Vision
In October of this year SAE International signed an agreement to manage the F1 in Schools Challenge in the US going forward. SAE International is the world's premier engineering society and is dedicated to the advancement of the mobility community to serve society. SAE has been around for over 100 years and is involved in educational endeavors that support its mission, with both the Collegiate Design Series http://students.sae.org/competitions/ and the A World In Motion http://www.awim.org/ programs spanning k-16 education. F1 in Schools has a been in the US since 2003 with its primary presence in the Eastern United States however there are schools with teams in 17 states. SAE has 121,000 members world-wide with 32 sections in the US and chapters in 400 universities and colleges, and we intend to grow the F1 in Schools USA program using these connections.
F1 in Schools is a nonprofit company with partners committed to providing an exciting yet challenging educational experience through the magnetic appeal of Formula One. Spanning age ranges from 11 to 18, its main objective is to inspire students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills, and financial strategy and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive, and exciting way. SAE International recently signed an agreement with F1 in Schools and will be managing the program in the US through its A World In Motion program.
What is F1 in Schools?
The F1 in Schools Technology Challenge is an international competition, open to all secondary schools, sixth form colleges, colleges of further education and other organized youth groups to design and manufacture CO2 powered model racing cars.
Student teams in each participating country will compete against other teams in their countries for an opportunity to move on to the World Finals to ultimately decide the best engineered and fastest car in the world!
The 2011 challenge reached and exceeded all expectations, with 23 teams of 200 students from 17 countries competing for the crown staged at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Australian National Anthem rang out and glittering gold confetti showered over Pentagliders, from Brooks High School, Tasmania, as the Australian team lifted the Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy and were crowned 2011 F1 in School World Champions. Team Betagreen from Germany finished in second place followed by a third place finish from the 2010 F1 in School World Champion Unitus Racing from the United States. Next year we are expanding further and hope to have even more countries taking part. The 2012 World Championships should be a spectacular competition! Good luck!
Why F1 in Schools?
The F1 in Schools initiative creates a fun and motivating environment for students to experience the engineering process. The worldwide popularity of F1 racing lends excitement while providing a relevant background for simulating critical elements of engineering in the real world
Experiencing Engineering
Students form their own F1 teams to research, design, manufacture, and ultimately race their own scale model F1 cars. The process simulates many facets of real F1 racing.
- From a design and manufacturing perspective, students use CAD (computer-aided design) software to create virtual 3-D models of their cars and translate their designs into reality by means of CNC milling machines.
- Team organization is critical to the project. Teams must have a minimum of three to a maximum of six members who fill the following roles: team manager, resources manager, manufacturing engineer, design engineer, and graphic designer.
- Teams must also promote their cars through a variety of marketing efforts, such as procuring sponsors (if possible); developing sponsorship decals and a consistent color scheme; and producing a design folder with initial design ideas, design development information, testing evidence, and graphical renderings.
A Total Educational Experience
By taking part in the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, students are able to experience many areas of education and learning - way beyond the technology used to manufacture the cars.
F1 in Schools is a project in itself that can be put toward achieving qualifications in many areas across the curriculum.
KEY SKILLS/FUNCTIONAL SKILLS
- Application of numbers
- Communication
- Use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
- Managing own learning/personal planning
- Problem solving
- Team leadership/management
- Personal learning and thinking skills
WORK-RELATED LEARNING
- Action learning
- Learning about work
- Learning through work
- Learning for work
- Mechanical design and build
- Computer-aided design
ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS
DIGITAL MANUFACTURING
Expansion and Market Research
35% of F1 in Schools students are female.
66% of F1 in Schools students are considering careers in engineering, science, or technology.
84% of F1 in Schools students find the challenge exciting, rewarding, and educational.
80% of F1 in Schools students believe the challenge improves communication and team-building skills.
More About F1 in Schools
The 2011-2012 season will be the ninth year that F1 in Schools has operated in the United States. If you need information about this program beyond what is found on this Web site or the International F1 in Schools site, we will do our best to help.
Visit the F1 in Schools Help Desk to send us your question.
