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The Rising Female Presence In Auto Engineering Contests

Autodesign contests, including the most famous BAJA, have long been an all-male affair, but a growing number of women are changing that.

By Yukta Mudgal

09 Mar 2025

3691 Views

The Rising Female Presence In Auto Engineering Contests

When life is rough, one must learn to enjoy driving on bumpy roads: This is the principle that guided Surekha Payidiparthy, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering student, when she was given a variety of career choices—from IT to computer science. Even though she was told "nuts and bolts" were not her thing, Surekha was as passionate about driving vehicles as she was about making them. A mechanical engineering student at Shri Vishnu College of Engineering for Women in Vishnupur in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, Surekha hails from a small village where farming is the primary source of livelihood.

Her decision to ...

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