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Detroit's Kirtish Gaood wins silver for emergency vehicle design
Gaood won silver for a concept aimed at tackling mudslides in northern India.
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Staff Reporter - Mon, 23, Mar 2026
- 03:25 EDT
- 6
Kirtish Gaood at the BRP event / Kirtish Gaood via LinkedIn
Indian American student Kirtish Gaood of the College for Creative Studies in the U.S. won second place at BRP’s sixth International Design Challenge in Rovaniemi, Finland.
BRP is a Quebec, Canada-based powersports manufacturer.
As part of the competition, participants were asked to design an innovative vehicle architecture for an emergency response vehicle (ERV), integrating several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Gaood won silver for designing a vehicle capable of tackling mudslides in northern India.
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The jury appreciated the potential versatility of his concept and its analogy to traditional Sherpas, which inspired the project’s name.
Gaood’s minimalist product architecture and narrow footprint offer agility and responsiveness, allowing access to damaged terrain and enabling rapid evacuation to safe zones. His project emphasizes deploying multiple units in critical situations where every second counts, BRP said in a statement.
Detroit-based Gaood also received a monetary prize of 3,000 euros.
Before moving to the U.S.-based College for Creative Studies, Gaood earned a bachelor’s degree in design from Strate School of Design in Bengaluru, India, after completing his early schooling in Thane, Maharashtra.
Valentin Leboucher of Rubika in France won first place, while Antoine Rupp, also of Rubika, placed third.
“Returning to Rovaniemi and witnessing our finalists immerse themselves in such a meaningful experience is truly inspiring,” said Denys Lapointe, chief design officer at BRP.
“The Design Challenge continues to demonstrate the importance of empowering young talent and giving them the space to explore bold ideas. Each edition strengthens our belief that collaboration across generations is essential to shaping the future of mobility, and that great design knows no boundaries,” he added.
The event brought together about 70 students from eight universities in Finland, Canada, the U.S., France and the U.K.
The competition was endorsed by the World Design Organization and aimed to help students apply their design thinking and creative skills while benefiting from mentorship by professors and BRP design professionals.
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