17th to 20th at YU Gyeongsan Campus
39 Teams from 22 Universities in Korea, India and China
Daegu Science High School's 'STEAM' and 5 Electric Vehicles Teams also participate
[Jul 20, 2013]

 Endurance race at a 4km off-road track at a mountain behind the YU purification plant on the 20th

 YU (President Noh, Seok Kyun) held the 'Baja SAE KOREA at Yeungnam University 2013' at its Gyeongsan Campus from the 17th to the 20th.

 This event, which is celebrating its 18th anniversary, was joined by 39 teams from 22 universities from Korea and abroad including BIT (Bangalore Institute of Technology) from India and SCUT (South China University of Technology) from China.

 On the 17th, the first day of this event, the vehicles were brought in at 2 P.M., followed by presentations of theses, training for volunteers, and technical seminars that lasted long into the night. On the second day, registration of participants were followed by static tests that judged the vehicle design's uniqueness, safety, ease of maintenance, and possibility for mass production from 9 A.M. to 7 P.M.

 Vehicles getting ready for a car parade in downtown Gyeongsan on the opening ceremony on the 19th

 On the 19th, the third day of this event, an official opening ceremony was held with the attendance of over 1,500 people including all team members, volunteers and sponsors at the main field at 9 A.M. Following this, a car parade drove through downtown Gyeongsan. After completing the car parade, the automobiles gathered again at the YU field and began dynamic tests until 7 P.M., which was comprised of acceleration, max speed, traction force, and rock-climbing.

 On the 20th, the last day, the highlight of the event, the endurance race, was held for 210 minutes on a 4 kilometer long off-road track on a mountain behind the YU purification plant. In this event, the 'STEAM' team, made up of 8 high school juniors such as Song, Young Woon (16) of Daegu Science High School participated for the second straight time. Furthermore 5 electric vehicles teams (2 from YU, and one each from Hanbat National University, Kookmin University, and the Korea University of Technology and Education) also joined to offer more diversity and interest.

 Professor Hwang, Pyung (School of Mechanical Engineering), who has supervised the operation of this event for 18 years said, "Since first starting a competition with automobiles made by university students for the first time in Korea in 1996, we have elevated it into an international event approved by the US Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 2001. It has now become a festival for automotive engineers all around the world." He also added with pride, "The participants had to design and build vehicles all by themselves for about a year, and by writing up business plans and looking for sponsors, they were able to learn about management by applying what they learned in classrooms to the real world, and thus was an opportunity for 'real world education'."

 The top award went to the Jayeonin A Team of the Korea University of Technology and Education, and received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award, the winner's flag and the trophy. The runner up was the Car-Tech team of Gyeongsang National University, while 3rd place was the YU Chunma DM Team. Results of the competition will be announced worldwide through the SAE official homepage (www.sae.org) and its publications.