Australia’s four automotive manufacturers
and a number of leading components companies
have backed one of the most innovative
industry partnerships with the tertiary
education sector ever conceived.
Formula SAE-A
is being produced by the Society of
Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A)
to develop the technical and business skills
of young engineers from 15 Australian
tertiary education organisations. The
project is also likely to attract several
entries from universities in the United
States, where a similar program has operated
for the past 18 years.
This is the
second year for the program in Australia.
The success of last year’s event has
nearly trebled the number of participating
Australian educational organisations in
2001.
SAE-A’s
Executive Director, Angela Krepcik, said
although the climax of the program was the
four-day competition at Holden’s Lang Lang
Proving Ground in December, the major focus
of the program was the engineering and
business management involved in creating an
open-wheel car to compete in the event.
"Each
of the universities or TAFE colleges
engineers a car to be judged in competition
on important aspects of car design and
function. Professional engineers review the
entries based on fuel economy, durability,
performance and packaging.
"The
teams must source their own funding from
sponsors in cash and in kind, which means
the students are designing and constructing
their entries while facing real-life
pressures like funding, budgets, promotion
and so on.
"Some
universities are recognising that Formula
SAE-A is a real opportunity to introduce
other disciplines into the program. For
example, some have invited students from
their marketing departments to get involved
in developing and presenting proposals to
sponsors," Ms Krepcik said.
Several
universities and have included involvement
in Formula SAE-A as a curriculum option
within their engineering and technical
courses.
Briefly,
the Formula SAE-A program requires student
teams to design, engineer and construct an
open-wheel vehicle ie. similar to a racing
car construction. The car is to be powered
by a low-capacity engine, usually a motor
cycle engine. The engine must be air-cooled.
Suspension, transmission, styling, choice of
tyres and other engineering decisions vary
but, like any other motorsport event, they
must comply with Formula guidelines.
When the
teams and their cars from around Australia
gather for competition, they are assessed
over nine ‘Events’: Acceleration,
Autocross (manoeuvrability and handling),
Brake and Noise, Cost, Endurance Track and
Fuel Economy, Design, Fuel and Tilt,
Presentation and Technical and Safety.
Major motor
industry companies have recognised Formula
SAE-A as a great opportunity to create
bridges between their recruiting needs and
the nation’s best technical talent. In
only its second year, the program has
attracted the support of Australia’s four
car makers.
"We
believe Formula SAE-A is the sort of model
that industries outside of automotive should
study. It is an outstanding example of how
to not only access top talent, but also
ensure that industry has a greater influence
over how that talent is developed and
nurtured through the higher education
system," Ms Krepcik said.
For more
information contact:
Geoff
Brooks Formula SAE-A Event Manager (03) 9486
9566 / 0407 486 953
Multimedia
Public Relations
E-mail:
gbrooks@medianet.com.au
Fax:
(03) 9486 9322
* Hi-res
digital images from last year’s event are
available. Please e-mail photo requests.
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