On Wednesday 5th September, 330 students competed in the regional final of the global F1 in Schools Competition, which, for the first time, was held at the Federation Centre, Maitland. F1 in Schools is the world’s largest STEM competition for school children, involving 20 million students in 40 countries.
26 teams competed for the title of Regional Champion which, from there, elevates them to the State comp, then on to nationals and worlds to be held at an international destination yet to be advised in 2019.
F1 in Schools Competition mimics the world of a Formula One Racing team. Groups of students follow a pathway of engineering and manufacturing disciplines: design, analyse, test, make and race. They are provided with access to real-world technologies such as 3D CAD/CAM/CAE engineering design software and soon become proficient in areas such as Coding, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Finite Element Analysis.
The program also aims to develop skills in problem solving, project management, communication, presentation, teamwork, innovation, self-promotion, collaboration, marketing and entrepreneurialism – which are clearly identified as aiding in the transition through high school, are in-demand by industries the world over and not impacted by disruptive technologies.
RDA Hunter invited its industry partners to judge the event. 20 industry representatives are joining the panel of judges, including representatives from Lockheed Martin Australia, BAE Systems, Thales, Boeing, RAAF and PwC.
The winning team will be announced by email on Wednesday 12th September.