Universities

[Carlos]

Congratulations Tom. The first step towards a career in Motorsport. I can
only imagine that the course work will be a challange -- but reading your
posts, I can sense your keen interest and motivation. Your friends here
at F1technical wish you every success. Do remember that we will all be
very happy to offer our support. If we can help with our knowledge
by supplying technical reference material, do feel free to ask. I know we
all have a keen interest, do keep us updated on your experiences.

And of course, I am sure, that we will support dedicated members who
enter into such studies. I am sure we all wish Principessa and Tomba an
enjoyable and prosperous future and also the other members in their
studies and entry into careers. I hope that this site will create opportunities


Regards Carlos

Congratulations once Again

[anna87]

I now have 4 conditionals for Motorsport Engineering in Bristol, Lancaster, Coventry and Oxford Brookes. Now I'm spoilt for choice, and I'm still to hear from Swansea (Didn't get into Brunel) so if anyone goes to any of these unis please send me a message and tell me the good and bad points.

Hey what happened to Cranfield univ???
Cranfield is supposed to be the only univ with Crash test facilities....i suppose

[Ranald]

Cranfield only offers postgraduate courses so is out of reach of Tom, at least for the time being. Also it does indeed have its own crash test facilities but as I understand it is hired out for private use more than than it is used by students.

[monkeyboy1976]

Tom - can I suggest that you look at the Formula Student programmes run by the universities you have offers from?
I did it when I went to Hertfordshire and I can say without doubt that it is the best time you'll have designing, building and maybe driving your own race car. I also got the chance to have an intersting chat with Carroll Smith.
I work in Coventry now and have a few friends who went to Coventry uni. All I can say is that Coventry is not the most inspiring city but has good links with the auto industry as this is where it all (or used to) happen.

BTW - Well bloomin' done fella!!

[Tom]

Thanks, I have to admit that FStudent is a huge influence on my favorite courses, but Lancaster and Oxford also run other motorsport clubs which should be interesting. I'm always being told that there is no substitute for experience and so far that has proved true.

[AeroGT3]

Thanks, I have to admit that FStudent is a huge influence on my favorite courses, but Lancaster and Oxford also run other motorsport clubs which should be interesting. I'm always being told that there is no substitute for experience and so far that has proved true.

I learned more from Formula Student than I did from any coursework I took in relevant subjects. I can't encourage you enough to go to a school with an established FSAE program.

[Scuderia_Russ]

I now have 4 conditionals for Motorsport Engineering in Bristol, Lancaster, Coventry and Oxford Brookes. Now I'm spoilt for choice, and I'm still to hear from Swansea (Didn't get into Brunel) so if anyone goes to any of these unis please send me a message and tell me the good and bad points.

Sod Brunel, it's their loss. Oxford would sit you nearer to motorsport valley and I've heard good things about Swansea. Well done mate.

[Ranald]

The situation of Oxford Brookes is a really important and one I forgot to mention iin my PM to you Tom. Oxford really is slap bang in the middle of the motorsport valley which really helps when trying to get a placement or some summer work experience. Also Brookes has excellent industrial links with local companies including Spyker F1 and Prodrive.

[slick]

To be honest you've got a tough desicion. Formula student is good, but not the be all and end all. If it were me I'd be looking at where I want to get to, I guess postgrad studies and then F1. Cranfield would not be a bad target to aim at, so try and contact them and see if they will give some feedback on what they look for, or which institution they prefer.

I currently work in F1 and have come acroos students from Oxford Brookes. They are proud of their Universty and happily promote themselves as students of Oxford Brookes, something which I think speaks volumes. Also, as many engineers will tell you, there are engineering courses and then there are engineering courses. Having a BEng to your name dosn't mean you have the minerials or the toolset required for the job. The students I have come across from Oxford Brookes work hard, and are highly competent engineers striaght out of the box. I have no problems with the quality of their work, or the level of detail with which it has been executed. If I was to go back and do it all again it would be the institution of chioce for me. Largly because I believe the students will be more committed to obtaining roles in F1 and may take a more professional attitude toward their studies. After that I guess it would be Bristol, and finally Coventry. As stated previously, Oxford does place you close to many of the teams, Reault, Super Aguri, Honda, Spyker, Red Bull and Williams.

Like I say you have a tough descision, which should be made with care. If you want to drop me a mail I could provide more info.

What ever route you take, I wish you the best. Work hard and play harder.

[Tom]

Thanks Slick, that helps alot. I really need to go to some open days before I can get a good idea of which to choose though.

[Hondanisti]

remember us when you become famous...

you know, paddock passes and free invites to the parties and such ....

[Octavarium]

Hi Tom, I've been a long time lurker on this site but haven't bothered to register until now. Funnily enough my real name is Tom as well and I'm currently half-way through my first year of Mechnical Engineering at The University of Birmingham.

I think you've definately made the right decision to wait until you've been to look at the uni's in question before deciding which offer to accept. Personally I was fairly set to studying Aeronautical Engineering at Mancherster as it is one of the better Engineering courses in the country, but having been to visit I quickly changed my mind - the Uni itself was not for me!! Birmingham on the other hand was perfectly suited to my needs, it's not too far from home (but just far enough!) has a historic 'Red-brick' campus and has thousands of people to meet!! Oh, and of course the small matter of hundreds of Pubs Clubs bars and Indian takeaways all within walking distance!!

Of the Uni's you applied to I visited Brunel and UWE for their open days. I also know people who are currently at or have been to Ox Brookes and Coventry and seem to like both. In all honestly I wasn't especially keen on Brunel so I don't think your missing out on too much there! UWE has a very modern Campus and fantastic halls (much better value than here at Brum), but I was keen to aim for somewhere a little higher in the League tables.

Obviously I'm not a careers advisor, but my decision was to go for a top Uni/course rather than apply for a specifically Motorsports orientated degree. That said I certainly wouldn't mind doing a bit more car-specific stuff on my course, as although I've chosen to take Vehicle Engineering as my MOMD (Module Outside the Main Dicipline), that only accounts for 3 hours a week of the timetable!

Good luck whatever you choose! I'm having an awesome time here and as long as your motivated and willing to put the hours in Engineering is a really worthwhile subject!

[miqi23]

Tom, from my experience I would suggest you go for Oxford Brookes University. A lot of guys on this thread have also mentioned its location being in the middle of UK's Motorsport valley and it would increase your chance of getting something out of it in the end.

Renault F1 do prefer people from Oxford Brookes since its a local University for them and if you fancy some thing at McLaren then try Kingston University. Two years ago I met this guy from Kingston University who was on a placement at McLaren Racing and I believe he was in this surface finish department. I cannot exactly remember every detail of his Job, however he was responsible for looking after the surface quailty of the whole car and making sure it wont affect the proposed aerodynamics.

Frankly speaking, its up to an individuals own effort and Universities do help a bit. Most importantly, try to make some contacts in the industry, it helps a lot more than anything else. Write to them and ask them how they did it and what suggestions do they have for you.

In the end it boils down to your passion for motorsport and what have you done to go that extra mile to achieve what you want to achieve. And yeah, never give up!

[Kass]

hi this is my first post>> hi to all>>
i am really interested in motorsports engineering. currently i am studying in france.. and i have about a few months to choose to further my studies into universities.

i dont really know the system in france but i really would like to go to the best possible university to be able to work in this field. Does any one know which one should i go in france? can anyone shed a few inside info?
thanks

[NDR008]

Hi guys, I was doing B. Eng Mechanical in Malta. And quit at 2nd year to come to the UK to do B Eng Motorsports, and basically i had 6 unconditional offers to all those unis and more. But I chose UWE Bristol - I must say it is very good, but without a FSAE yet, but I am pressuring them, and I have a feeling a good deal is soon about to surface. Hope I'll see you around.
Problem is they are concidering some deal with Castle Combe of giving us some different sort of experience. But I will soon present the board a decent argument as to why should pursue FSAE instead.