Participation

The contest is open to students across all disciplines and all years of any degree. From 12^th August 2024, the contest will be open for online enrollment Pan India. The number of members in each team is minimum 3 and maximum 4.

Process

The Contest is divided in three (3) levels, each being a knockout level.

Level 1: Abstract Round

• Participating teams are required to submit an abstract (max length 750 words) in .pdf format by the below mentioned date. The abstract should contain an approach and/or an overview to address the given problem statement and expected result(s). . The abstract can include images, if required. The total file size should not be more than 3 MB.

• No. of teams to qualify for next level: 30

Level 2: Mentor Round

• Based on the submitted abstract, the teams are shortlisted, and mentors are assigned to them for proceeding towards the solution of the problem statement. During this stage, the participants are required to work rigorously on their projects and submit a report of maximum 15 pages in .pdf format along with a presentation in .pptx with maximum 6 slides. The teams are expected to work closely with their mentors to make tangible progress.

• No. of teams to qualify for next level: 10

Level 3: Winner’s Round

• After mentor round, the submitted report and the presentation are evaluated and 10 teams will be shortlisted for the final conference, i.e., level 3 which will be held at WITEC, Bangalore. Out of 10 qualifying teams, 3 winning teams will be declared. The teams have opportunity to work with the mentors to further improve their report and presentation.

• No. of winning teams: 3

The clock starts ticking from the date of registration on the contest portal. During challenge execution period, the participants will interact with the mentors to shape the project delivery. At the end of level 2, submissions are expected on the online portal. Wabtec’s internal team will evaluate the submissions in two weeks from submission deadline. Level 3 with final presentation and declaration of winners along with other key announcements will follow. The project evaluation will be done based on two submitted documents only. You must not submit anything else along with these submissions (such as, an application, a prototype, or physical samples etc.). Nonetheless, teams are allowed to showcase and demonstrate their developed prototypes at level 3 conference Logistical information concerning the Level 3 conference will be communicated later. On conference day, the team must present the findings to the Wabtec audience. It is mandatory that there is equitable articulation by each team member. Total time of presentation will be 15 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A.

Teams selected for level 3 will be offered a two-week window for further refinement in their projects prior to the conference in WITEC, Bangalore. Mentors will be available during this two-week period. Students can use this period to enrich their submissions for the conference. However, students need to mandatorily re-submit the report and presentation two days prior to the conference, irrespective of any changes from the level-3 submission.

Takeaways

All the participants registering for this contest will get an opportunity to closely observe the NextGen technologies that the rail industry is interested in. These technologies cover the entire gamut of science and engineering disciplines with interdisciplinary interactions among them. This technological landscape will help you understand and prepare what are the skills and abilities needed in the current industrial scenario. As your team gets shortlisted from Abstract Round (Level-1) to Mentor Round (Level-2), you will get firsthand interaction and mentorship from subject matter experts. These mentors will guide you to hone your technical understanding of the subject, problem definition & solving skills, and last but not the least the communication skills; these are the three fundamental pillars of your professional skills to succeed in today’s industry. Working through the Level-2 will prepare you early-on for industry-readiness given Mentor Round duration is 2-3 months which is a long enough to make best use of the industry mentor relationship. The top teams from Mentor Round will compete for the Final Round for the coveted Exceed 3.0 Trophy. Wabtec will host these teams at the Bangalore Tech Center and will sponsor visit to Bangalore. In this Tech Center visit, the teams will get an opportunity to in-person interact with their mentors, other like-minded experts, and leaders. The visiting teams will experience the laboratories, simulators, and product / SW development facilities to conclude the all-round exposure of today’s technology-driven industry.