Baja SAE Sherbrooke

Committed to helping future engineers prepare for the challenges of the market

In 1991, when a group of students at the Université de Sherbrooke began designing and building a small one-seater four-wheel drive vehicle with a view to participating in the Baja competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) they would never have dreamed that, 18 years later, the adventure would still be going strong and that their successors would be among the leaders at the annual competitions.

To participate in the Baja SAE competitions, teams of engineering students must design and build an amphibian, four-wheel drive vehicle for prospective recreational vehicle enthusiasts. Once they have perfected their prototypes, different teams of students from all over North America compete against one another and their creations are ruggedly tested during a series of tests and assessments.

Participating teams are required to build a completely new vehicle every year. Each team must oversee all aspects involved in designing the prototype, the choice of concept and the construction within a period of only eight months, and this outside the context of their university courses.

“Every year, upon joining the group, the new members are paired with former participants who help them integrate the team by sharing their experience. This guarantees that knowledge is passed on from one year to the next and ensures a constant evolution in regard to the technical aspects and the pursuit of increasingly ambitious goals,” points out Hugo Fortier-Topping, a current member of the Baja SAE Sherbroke group, which is made up of 24 full-time mechanical and electrical engineering students from four different classes. “A project of such scope requires outstanding commitment, discipline and perseverance on the part of team members. The Sherbrooke team has always taken up the challenge with brio. Year after year, they have succeeded in setting themselves apart thanks to innovative concepts,” observes Philippe Constancis, president of Mésotec inc. and former member of the very first Baja SAE Sherbrooke team.

Moreover, since 2006, the Sherbrooke team has ranked among the top ten teams at all the competitions it has taken part in. “Participating in the project is one thing, but knowing how to play the game well when competing against over a hundred teams is something else entirely. Results such as these cannot be achieved without relentless hard work and a great many sacrifices on the part of the team members. It is a remarkable example of teamwork and determination,” states former team president Sacha Bouchard, who now works in product development for BRP.

“Although the competition is fundamentally a technical one,” he goes on to say, “the project gives students hands-on experience in regard to interpersonal relationship problems, especially in pressure situations and times of stress. Obviously collaboration and communication are two key aptitudes that are developed when working on the project.”

According to Jean-Sébastien Plante, associate professor in the mechanical engineering department at the Université de Sherbrooke, the Baja project undeniably helps future engineers prepare for the technical, organizational and human challenges they will have to face in the North American market. “A number of employers in the field regard participation in SAE projects as an important factor in hiring,” he says.

Baja SAE Sherbrooke