Event takes place in support of research by Tecnopuc and Rice University
The Creativity Laboratory (CriaLab) of PUCRS’ Science and Technology Park (Tecnopuc) will be presenting the Bajaj Challenge in partnership with Rice University (Texas). In the activity, which has been planned by Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK)’s professor Dr Matthew Wettergreen, participants will have to build a Bajaj (an engine vehicle equipped with a single axle, covered in metal) following specific criteria and applicable restrictions.
Bajaj is a source of income for many people and a very popular means of transport in Peru, Thailand, Egypt and many other African countries. Prototyping is the key element of the challenge. Designers must meet a number of criteria: to transport passengers in less than six seconds; to optimize speed and stability along the ride and to design the machine using materials available to them, among others.
Participants will be divided in groups in order to build a prototype of Bajaj within a given time limit. At the end, they will enter a race in which they will carry passengers, represented by ping pong balls, in a pre-established route using their cars. In Ana Berger’s view, CriaLab’s leader, they have a tremendous amount of fun and learn a lot every day. “We can see different behaviors displayed in the groups, as leaders emerge, decision-making processes take hold and communication strategies are quickly established among people who had never worked together”, says she.
Research
Bajaj designers will complete a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of each meeting, as this is part of the research carried out by Tecnopuc CriaLab and OEDK. “We want to have an idea of how learning, both individually and collectively, happens after the Bajaj Challenge. Questionnaires serve to present participants’ view before and after the event, as they address aspects related to team work and organization, the communication strategies adopted to build the solution, emergence of leaders and reception to the project’s specifications and requirements, for instance”, explains Ana.
This is now the fifth edition of Bajaj Challenge. In the future, two graduate students in Psychology and Business from Rice University will help analyze the data. “We hope to have data collected by the middle of the year”, comments she.
Eligibility criteria
Other Bajaj Challenges are being planned for the coming months. The activity is open for undergraduate or graduate students or people working for companies headquartered at Tecnopuc or even outside the Park. Interested applicants must send a line to [email protected].
OEDK
OEDK is a department of Rice University’s School of Engineering and provides a space for undergraduate students to design, prototype and deploy solutions for real-world engineering challenges. Wettergreen has visited PUCRS a couple of times before as OEDK has been partners with the institution’s School of Technology. In the meantime, the CriaLab team paid OEDK a visit twice to take part in some activities.
“OEDK works on concepts related to prototyping with undergraduate students. Tecnopuc’s creativity lab incorporates these concepts in the projects with companies and industries. This synergy brought the teams together and, as a result, a research activity based on Bajaj Challenge has been carried out”, states Ana.
