Raftar Formula Racing Team, IIT Madras | "The stakes are high. The environment is intense." | Ep. 15

1. 0:00 – 0:51

   Introduction to the Fastest Electric Autonomous Vehicle

   1. DIDivyaratna0:00

      By 2027, we want to be the fastest electric autonomous vehicle in the world, period.

   2. AVAryan Varma0:05

      Even with lesser resources, there's definitely a lot that you can do if you have the determination. Uh, the way our team works is k- essentially kind of like a startup. You know, you have to pitch to people, you have to raise funds, you have this really good idea and a project in mind that you want to build, and you have to convince people that it's worth the amount of money required. [upbeat music]

2. 0:51 – 1:25

   Welcome to IIT Madras: The Best Place to Build

   1. SPSpeaker0:52

      Hi, my name is Amrit. We've heard that IIT Madras is the best place to build. [upbeat music] So we've come down to the Sudha and Shankar Innovation Hub. We want to meet some people. These are builders. We want to talk to them about their work, and also ask them, what makes IIT Madras the best place to build? [upbeat music] Hi, welcome to the Best Place

3. 1:25 – 2:00

   Meet the Raftaar Formula Racing Team

   1. SPSpeaker1:25

      to Build Podcast. Today, we are sitting with the Raftaar team. It's a little different from the normal podcast we have, where we called, uh, professors or alumnus who have made startups. Uh, this is an actual student team, uh, one of the oldest student teams. So let's get started. Hi, Aryan.

   2. AVAryan Varma1:41

      Hi.

   3. SPSpeaker1:41

      Welcome to the podcast.

   4. AVAryan Varma1:42

      Yeah, nice to be here.

   5. SPSpeaker1:44

      Can you start by introducing yourselves?

   6. AVAryan Varma1:45

      Yeah. So my name is Aryan Varma, and, um, I'm a BTech student in the Metallurgy Department. So this is my final year right now. I have one semester left, and currently I am team captain of Raftaar Formula Racing.

4. 2:00 – 3:09

   Understanding Student Formula Racing

   1. SPSpeaker2:00

      Okay.

   2. AVAryan Varma2:00

      Yeah.

   3. SPSpeaker2:01

      So what is Raftaar Formula Racing? In fact, before you say that, can you tell us what is student formula racing?

   4. AVAryan Varma2:07

      Okay, so FSAE is basically a type of competition where, um, student teams from different engineering colleges around the world, um, are tasked with building a high-performance race car. Uh, this can be... Depending on which competition you're taking part in, this can be, uh, a different types of powertrains. So one is a combustion pub-based powertrain, which we've been for a lot of our history. Um, the other is the electric vehicle, so you know, with a battery pack and then an ECU and everything. And then there's a third level where teams, some teams, um, in the world have now shifted to driverless. So if you're a driverless team, you get bonus points. So basically, this team, uh, works throughout the year in designing and manufacturing, and, um, you know, testing a full race car prototype, and then we take it to competitions, both in India and around the world, and then we race with the other engineering colleges and see who comes out on top.

   5. SPSpeaker3:08

      Okay,

5. 3:09 – 6:04

   Competitions and Achievements

   1. SPSpeaker3:09

      so are there competitions in India for this?

   2. AVAryan Varma3:11

      Yes. So there is one main one called Formula Bharat. So this used to happen at the racetrack in Delhi, now it happens in Coimbatore. Um, this has been hap- uh, going on for quite a long time. Uh, recently, they also incorporated the electric side of things. So, um, when we started, we started off in 2012 as a combustion vehicle, and from there to 2020, um, the, the competition was fully combustion. Um, and then electric had just started out, and then COVID hit, right? So we had a two-year break where no one was on campus. We couldn't do much physical stuff, so we thought, "Why don't we take this time and, uh, work on designing our electric powertrain? Because, you know, the world is moving, and we should also evolve with it. So why not just do this big step?" So we took two years, we designed our electric powertrain, and now we've been competing in the electric category, Formula Bharat.

   3. SPSpeaker4:07

      Okay. So this competition in Coimbatore, which are the colleges in India which take part? Just give us a sense of it.

   4. AVAryan Varma4:11

      Okay. So there are around, um... In total, I'd say 40 to 50 teams, including combustion and electric. Last year, in the electric category, there were around 25 to 20 teams. Um, this year there are more. So this will have all the IITs, so IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur. Um, slowly all the other IITs are also, you know, building their own teams. I think Hyderabad just started their team a year ago. So all the IITs are there, and then different colleges from all over India. Uh, there are a lot from Pune. Uh, COEP is one that participates. Um, there's another from Pimpri-Chinchwad. Um, there are a couple from Delhi and North India as well. So it's a completely national competition, and almost every big college in India participates in this.

   5. SPSpeaker5:01

      Okay, interesting. So... And, and globally, where is it held?

   6. AVAryan Varma5:04

      Globally, it's held in a lot of places, uh, both in America and Europe. So, um, there are- every country in Europe has its own competition. So there's an FS Netherlands, there's a Formula Student Germany, there's a Formula Student Austria. Um, and here Formula Student Germany is, uh, like the biggest... One of the biggest engineering competitions in the world, first at a student level. Um, so this year we managed to compete in the electric category there, so there were around 80 teams overall, and, um, it's crazy. Um, the current team winners, the competition winners, also hold the world record for the fastest accelerating vehicle. So I think that is 0 to 60 miles an hour in, I think, just less than a second.

   7. SPSpeaker5:49

      Which university is this?

   8. AVAryan Varma5:50

      This is ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

   9. SPSpeaker5:52

      Okay. Okay, but tell me something, like, it sounds interesting, uh, and there are student teams from different colleges who are competing both at national level and international level, right? And the umbrella body is FSAE.

   10. AVAryan Varma6:01

       Yeah.

   11. SPSpeaker6:02

       Okay. So why-...

6. 6:04 – 9:39

   Why Join a Student Racing Team?

   1. SPSpeaker6:04

      why should a student do this? Like, if I were a student now, why would I want to be a part of a student racing competition?

   2. AVAryan Varma6:13

      So, um, there are a lot of aspects to a team like this. Um, the first thing itself is, um... I mean, and I'm sure this applies to any other team, uh, that does what we do, um, it's a team full of, like, very passionate and ambitious students, right? So it's something we look out for, um, when we're recruiting as well. And, um, you get to learn a lot hands-on. I know there's, you know, usually, especially at IITs and different engineering colleges, um, we have really good courses, but then we don't get enough chances to apply that somewhere. So, you know, learning how to sort of actually make something. So this is one really good place where you can learn that. Um, you know, designing something on a computer, then manufacturing it, then learning how to test it and, you know, actually validate that, okay, what you've designed for really worked. And that feeling, right, that- what- that you get when you saw something on a computer and then, like, suddenly it's in front of you and it's working, um, I think that's why we even joined these engineering colleges in the first place, right?

   3. SPSpeaker7:22

      Yeah.

   4. AVAryan Varma7:22

      So that's something that is very rewarding. Um, and secondly, because, uh, this is a competition team, the stakes are high, um, and, you know, the environment is intense. So even at a personal level, there's a lot of growth that you can see, um, in each of the student members from, you know, the first time they join, um, to when they've graduated from the team as a core team member. So there's a lot you can learn. There's a lot for you to grow as an individual as well. So overall, really nice place to be.

   5. SPSpeaker7:58

      So you're saying that from an engineer- engineering student point of view-

   6. AVAryan Varma8:02

      Yeah

   7. SPSpeaker8:03

      ... the courses can become very abstract and quite distant.

   8. AVAryan Varma8:05

      Yeah.

   9. SPSpeaker8:05

      And this is a place for you to sort of feel the engineering very, in a very close way.

   10. AVAryan Varma8:10

       Yeah.

   11. SPSpeaker8:10

       And maybe feel the whole cycle from design to manufacture to actually on the, on the field.

   12. AVAryan Varma8:16

       Absolutely. And, um, this skill set that you develop-

   13. SPSpeaker8:20

       Mm

   14. AVAryan Varma8:20

       ... here, it helps you in your future as well. So, um, you know, if you apply for research internships, um, you can, you know, really just shoot for the stars. Because, um, you learn how to design parts, how to analyze them, um, con- carry out FEA and stuff like that, and, um-

   15. SPSpeaker8:38

       Wait, what is FEA?

   16. AVAryan Varma8:39

       FEA, finite element analysis.

   17. SPSpeaker8:40

       Oh, okay.

   18. AVAryan Varma8:41

       So it's basically-

   19. SPSpeaker8:42

       Sure

   20. AVAryan Varma8:42

       ... seeing how strong a part is, how long it'll last. And this skill set, if you get very early on, you can build on top of it and then, you know, try something really niche in, you know, a research project, which, you know, s- someone might not be able to get into immediately.

   21. SPSpeaker8:57

       Right.

   22. AVAryan Varma8:57

       But because you have that experience-

   23. SPSpeaker8:59

       Mm

   24. AVAryan Varma8:59

       ... um, it's, it's really simple.

   25. SPSpeaker9:01

       So once you finish your undergrad, a company that's recruiting you or a, uh, or a, uh, or a master's program or a PhD program that's looking for, uh, students to join them would value that skill set that you have-

   26. AVAryan Varma9:12

       Yeah

   27. SPSpeaker9:12

       ... came through an Formula project-

   28. AVAryan Varma9:14

       Yeah

   29. SPSpeaker9:14

       ... or a similar project which in- involves a lot of engineering?

   30. AVAryan Varma9:17

       Yeah. Because, um, even these research, uh, groups-
7. 9:39 – 11:15

   Designing and Manufacturing the Race Car

   1. AVAryan Varma9:39

      Um-

   2. SPSpeaker9:39

      Understood.

   3. AVAryan Varma9:39

      Yeah.

   4. SPSpeaker9:39

      Okay, can you just tell me... You said students design, manufacture, and test this whole thing. It sounds, um, i- i- I mean, like, it sounds a little like a, like a fantasy, right?

   5. AVAryan Varma9:52

      Yeah.

   6. SPSpeaker9:52

      So are there faculty members involved or are there, um... I mean, how do you get at a second-year, first-year level and start designing a formula car? It's, it's quite- I'm guessing it's quite hard, right?

   7. AVAryan Varma10:05

      Yes. So, um, there's a lot of learning involved.

   8. SPSpeaker10:08

      Mm-hmm.

   9. AVAryan Varma10:08

      Um, there's so much, actually. So I was part of the suspension team, right? And, um, I joined towards the end of my first year. Um, and I had no idea about what a car does, right? I knew how an engine worked, I knew, you know, what an airfoil is, but beyond that, there's- I didn't know what's involved in, like, the engineering aspects of a car.

   10. SPSpeaker10:32

       Yeah.

   11. AVAryan Varma10:33

       Um, and then I joined the suspension team, and it blew my mind that the amount of, you know, theory that's there just in the tire compound and, like, the orientation of a tire on a vehicle as it's taking a lap around a track, it's crazy. And, um-

   12. SPSpeaker10:52

       So did you do a coursework to understand this, or was there, like, a self-study or at-

   13. AVAryan Varma10:56

       There's a course as well-

   14. SPSpeaker10:57

       Okay

   15. AVAryan Varma10:57

       ... um, uh, from, in the ED department. But, um, a lot of it is also just, you know, self-study.

   16. SPSpeaker11:04

       Okay.

   17. AVAryan Varma11:05

       Looking up, uh, you know, there's a different, there's different YouTube channels, looking up research papers. And we have, fortunately, um, a big faculty support for this

8. 11:15 – 15:31

   Team Structure and Faculty Support

   1. AVAryan Varma11:15

      as well.

   2. SPSpeaker11:15

      Okay.

   3. AVAryan Varma11:15

      IIT Madras is probably the only institute that has this whole structure, CFI, with all these competition teams. So we have our own faculty advisor, Professor Satyanarayanan Seshadri, um, who's been with us for quite a while now, and he's seen our EV development. Um, we also have CFI's faculty advisor, Professor Prabhu. Um, we have, um, the manager of the Office of Nirman, Nandhini ma'am. We have, um... For Raftaar, um, we have our own advisors. Anytime it comes to something technical that we're, you know, trying to look into, um, something- if we're trying to do something novel and we need, you know, some advice, um, we go to a lot of different professors. Professor Karthik, Karthick Athmanathan, who's a visiting prof in the ED department. There's Shankar Ram sir. Um, we have-... alumni from the IIT Madras, um, you know, association, that help us, you know, reach out to different alumni and, um, try to raise money because this is not, you know, a ve- very simple aspect on that side as well. So, say-

   4. SPSpeaker12:19

      Yeah, it sounds quite expensive-

   5. AVAryan Varma12:20

      Yeah

   6. SPSpeaker12:20

      ... actually.

   7. AVAryan Varma12:21

      Yeah. Uh, Seshan Rammohan said, who founded the IIT Madras Foundation in the US, Vasu Guruswamy, sir, and a lot more so-

   8. SPSpeaker12:28

      So, I- te- tell me something. So I'm guessing also that you're a 12-year-old team, right?

   9. AVAryan Varma12:34

      Yeah.

   10. SPSpeaker12:34

       So is there a lot of internal body of work that you work on, or every year you start again?

   11. AVAryan Varma12:38

       So I, I won't say we start from fresh, from scratch. Um, we do have a very nice structure for this. So, uh, basically what we do is every year we build a car, we test it throughout the year, we take it to the competition, see where it falls short or where we can improve on. Based on that, right after the competition, we define the goals for the car and the team. So these goals don't necessarily need to be just for the competition, they can be more broader goals as well. And after we design those goals, we say, "Okay, suppose we want to, um, reach, um, a one particular lap time in some dynamic event," right? How do you do that? What part on the car, what aspect of the car do you need to change to achieve that? Do we need to change our battery pack? Do we need to optimize the weight of the car? Um, so all of these aspects we look at and define, okay, if these are our goals... Yeah.

   12. SPSpeaker13:33

       Sorry, sorry, I, I'm, I'm missing a step here. So in these Formula SAE events-

   13. AVAryan Varma13:37

       Yep

   14. SPSpeaker13:37

       ... what are you judged on?

   15. AVAryan Varma13:39

       So we're judged on a lot of things. So there are different events at the competition. So there are dynamic events, obviously, where-

   16. SPSpeaker13:45

       What are dynamic events?

   17. AVAryan Varma13:46

       Dynamic events is where you race the car.

   18. SPSpeaker13:48

       Okay.

   19. AVAryan Varma13:48

       And, you know, your lap times are compared to all the other teams, and, you know, you see who has the fastest car. Uh, but there are o- other aspects as well. There's a cost event, where they see how much money you put into this and how efficient you were in that aspect. You know, you can't just be prodigal. Uh, you have to be, you have to be able to justify every aspect that's on the car.

   20. SPSpeaker14:09

       Okay.

   21. AVAryan Varma14:09

       And, um, that's something-

   22. SPSpeaker14:10

       So I can't over-engineer the car, because then I won't, uh-

   23. AVAryan Varma14:13

       Yeah, and that's something that they check in the engineering design event as well. So that's where they really check, um, the justification for every part on the car, why it's there, what our ideology was behind designing it, um, how we managed to test and validated this.

   24. SPSpeaker14:29

       Okay, so there's a design event, uh, there's a dynamic/race-

   25. AVAryan Varma14:33

       Yeah

   26. SPSpeaker14:33

       ... event, and there's a cost event.

   27. AVAryan Varma14:34

       Yeah. And there's another 75-point event, um, called a BPP, which is the business plan presentation.

   28. SPSpeaker14:40

       Okay.

   29. AVAryan Varma14:41

       So this is kind of like our competition Shark Tank, sort of. So we have to basically take our car, treat it as a product, and then try to build a business around it. Uh, it can be anything. It can be, you know, AR-based, uh, go-kart tracks, or it can be something completely different. I think one of the teams built a whole reality show around this and presented it [chuckles] to the judges. So the judges will be- will act as investors, and you have to really pitch for them. Yeah.

   30. SPSpeaker15:10

       All, all business plan competitions are now Shark Tank events. [chuckles]
9. 15:31 – 20:32

   Sponsorships and Funding

   1. SPSpeaker15:31

      And, um, you mentioned that, um, it feels like it- and it feels to me also like as you're speaking, that this is an expensive affair. Uh, does the institute pay for all this?

   2. AVAryan Varma15:41

      Yeah. So, um, we get, uh, a certain amount of funding from the institute itself. Um, and then we use that to build the car, and then with the help of the institute, we reach out to different companies and, you know, try for sponsorships, and then try to raise as much as we can on our own as well. Because the more cash we have, the more flexibility we have in terms of what material we're using, um, you know, what we're doing on the car. Um, and then still, at the last moment, you know, when there's some amount left, we go to our professors, Prabhu sir, Sathya sir, um, and they manage to help us find some last-moment funds, and then we still, yeah, get to-

   3. SPSpeaker16:18

      Okay, interesting. And I saw that your jersey has Ather written on it. So is Ather one of your sponsors?

   4. AVAryan Varma16:25

      Yes. So Ather is- has been a long-time sponsor. It's been two years now. And, um, they help us both sides, monetary and, um, the design aspect. Right now, we're building a battery pack, which is about half the weight of our current battery pack, but still has double the energy. So we got a lot of inputs from them about, you know, the cooling aspect of it, the integration, how to manufacture this properly. Um, and we interact with Ather very well and, uh, you know, it's, it's really beautiful to see that aspect of it. Um-

   5. SPSpeaker16:57

      Of course, there's a deeper story here because, uh, Swapnil, who's the CTO-

   6. AVAryan Varma17:00

      Yeah

   7. SPSpeaker17:01

      ... and Arun, who was one of their first-

   8. AVAryan Varma17:02

      Yeah

   9. SPSpeaker17:02

      ... product heads, uh, product head, was, um, a Raftaar team member, right?

   10. AVAryan Varma17:06

       Yeah.

   11. SPSpeaker17:06

       They used to be... Like, Swapnil was the head of-

   12. AVAryan Varma17:09

       Yeah

   13. SPSpeaker17:09

       ... Raftaar-

   14. AVAryan Varma17:10

       Yeah

   15. SPSpeaker17:10

       ... probably about 10 years back.

   16. AVAryan Varma17:11

       Yeah, yeah.

   17. SPSpeaker17:12

       That's quite cool, right?

   18. AVAryan Varma17:13

       Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And, um, I feel that throughout, uh, my three-year journey in the team, I sort of realized that there are a lot of, um, sort of influences that you can take, and it, uh, the way our team works is k- essentially kind of like a startup. You know, you have to pitch to people, you have to raise funds, you have this really good idea and a project in mind that you want to build, and you have to convince people that it's worth the amount of money required. Then you make it, then you have to, you know, really test it, make sure it's a product worth, you know, showing to the world.

   19. SPSpeaker17:53

       Yeah.

   20. AVAryan Varma17:53

       And then you take it to these competitions and you prove yourself.

   21. SPSpeaker17:56

       Yeah.

   22. AVAryan Varma17:56

       So there you learn so much, even, um, from like... If you keep the technical side aside, um, if you look at just-... how to raise funds, you know, what different opportunities are there, you know, what different pockets can you look into if you have a good idea and, um, you really want to build on it, uh, even after graduating. Um, this kind of experience gives you a lot of exposure. Um, and that's how, you know, not just Ather, we've had a couple other startups as well, Terro Mobility, Exponent Energy, two of our recent-

   23. SPSpeaker18:31

       No, but Exponent, you can't be counted twice.

   24. AVAryan Varma18:33

       Uh-huh.

   25. SPSpeaker18:33

       Arun, who-

   26. AVAryan Varma18:34

       That's true

   27. SPSpeaker18:34

       ... was the product head at Ather, now runs Exponent.

   28. AVAryan Varma18:36

       Yeah, yeah, that's it. But, um, again, you- it still comes from this-

   29. SPSpeaker18:41

       Yeah, sure

   30. AVAryan Varma18:42

       ... yeah, the-
10. 20:32 – 29:42

    Organizational Structure of Raftaar Formula Racing

    1. SPSpeaker20:32

       Um, before we started, you were also explaining... Before we started this podcast, you were also explaining to me the organization structure. So, uh, I'm just gonna pass this on to you. Maybe you can draw it for me-

    2. AVAryan Varma20:42

       Okay

    3. SPSpeaker20:42

       ... and, uh, the audience, so that we have a sense of how this actually works. Um, here you go.

    4. AVAryan Varma20:53

       Okay, so we have, um, Raftaar Formula Racing, which is, you know, the whole team, and it's divided into two parts. One is the chassis, and the other is the powertrain. So these are the two main, you know, divisions that the team has, and all the sub verticals are- fall into this, uh, you know, sort of these two envelopes. So under chassis, we have three main subsystems. One is the vehicle dynamics and drivetrain. This subsystem handles the design of the suspension, the steering, and the brakes of the vehicle. Then we have-

    5. SPSpeaker21:34

       Mahir, I want to tell you when you were talking about suspensions, that, uh, when I was in institute, I was also studying suspensions.

    6. AVAryan Varma21:39

       Oh, really?

    7. SPSpeaker21:40

       Yeah.

    8. AVAryan Varma21:40

       Okay, what, what aspect?

    9. SPSpeaker21:41

       I don't remember. I think, uh, at that time, uh, we were trying to use some algorithmic ways, uh, to figure out better suspensions, but it didn't go anywhere because obviously CFI was not there, and-

    10. AVAryan Varma21:51

        Mm, yeah

    11. SPSpeaker21:51

        ... as you said, I felt while I was doing that work, uh, that it was very textbook-ish.

    12. AVAryan Varma21:57

        Mm-hmm.

    13. SPSpeaker21:57

        You do something on a computer-

    14. AVAryan Varma21:58

        Yeah

    15. SPSpeaker21:59

        ... and then you don't, it doesn't get done.

    16. AVAryan Varma22:01

        Yeah, yeah.

    17. SPSpeaker22:01

        You just have, like, a graph outputs.

    18. AVAryan Varma22:03

        Yeah. And, you know, stuff like this, it's, it's sort of like a very rewarding feedback loop, right?

    19. SPSpeaker22:08

        Yeah.

    20. AVAryan Varma22:08

        You learn something, you apply it.

    21. SPSpeaker22:10

        You saw it work.

    22. AVAryan Varma22:11

        You see it work-

    23. SPSpeaker22:12

        And then you go back and correct.

    24. AVAryan Varma22:13

        And then that gives you more ideas to learn even more.

    25. SPSpeaker22:16

        Yeah.

    26. AVAryan Varma22:16

        And then you apply that again, and then y- you just keep on going and going.

    27. SPSpeaker22:19

        Yeah.

    28. AVAryan Varma22:20

        Um, so yeah, coming back to this, we have, um... Sorry. We have the aerodynamics department. So this is something that would be very familiar to anyone that follows F1. You know, we have-

    29. SPSpeaker22:33

        Correct, because we've seen the-

    30. AVAryan Varma22:34

        Yeah
11. 29:42 – 33:33

    Achievements and Legacy of Team Raftaar

    1. SPSpeaker29:42

       all that. Do you guys actually win?

    2. ASAnkith Suresh29:44

       Oh, uh, we definitely do. [chuckles] Um, we, um... So, I mean, the entire team, like, all the work that we put in, everything that, uh, you know, we, we, um, we're passionate about over here, like, of course, we get to learn a lot of stuff, and it helps you a lot in the future. But then, um, in the moment, all of us just want to win, 'cause, like, you're going... You, you've put in all the effort over the entire year, you've designed all these parts that have gone on the car, you've spent a lot of hours manufacturing them, you've seen the car being tested, you've had lots of highs and lows throughout the year, and it all culminates down to those-... final few days of the competition, which defines pretty much all the work you've done across the entire year. And everyone who comes there has, um, is just very competitive, 'cause-

    3. SPSpeaker30:28

       Is it?

    4. ASAnkith Suresh30:29

       Um, yeah. I mean, you have col- you have teams from all over the country in the national competitions, you have teams from all over the world in the international competitions. You have teams from various backgrounds, different kinds of resources and backing, and, um, it does get, um, fairly competitive.

    5. SPSpeaker30:43

       Do you have, like, arch rivals?

    6. ASAnkith Suresh30:45

       Mm, it, it varies year to year.

    7. SPSpeaker30:47

       Okay.

    8. ASAnkith Suresh30:47

       So, like, sometimes some teams would choose to go to an international competition or, like, a national competition, and you might not see the other teams every year.

    9. SPSpeaker30:54

       All right.

    10. ASAnkith Suresh30:55

        But-

    11. SPSpeaker30:55

        Of course

    12. ASAnkith Suresh30:55

        ... um, so, uh, 'cause there's, like, so many competitions across the year. Like, Formula Student is, like, this massive community, um, and, like, pretty much every European country has their own, um, version of a Formula Student competition. So, um, you probably don't meet teams every year, but I wouldn't say it's, it's a rivalry. Instead, it's more of, like, a, a healthy competition. Like, even at the competition, now, let's say, for example, apart from, um, our car fails, um, you can always be sort of not too shameless to go and ask a team from, like, another college, and ask if they have a spare part. Like-

    13. SPSpeaker31:29

        Okay

    14. ASAnkith Suresh31:29

        ... um, and they'd be happy to help. Because at the end of the day, we're all here, we're all competitive with each other, but we want, like, a, we want a healthy competition. We want the, we want the best team to win, not... We don't want luck to, like, rule someone out.

    15. SPSpeaker31:42

        Right.

    16. ASAnkith Suresh31:42

        Um, and, um, of course, like, even after the competition, we have all these, um, these wonderful conversations with not just the judges, but also team members from the other teams on, um, why they chose a certain design or, like, um, why, uh, they did something that they did and, like, what we could do next year. Um, a lot of the designs that you see on our car or on other teams, um, has in some way been inspired or influenced from, you know, the other teams at the competition.

    17. SPSpeaker32:08

        I notice very clearly that you have avoided naming any other institution, but okay.

    18. ASAnkith Suresh32:13

        [chuckles]

    19. SPSpeaker32:13

        I will, I will not push you on that. Um, give us an idea of the history of Raftaar.

    20. ASAnkith Suresh32:18

        Okay.

    21. SPSpeaker32:19

        Uh, and also, I think it intertwines very well with the history of CFI, so-

    22. ASAnkith Suresh32:22

        Yeah

    23. SPSpeaker32:23

        ... give us a sense of the legacy.

    24. ASAnkith Suresh32:25

        Okay. Um, so Team Raftaar was the first competition team, um, from CFI. Um, so, um, the team started attending competitions for the first time in 2012, and we've been building cars ever since. Uh, pretty much every year, uh, apart from, like, a couple of, um, gaps, like COVID, and then another small gap in 2015. Um, but, uh, pretty much every year we've been building a new car. And, um, the first competition that we, that the team attended in 2012 was, um, FSUK. Um, and, um, it was, it was a humble beginning. Um, we definitely... The team definitely learned a lot back then. And then, um, 2013 was, um, a bit more successful. We were- we went to Formula Student in Germany, which is the top competition worldwide for Formula Student, and, um, we attended the dynamic events, um, then. Um, so it was a huge step back then. And then we've been working tirelessly ever since then, and, uh, 2016 was, um, I think the first year where we had a podium finish at the competition. We finished third, um, at the national competition back then, um, and that was a great

12. 33:33 – 34:21

    Iconic Black Green Livery

    1. ASAnkith Suresh33:33

       year. It was the first year that the team had, um, the iconic black green livery, um, that, um, you know, Raftaar has become synonymous with at, uh, [ trails off]

    2. SPSpeaker33:41

       Also, is the background for our podcast.

    3. ASAnkith Suresh33:43

       Yes, it's also the background for our podcast. So you can see, uh, it's probably blurred, but you can see the old nose cones of all our cars, and on the very left, you can see the white and the sort of silvery bluish, um, nose cone. Those were the early ones. And the third one is the 2016 nose. That was the first black green-

    4. SPSpeaker34:02

       The one that's 293.

    5. ASAnkith Suresh34:03

       The one that says 10. It's hidden under the banner.

    6. SPSpeaker34:05

       Okay.

    7. ASAnkith Suresh34:06

       Um, and, uh, everything since then has had, um, you know, black, green, and, uh, white on delivery. And, uh, 2016 was a fairly successful year. Um, we had, um, well, lots of stories, but, uh, we, we'll get to that in a bit.

13. 34:21 – 35:09

    Consistent Performance and Championships

    1. ASAnkith Suresh34:21

       Um, but then, um, from then on, we've been, like, consistently performing at the top. We've been on the podium pretty much every single year, and, um, all of that built up to 2020, which was arguably our most successful year in the history of the team. We were overall champions. We beat our own points record that we set in the previous year, um, once again, um, in static events. And, um, yeah, we won the championship by a huge-

    2. SPSpeaker34:45

       Static events are cost, design, and-

    3. ASAnkith Suresh34:48

       And business plan.

    4. SPSpeaker34:48

       BPA.

    5. ASAnkith Suresh34:49

       Yeah.

    6. SPSpeaker34:49

       B.

    7. ASAnkith Suresh34:49

       So, um, we, we won the championship by a huge margin that year, and, uh, that was the first championship, the first national championship that we won. And then, um, after that, COVID hit, and everything went virtual for a few years, and we, um, defended our championship virtually. We won in 2021 and '22 as well. Um, so three years of successful

14. 35:09 – 36:23

    Shift to Electric Vehicles

    1. ASAnkith Suresh35:09

       winning. And then, uh, that's when we shifted to electric. So, um, we decided, you know, the world's shifting to- towards electric, the world's going green, so why not make that shift right now when, you know, everyone's taking a break, um, and we have some, some extra time on our hands, everyone's sitting at home? Um, and, uh, you have a lot of time to think, put in a lot of thought into, you know, building a design so that you can manufacture, um, you know, uh, a new, fresh electric car when everyone comes back, and that's what we did. 2022, we built our first ever electric race car, and 2023 was when we participated in our first electric competition. Um, it was Formula Bharat, and, um, we managed to finish third in our first ever electric competition, which was, which was a huge step at that time. Um, because you have a lot of, um, Indian teams that have been electric for many years before us. They've had a lot of time to perfect their designs, um, you know, year after year. And then to just go at your first attempt and then stand on the podium, that was, um, that was a-

    2. SPSpeaker36:07

       I just realized that we are recording this just before Formula Bharat.

    3. ASAnkith Suresh36:10

       Yes.

    4. SPSpeaker36:11

       And the podcast will be released after.

    5. ASAnkith Suresh36:12

       Yes.

    6. SPSpeaker36:13

       So we will know [chuckles] whether-

    7. ASAnkith Suresh36:14

       We will know, um, um, what the results will be, and the audience will know what the results will be, um, of our third electric competition.

    8. SPSpeaker36:20

       Yeah.

    9. ASAnkith Suresh36:20

       Hopefully we win. Uh, so

15. 36:23 – 40:17

    Challenges of International Competitions

    1. ASAnkith Suresh36:23

       yeah.

    2. SPSpeaker36:23

       ... give me a sense of, uh, I, I understood what you're saying, but give me a sense of if you go to Formula Germany-

    3. ASAnkith Suresh36:29

       Yeah

    4. SPSpeaker36:29

       ... how hard is it to get a podium finish?

    5. ASAnkith Suresh36:32

       It's, it's very hard. Um, and that's for a number of reasons. Um, for, um, firstly, you have a lot of restrictions in, like, the- well, you're, you're traveling, um, from all the way from India to Germany. You have to ship an entire car and all your tools and everything, and there's like a, there's a limit to how much you can carry. Um, you're not on your home turf anymore.

    6. SPSpeaker36:53

       Yeah.

    7. ASAnkith Suresh36:53

       Um, and, um, the, the international teams there, they have, um, a lot more resources. They have a lot more funding. They've been in the game for a lot longer. Like, Formula Student has been a thing since, um, before, um, before the 2000s, and there've been a lot of teams that have been here, um, for a very long time, and they've been building cars for a very long time. So they have, you know, a lot of knowledge from the, the previous years and, um, it, it is tough, but we're, we're getting there, like-

    8. SPSpeaker37:23

       Fair enough. And European team, say, from Italy or Switzerland, and they've been simply having a formula team for 25 years.

    9. ASAnkith Suresh37:29

       Yeah. Yeah.

    10. SPSpeaker37:30

        Yeah.

    11. ASAnkith Suresh37:30

        Yeah.

    12. SPSpeaker37:30

        And they may have moved to EV, like, 10 years back.

    13. ASAnkith Suresh37:32

        Yep, yep, exactly.

    14. SPSpeaker37:33

        And also maybe sitting in India, we don't realize it as much, but in eurozone, going from Switzerland to Germany is like-

    15. ASAnkith Suresh37:39

        Yep

    16. SPSpeaker37:39

        ... going from Karnataka to-

    17. ASAnkith Suresh37:41

        Exactly

    18. SPSpeaker37:41

        ... Bangalore.

    19. ASAnkith Suresh37:41

        Exactly. Teams bring, um, in fact, it, it-

    20. SPSpeaker37:44

        You can simply drive down.

    21. ASAnkith Suresh37:45

        You can simply drive down. They have these massive trucks that-

    22. SPSpeaker37:47

        Trailers.

    23. ASAnkith Suresh37:48

        I'll tell you this... Yeah, I'll tell you this funny, um, thing. So there's this, this is one team from the Netherlands. Um, they have an entire truck full of tools and, like, machines. Um, and they come, and they set up shop in Germany, and, like, any part that fails, they can just manufacture it on site and put it inside the car.

    24. SPSpeaker38:03

        That's so cool.

    25. ASAnkith Suresh38:03

        That's so cool.

    26. SPSpeaker38:03

        It's like a value add for their car.

    27. ASAnkith Suresh38:05

        Yeah. And, um, and it's... And what's even more wholesome is the fact that they're not, they're not like, um, you know, um, exclusive about it either. They- they're very happy-

    28. SPSpeaker38:14

        Okay

    29. ASAnkith Suresh38:14

        ... to help out other teams. So, like, for example, we had a couple of fasteners that we needed really urgently to, like, clear technical inspection, and we just went up to these people, and we asked them for help, and they were very happy to help us. Um, and that, that, that comes back to what I was talking about, how everyone is competitive with each other, but it's very healthy. And everyone's very happy with, you know, talking about stuff and, like, learning from each other, which is really nice. And in that sense, when you go to these international competitions, you get this insane exposure, um, where you get to learn from the top teams worldwide. You get to know about things that you've probably never even thought about, things that you haven't even thought were probably possible, but they've been doing for many years. And it's insane to learn about these things and then come back and then try these on your own car.

    30. SPSpeaker38:58

        Fair enough.
16. 40:17 – 43:08

    CFI Teams and Their Projects

    1. ASAnkith Suresh40:17

       Okay. So, um, in terms of... So there's two, um, different kinds of teams that we have in CFI. Um, one are the competition teams, and then you have clubs. Um, competition teams, um, are teams like ourselves. You have teams like, um, Anveshak, Abhiday, uh, Abhiyan, um, Avishkar. Um, I hope I'm not missing any. Um, even Amogh started recently. Um, you have all of these teams that are building prototypes or building models, and they're participating in either national or international competitions. Um, and-

    2. SPSpeaker40:50

       Sorry, you rattled out a bunch of names, but what do they do?

    3. ASAnkith Suresh40:52

       Okay. So, um-

    4. SPSpeaker40:54

       I mean, you don't have to, you don't have to feel like I'm pressurizing you to represent all the teams.

    5. ASAnkith Suresh40:58

       Yep, yep.

    6. SPSpeaker40:58

       But what are the students doing in CFI?

    7. ASAnkith Suresh41:00

       So all the students at CFI, um, I think everyone is here with the motive to, to learn to apply classroom concepts to build some kind of a real-life prototype. So, um, for example, um, I, I've- we've been speaking about ourselves for a really long time, but then, for example, let me take a team like, um, Abhiyan, for example. They build autonomous vehicles. Um, and so you take classroom concepts that you learn, um, that are sort of at, at the, the center of software, mechanical, and electrical concepts, and you have students coming from a variety of backgrounds, putting all of these concepts together to build something that is, um, you know, very new and sort of something that's, um, you know, um, revolutionizing the, the mobility space at the moment. You have teams like Agnirath that are building a solar car and are participating in endurance events, um, across the Australian outback. You have teams like Avishkar that are building, um, you know, um-

    8. SPSpeaker41:57

       Hyperloop

    9. ASAnkith Suresh41:58

       ... Hyperloop. Yeah.

    10. SPSpeaker41:58

        We met yours last-

    11. ASAnkith Suresh42:00

        Yeah, so, um-

    12. SPSpeaker42:00

        ... last time

    13. ASAnkith Suresh42:00

        ... there's a lot of innovative, um, projects going on at the moment, and I think, um, as a student, as an engineering student, someone who's passionate about, um, applying to or, you know, working in core fields or starting up, um, to build something in a core field, coming and working at a competition team in CFI is probably one of the best things that you can do in your time in the institute. Because it, classroom concepts can only take you so far, right? Like, um, you-... you sit in a classroom, you listen to a professor teach, um, you learn those concepts, and you apply them in an exam. Um, exams are controlled environments. There's not so much you can do with creativity. You know something, and then you apply it to some new problem that you experience, but then that's about it. You don't really get to face the challenges that you can face if you were actually building a prototype, you were actually manufacturing it, and, like, trying it out and learning from those mistakes. And it's not just that. There's, like, so many soft skills. You also have to worry about the funding. You have a certain budget that you have to work with. You need to reach out to sponsors and then try to get more people on board to, like, expand the resources that you have to build better things. Um, there's just so much

17. 43:08 – 49:01

    Balancing Academics and Team Work

    1. ASAnkith Suresh43:08

       that goes on.

    2. SPSpeaker43:08

       So how many people end up being involved in CFI projects overall?

    3. ASAnkith Suresh43:13

       Um, so, um, if I were to talk about Team Raftaar, we have about 40 students, and these 40 students come from varying disciplines. So it's not just like... A lot of people have this misconception that you have to be a mechanical engineering student or an electrical engineering student to do well, but you really don't have to. We have team- so, um, my, um, the previous aerodynamic lead, my senior, he was from naval architecture, and he was, he was in aerodynamics. We have people from, um, say, um, civil engineering d- working on the electrical part of the car. So the, the background that you're from really does not matter because what really drives you finally is the passion to work, and in fact, you learn-

    4. SPSpeaker43:51

       But I also want to point out that I think the name of the course-

    5. ASAnkith Suresh43:57

       Yeah

    6. SPSpeaker43:57

       ... is very misleading. Like, it's not like aeronautical engineers only work on planes.

    7. ASAnkith Suresh44:00

       Right.

    8. SPSpeaker44:00

       They work on a bunch of things, right?

    9. ASAnkith Suresh44:01

       Yeah.

    10. SPSpeaker44:02

        Like, a lot of them work on engines.

    11. ASAnkith Suresh44:03

        Yeah.

    12. SPSpeaker44:04

        There's a lot of thermodynamics.

    13. ASAnkith Suresh44:05

        Yes.

    14. SPSpeaker44:05

        So...

    15. ASAnkith Suresh44:06

        It's to, uh, it, uh, uh, it kind of comes down to the, the basic engineering concepts that you, you learn and you acquire, and then it's- these fields just help you specialize-

    16. SPSpeaker44:16

        Yeah

    17. ASAnkith Suresh44:16

        ... in applying these concepts to something.

    18. SPSpeaker44:19

        Right.

    19. ASAnkith Suresh44:19

        But the basic concepts that you learn are still more or less very similar, um, across, you know, varying disciplines.

    20. SPSpeaker44:25

        Yeah.

    21. ASAnkith Suresh44:25

        And if you have those strong concepts in your first year, which is when most students join competition teams, you can expand and, like, work on pretty much anything, because it's just from that point on, passion to learn and the motivation to keep working on these projects. So, um, in fact, um, I've learned so many concepts by working in the team, um, before I got to learn them in the classroom, and in fact, they helped me do well in exams.

    22. SPSpeaker44:49

        Right.

    23. ASAnkith Suresh44:49

        So in that sense, you do really get to learn and expand your toolkit by working in a team like this, and it really prepares you for the world outside and the world beyond once you've graduated, be it making, building your own startup or be it working in a corporate environment and, like, helping to excel that company forward. Or maybe you go into research, and you become a professor in a particular field. Um, the expertise and the experience that you gain here is gonna be invaluable, regardless of what you end up doing.

    24. SPSpeaker45:20

        That's a very interesting point. I want to say that my personal opinion is that students should do what they love, and-

    25. ASAnkith Suresh45:24

        Yeah

    26. SPSpeaker45:25

        ... careers will take care of themselves.

    27. ASAnkith Suresh45:26

        Yeah.

    28. SPSpeaker45:26

        But I do understand when somebody asks or, um, when somebody wants to know, uh, and I'm representing those people now, does working in these student teams... And obviously, it's a lot of work.

    29. ASAnkith Suresh45:38

        Mm-hmm.

    30. SPSpeaker45:38

        It's, like, 90 hours a week-
18. 49:01 – 52:00

    Engineering Failures & Resilience

    1. SPSpeaker49:01

       Okay, I want to ask you a question about, uh, the lows-

    2. ASAnkith Suresh49:05

       Yeah

    3. SPSpeaker49:05

       ... uh, in the sense that, um, in this podcast, we often talk about what got achieved, what are the achievements, where did you place, podium finish, et cetera. But of course, a, a lot of engineering is about facing failure. Because when you're working with engineering systems, right, and, uh, they're brutal. If your, if your car crashes, it'll break.

    4. ASAnkith Suresh49:24

       Yeah.

    5. SPSpeaker49:24

       It, it's not like go to ask you.

    6. ASAnkith Suresh49:25

       Yeah.

    7. SPSpeaker49:26

       Um, so how- what are the lows that you've gone through or your team has gone through, and how do you deal with it?

    8. ASAnkith Suresh49:33

       So, um, like you mentioned, engineering is a very iterative process. You're constantly learning from the mistakes that you've made, and you're constantly getting better at these. And, um, w- we have, uh... So over the past two and a half years, almost three now-

    9. SPSpeaker49:47

       What's the most spectacular failure?

    10. ASAnkith Suresh49:49

        Okay, okay, the most spectacular failure. So from my time in the team, I would probably say, um, so we had... We were, um, this was 2022, no, 2023, January, and, uh, we were going to launch our first-ever, um, electric race car for the first time. We had just worked- this was two years of hard work that had gone into this during the COVID pandemic, and then another half a year of, like, manufacturing and putting it together, and we were gonna launch it at, um, HFC. It was at Himalaya, um, at the lawns. And, uh, we had everything planned, and we were, like, three days away from the event, and we were testing the car for the competition. And, um, we were testing it around NAC, and in the middle of the night, well, the car crashed, and we broke, um, like, the suspension on the right side of the car. Um, it was, like, completely gone. And it wasn't in a presentable state to, you know, launch it, and we just had, like, three days to put it back together somehow. And the worst part was that it was a weekend the next two days, so all the manufacturing shops, everything was gonna be closed. We had- like, the entire team had to scramble. This, this was a low, but then the best part that- uh, the best part about the team is that no one ever gives up. Like, regardless of how bad the situation is, everyone just gives their all, and it motivates you to be even better and, like, push even harder. We pushed nonstop for those three days. We, we went, and we forced these shops to stay open over the weekend and, like, make these parts for us. And everyone was scrambling. Everyone knew what they had to do, what their responsibilities were, and everyone made sure they did their part. And we managed to get the car back together, and we launched it very, fairly successfully. Um, and, um, it- we got very good reception as well. And, um, I think it was a, it was a, it was a success. And in that sense, um, we've, we've- we always have these lows, and they're always transformed into, like, highs at some point. And, um, that's, that's, like, the joy of, like, working in a team like this. You have constant ups and downs, but then, um, the, the lows... Like, the, the highs are worth, um, you know, wading through the lows and, like, pushing the team back up. Uh, and in that sense, um, it's always nice when everyone gets together to, like,

19. 52:00 – 57:00

    Driver Selection & Racing Experience

    1. ASAnkith Suresh52:00

       work towards, uh, one common goal. Um, it's always nice to see.

    2. SPSpeaker52:04

       Nice.

    3. ASAnkith Suresh52:04

       Yeah.

    4. SPSpeaker52:05

       I like, I like that phrase, "No one ever gives up." It's beautiful. Okay, thanks, Ankith. That was great. Um, who are we meeting next?

    5. ASAnkith Suresh52:12

       We are next m- we are meeting Divyaratna Joshi. Um, he is a junior electrical engineer in the team.

    6. DIDivyaratna52:19

       Yeah, so I'm Divyaratna. I'm a third-year undergraduate in chemical engineering, and I work on the powertrain side of things in Raftaar.

    7. SPSpeaker52:26

       Okay.

    8. DIDivyaratna52:26

       So, uh, it's most like, in my year right now, it's just mostly managing my, uh, my juniors. We call them sub juniors. I'm a junior engineer. And, uh, it's mostly managing them, as well as designing what the next year of the car will look like in terms of a powertrain. So that's low-voltage, higher systems, high-voltage systems, motor control, et cetera.

    9. SPSpeaker52:47

       Can you walk this through? How did you join the team? Did you join it in your first year?

    10. DIDivyaratna52:51

        Yeah. So, uh, we- the team generally recruits in the second sem, and that's because, unlike other Formula Student teams in India and abroad, we'd like to get the, like, get the students on with the process as soon as possible. So, uh, second sem, we have an application process, post that an interview, and then finally, the-

    11. SPSpeaker53:11

        Okay. And, uh, when you joined first, what were you working on?

    12. DIDivyaratna53:14

        So, uh, when I just joined, how it works is that, like, it's completely foreign to me, right? So a good way of, uh, getting, uh, juniors up to speed is to get them to do sub junior projects, so basically, small, small tasks that teach them basic functionality of the entire car. I'm talking more of an ele- from an elect perspective. In the mech side of things, they just understand-

    13. SPSpeaker53:36

        Wait, wait, hold on. You're a chem engineer who's working on elect?

    14. DIDivyaratna53:39

        Yeah.

    15. SPSpeaker53:39

        Is that common?

    16. DIDivyaratna53:40

        That's very common. So in fact, ironically, we have electrical engineering people working on aerodynamics and fluid flow. So that way, it's interdisciplinary. It doesn't really matter. I was passionate about electronics since my, uh, school years, so it just made sense for me to join there.

    17. SPSpeaker53:55

        But when you joined, uh, and you, um, you know, entered your choices, uh, didn't you choose, and if, if you were passionate about electronics already, wouldn't you have chosen an electronics course instead of a chemical course?

    18. DIDivyaratna54:06

        While true, I did put that at a higher priority, um, I mainly joined because of the campus. So my m- big- bigger priority was choosing IIT Madras as a campus over, uh, probably a branch. Because, like, I'd seen probably, like, a few videos and some articles about how, you know, like this... I saw CFI, basically.

    19. SPSpeaker54:27

        Okay.

    20. DIDivyaratna54:27

        And that kind of ins- made me realize that, you know, it doesn't really matter what branch I'm from, at least here, as long as I'm willing to work towards something that like-

    21. SPSpeaker54:36

        That's damn cool.

    22. DIDivyaratna54:37

        Yeah.

    23. SPSpeaker54:37

        So you wanted to join for CFI, you joined CFI?... and then, yeah, you worked in CFI?

    24. DIDivyaratna54:41

        Yeah, so it was like a dream come true-

    25. SPSpeaker54:43

        Ah, okay

    26. DIDivyaratna54:43

        ... in a way.

    27. SPSpeaker54:44

        Awesome. I want to ask you, uh, you drive the car?

    28. DIDivyaratna54:47

        Yep.

    29. SPSpeaker54:48

        So how does that part work? Because all we've been hearing about is design, business plan-

    30. DIDivyaratna54:51

        Mm
20. 57:00 – 1:00:39

    Race Strategy & Competition Events

    1. DIDivyaratna57:00

       detaching from the car, and it was just, like... It was an overnight push to get all of that working.

    2. SPSpeaker57:05

       But i- in, during a competition, you've not had a crash, or does- is that common at all?

    3. DIDivyaratna57:10

       No.

    4. SPSpeaker57:10

       But one second, I want to ask you, in the competitions on the track-

    5. DIDivyaratna57:14

       Yep

    6. SPSpeaker57:14

       ... do you all race together? Are all the competition, all the races, they drive together or is it-

    7. DIDivyaratna57:18

       So, uh, again, so the competition has multiple events. Only in one of the event called Endurance, which is the longest race, five teams drive at a time. They're not wheel-to-wheel racing, so let's be clear. There's no competition of, "I have to get ahead of that guy." It's everybody's running for their own time. So in the end, what matters is start mi- stop minus start, that's my time for the event. However, there are overtaking zones. It's still a f- a student competition. Nobody's a certified driver, technically-

    8. SPSpeaker57:48

       Yeah

    9. DIDivyaratna57:48

       ... so they would not want to kill anybody this year.

    10. SPSpeaker57:51

        Yeah.

    11. DIDivyaratna57:51

        So yeah.

    12. SPSpeaker57:52

        Yeah. [chuckles]

    13. DIDivyaratna57:53

        No crashes, though.

    14. SPSpeaker57:54

        Okay, cool. Um, how... I w- I, it, it's interesting because obviously this involves a lot of work.

    15. DIDivyaratna58:03

        Yeah.

    16. SPSpeaker58:03

        And, um, how do you manage, or how do students in your team, and other CFI teams also, how do they manage, uh, your academic workload? Plus, maybe some of you are interested in sports, or maybe you have some cultural thing that you want to take part. Maybe somebody dances, somebody writes.

    17. DIDivyaratna58:18

        Right.

    18. SPSpeaker58:18

        I don't know. How does that work?

    19. DIDivyaratna58:20

        So, uh, it's honestly just about time management. Uh, we see in all, in most of our courses across the board, we have quite a lot of free time. Like, given that the campus allows us to have 40% of our electives decided by ourselves, uh, we pick slots as well as, uh, credits. We kind of switch around credits in a way that, uh, we end up saving a lot of time for Raftaar. So for example, um, me, I would say that I can come back from my academics, which is barely... Right now, it's barely, like, four classes a day, so it's completely flexible. I come back. I can do my Raftaar work. I play squash. We have, uh, people from my team going for inter-IT sports, which is probably the most taxing-

    20. SPSpeaker59:04

        Yeah

    21. DIDivyaratna59:04

        ... in terms of time. We have people from cultures, from tech. So honestly, time balance is not that big of an issue. It's... You do have to push sometimes, like, come, come closer to the competition. You might have, like, I was in campus for most of my winter vacation, so there is a bigger sacrifice.

    22. SPSpeaker59:21

        Sure.

    23. DIDivyaratna59:21

        But again, it's just passion, so.

    24. SPSpeaker59:22

        Sure, fair enough. You're, uh, at the very least-

    25. DIDivyaratna59:24

        Yeah

    26. SPSpeaker59:24

        ... you have to sacrifice your holidays.

    27. DIDivyaratna59:25

        Yeah. But it's worth it.

    28. SPSpeaker59:28

        Nice. Damn cool. Uh, and, um, do you feel that, um... You know, I'm sure you have friends because you live on campus, and it's a residential area.

    29. DIDivyaratna59:37

        Yeah.

    30. SPSpeaker59:37

        You have friends who, uh, probably chill-
21. 1:00:39 – 1:03:22

    Future Ambitions and Sponsorships

    1. DIDivyaratna1:00:39

       For the next few years? Right. So, um, we've kind of en- established ourselves very well in the Indian field, so-... I see us going more and more, uh, to match, level up with the international team. We are still quite a way. Uh, that's one thing, and second is to be able to- for that to happen, we need to raise money. So-

    2. SPSpeaker1:00:59

       Yeah

    3. DIDivyaratna1:00:59

       ... a big part of what we're focusing on right now is getting more and more sponsors, because our work right now, our goal for, like, let's say 2027, is to go to be the fastest electric autonomous vehicle in the world, period.

    4. SPSpeaker1:01:12

       Okay.

    5. DIDivyaratna1:01:12

       And that's ambitious, and that requires money. So a big part of it is g- get going out to companies, especially for industry collab, where we see ourselves not as, uh, someone you can donate money to.

    6. SPSpeaker1:01:24

       Yeah, that's interesting. I, I get why the institute would support this. I get why you participate. Why will someone sponsor your... What do they get?

    7. DIDivyaratna1:01:33

       So, um, we are, like I said, we're trying to move away from more of a CSR team, where people just give, dump their funds on us, and try to be something, uh, of value to other companies. For example, uh, we've been collaborating with MRF for the past, I think, five years. S- they actually used to give us tires, and what we would do is we would hook them up with an array of sensors, take them to a test track, just belt them till they're gone, and give them the data. And what that help them do is analyze how their tires behave at higher speeds, at higher temperatures. Then they would manipulate that compound and send us back, send the tires back. So MRF actually started an entire category of formula student tires specifically for these, uh, for these conditions, based on the data that we give them. So it's more of, like, a two-way thing. We collaborate with them, help them-

    8. SPSpeaker1:02:23

       So in some ca- you're saying in some cases, the company sort of, maybe not in a big way, but at least in a small way, gains something by working-

    9. DIDivyaratna1:02:30

       Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

    10. SPSpeaker1:02:31

        So those will be the top kind of companies who sponsor?

    11. DIDivyaratna1:02:34

        Exactly. So we were also look- we were also, in fact, working with Daimler. Uh, Daimler is the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, and they wanted to come into India to set up their own electric, uh, powertrains, so we helped them design a test bench with us. They worked it out.

    12. SPSpeaker1:02:50

        Yeah. Nice. Uh, and then second category would be alumnus or companies which want to, uh, sponsor you for a CSR-

    13. DIDivyaratna1:02:57

        Yes

    14. SPSpeaker1:02:57

        ... kind of.

    15. DIDivyaratna1:02:58

        Yeah, so, uh, that would include basically all the CSR donations that happen, and thankfully, we have alumni in very senior positions in a lot of companies. So it's a lot about contacts, right? So-

    16. SPSpeaker1:03:09

        Yeah

    17. DIDivyaratna1:03:09

        ... that way, we get, uh, where we want.

    18. SPSpeaker1:03:12

        So can you say that again? By 2027, what?

    19. DIDivyaratna1:03:15

        By 2027, we wanna be the fastest electric autonomous vehicle in the world, period. Yeah.

    20. SPSpeaker1:03:20

        I think that's a good place to stop.

22. 1:03:22 – 1:03:56

    Conclusion and Farewell

    1. SPSpeaker1:03:22

       [chuckles]

    2. DIDivyaratna1:03:22

       Yeah.

    3. SPSpeaker1:03:22

       Okay. Thank you, Divya, and, uh, uh, and my gratitude to Ankith and Aryan for sharing this with us. Um, that's the podcast, guys. Please like, follow, subscribe, and if you guys know the Raftaar team, then, uh, comment or, uh, share it with your teammates. Thank you. [outtro jingle]

Episode duration: 1:03:56