Dassault Systemes announced Aakruti 2020, a nationwide product design contest for students in India. Aakruti 2020 is targeted at student teams who can design products based on their innovative ideas that provide solutions to the challenges of today and the future, and benefit the environment. There are five diverse themes for Aakruti 2020 that give students the freedom to innovate: “Small is Big,” “Medical Devices with Innovation,” “Design Product for Rural Entrepreneurship”, “Stop Pollution at Source” and a special theme introduced this year in the wake of COVID-19 – “Re-Engineer Products for Contactless Operation in view of COVID 19”.

 

Theme 1: “Small is Big”
Think, re-engineer, simulate and validate an existing product and optimize it using principles of reverse engineering, 3D scanning the existing product, topology optimization and additive manufacturing. The product should be lighter, small in size, energy-efficient and optimized for performance.

Theme 2: “Medical Devices with Innovation”
Design a device implementing biomedical science, bioengineering, human ergonomics, human safety, medical regulatory and norms, which is innovative and will be a great boon to patients / medical practitioners. The device should be cost-effective, energy-efficient, easy to handle and cheaper than existing devices available in the market. The aim is to design a medical device that will help patients in critical situations, especially in rural areas.

Theme 3: “Design Product for Rural Entrepreneurship”
Provide ideas for products to rural youth that they can manufacture locally, and help them improve their livelihood opportunities. Look for ideas to boost rural entrepreneurship in agriculture, affordable energy for remote places, handicrafts, sanitation and other fields by developing product ideas with DIY kits.

Theme 4: “Stop Pollution at Source”
Look for ideas to prevent sources of pollution and create a healthier environment and a sustainable world for future generations. Look for innovative ideas to eliminate or replace the components which are causing heavy pollution, a larger carbon footprint, and increasing greenhouse gases by eliminating problems at the source.

Theme 5: “Re-Engineer Products for Contactless Operation in view of COVID-19”
As the world is gearing up for the ‘new normal’, it is imperative to re-engineer the interface to operate or use the publically utilized products across factories, malls, restaurants or shops or any public utility place with appropriate change in existing product or design and come up with a cost effective solution. In view of government guidelines, product designers need to ensure expected safety norms of not touching surfaces which are in public contact. This means, allowing people to use these machines without using hands; for instance making them foot operated or utilizing other type of additions like motion, gesture, temperature, object, voice etc.

All student teams must register for the contest online by July 31, 2020 at https://academy.3ds.com/en/challenges/aakruti2020. Following the registration and acceptance of their project summary, a student team will get access to Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and SOLIDWORKS applications to bring their ideas to life. Another important aspect of Aakruti 2020 is the ability to work with respective team members virtually through online collaboration enabled by the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The top 10 teams across India, based on innovations in design, feasibility and application of the project, will be selected for the Aakruti 2020 final to be held on October 12, 2020. The participants will have the opportunity to win cash prizes worth INR 300,000, free SOLIDWORKS subscriptions, vouchers, job opportunities and more.

Launched in 2011, Aakruti has had tremendous response from all across India over the years. Last year more than 4,900 engineering, design and technology students from 330 colleges across 26 states competed by designing innovative products that can bring positive change to society. K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra was voted the winner of the competition by a jury of industry experts from the field of education.

For more information on Aakruti 2020:  https://academy.3ds.com/en/challenges/aakruti2020