problem." He also added, "One thing I would like to tell my students is to be willing to learn at all times wherever they are, and I hope they can enjoy this experience, regardless of the results."
The IUT team is planning to take another challenge in the Republic of South Africa in the coming October using the experience from this event.
On another note, the participation of the team from Iran is giving as a fresh impetus to domestic teams. Team leader Lee, Si-mok (24, Junior, Major of Mechanical System) of Yeungnam University 'Chunma DM', which is a veteran team that participated in this event for the past 15 years and won on several occasions, stated, "The fact that friends from foreign countries to take part in this competition is heating things up," adding, "We will play fair so that they can go back to their home countries with good memories of Korea."
The Baja SAE Korea at Yeungnam University, which is hosted by Yeungnam University, has been hosted for the past 15 years, and it will be held at the Yeungnam University Gyeongsan campus until July 10. 56 teams from Korea and abroad will compete in this event, and the first place winner will receive the Minister of Knowledge Economy Award, winner's flag and a trophy. Results of the event will be announced worldwide through the official homepage of SAE (www.sae.org) and through various publications.
<Photo> The IUT team and Chunma DM team are making final checks at the plant lab.
