Northampton College students in pole position to get careers off to winning start

Aspiring engineers at Northampton College are hoping to fast-track their careers by taking top spot in a competition to find the next stars of Formula One.

Students are taking part in F1 in Schools – a global multi-disciplinary challenge in which teams use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and then race miniature compressed air-powered cars.

The Northampton College team, known as Ignite NC, is taking part in the regional heats at Boston College and hopes to progress further, with students keen to attract sponsorship from the Northamptonshire business community to further strengthen their bid.

Engineering tutor Neil Tobin said: “Since we first had the idea of entering, things have really snowballed. We think we now have a very competitive car and with a few minor tweaks, we can be confident of a good performance.

“We have had brilliant backing from companies including Cosworth and Alcon Engineering and we are keen to build partnerships with other local employers to show judges our commitment to collaboration.”

The challenge inspires 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.

Teams must raise sponsorship and manage budgets to fund research, travel and accommodation.

As F1 in Schools is a not-for-profit organisation, any funds raised through sponsorship are invested in administering, developing and expanding the challenge.

The Ignite NC team is made up of project manager Abel Adosinaba, finance manager Joshua Hackett, manufacturing engineer Matthew Knight, design engineer Lucas Buksh, graphic designer Samuel Shears and sponsorship and marketing manager Kiera O‘Neil.

Neil added: “F1 in Schools is the largest and most successful school-based STEM programme in the world, offering a way to learn Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths related subjects in a new and exciting way.

“Everyone who has come down to see what we are doing has been blown away. The facilities we have are second to none and the students have really embraced the challenge.

“It’s the first year we have taken part but we want to establish ourselves as a ‘maker hub’ for local schools so they can design and run their own competitions but we make the physical cars for them. We’d love to become a venue for regional heats as well.”

The college team is focusing on the environmental impact of its involvement in the competition and, as part of its submission, is looking at ways of improving sustainability by planting trees to offset carbon use and potentially recycling gas cylinders into an art sculpture.

Barclays will deliver a sustainability masterclass as part of its sponsorship of Ignite NC and number of other sessions with employers are also in the pipeline.

Any companies interested in getting involved in supporting Northampton College’s involvement in F1 in Schools can email [email protected]