Oxford Brookes University: Motorsport Chassis Dynamics

[scotty86]

Except for myself as i'm interested in working in ANYTHING, not that i'm aware of, no. I don't know everyone though. Maybe you should find out which companies the unis have good ties with (i actually don't know off the top of my head if there are any rallying outfits linked here), that's a good starting point. Or, contact all the rally teams you can think of and see what they say? Cause in all honesty it's never going to be as simple as 'do this if you want to work in that field'.

[Richard]

See who they bring in from motorsport companies as guest lecturers or to act as industrial tutors. They should have an advisory panel of people from industry and that may give some clues.

The other thing is to find out the CV for those you want to emulate. Look on company & team websites for key people, then see what their education was - Linkedin is a good source for that sort of info.

Also ask the departments about what people have done in previous years after graduating from the course. They'll not have comprehensive data on every person, but they should have a good idea if any of them now work in motor sports. Remember they want your money, so let them sell the course to you!

Edit

I've just done a search on LinkedIn. The results for Brooks has lots of motor sports entries including 3 people at F1 teams in the first 2 pages. Couldn't see any on Cranfield. However you'd need to be careful because some of the companies might be in the supply chain and you might not recognise the names.

• Go to LinkedIn, click on "Advanced Search" (top right)
• Type "Cranfield" in the"schools field"
• Select "Automotive" in the industry
• Repeat for Brookes

[MadMatt]

Yes it looks like Brookes has more people in motorsport. I was told by the course director that in the past 2 years, 100% of the students found a job right after they graduated and that Brookes is very oriented to industry.

Then again, they all try to sell their stuff, but that does not make the choice easier. Right now, it is still 50/50

[Richard]

I agree that the Prof was trying to sell it to you and you have to treat his words like any other salesman. However the evidence from linkedin is based on hard facts. They do seem to have more people in motorsports than Cranfield.

[MadMatt]

Yes, this is a very important factor. I sent an email to the 3 works team running WRC cars to ask them which they would consider as "better" than the other if they had to pick a student. I hope I can get in touch with someone from the HR (at least its where I sent my email to), to get a opinion from the "inside" !

But the more I think, and the more Brookes comes up first. Formula Student, 100% of the students found a job, Oxford is not far from the Uni so you can still relax and have fun not far from the Uni, they have a very advanced suspension bench, and you have access to their computer cluster. I have seen few engine dynos but it looked like there were unused. I hope I'm wrong there because I'm really interested in learning all aspects of dyno !

[Dec]

Hi Guys, first post here, been browsing through the content over the last few years every now and again, but I reckon with the few good technical forums I browse this one is probably best for my question.
I was wondering has anyone done this course "Race Engine Design" in Brookes or one like it in the UK or Europe?
I'm finishing a Mech. Eng. Degree after a few years working in a company building/developing race engines for motorcycle racing in Ireland mostly. Im just looking at gaining more academic experience.
Anyone any advice/experience of their own?

Regards,

Dec.

[MadMatt]

I am now 99% sure to join Oxford, got a conditional offer, just need to sign and finish my BSc !

Hope I make the right choice, considering how crap the situation is in WRC...

[Richard]

I am now 99% sure to join Oxford, got a conditional offer

Congratulations!

[scotty86]

Congrats mate might see you around Wheatley campus next year

[MadMatt]

Thank you guys, and yes scott, we will meet up for sure !

[Kronos]

Hi Dec,

I haven't done the course myself - but a friend has. He really enjoyed it, got a lot of knowledge from it and he's just gotten a job with Ferrari.. So I reckon it's a pretty decent course.

The university are involved in Formula Student too, so it looks like you'd have the opportunity to keep up the practical work.. always good in my opinion!

Best of luck,

- Kronos

[pitlaneimmigrant]

I work with a few people who have come through Brookes doing Motorsport Eng., although not doing the Race Engine Design course and it seems to be well rounded and have a good reputation, the only criticism (from them) was that it tried to do a little bit of everything, perhaps a specialist course like the Race Engine Design would address that though by focusing on a few areas.

Going in to Brookes and talking to the course coordinator would probably give you a feel for the place, (a bit of a trek from Ireland I know!) and if possible, talk to some of the students. Even better, see if you could be put in touch with past students.

And, although it´s a few months away try to get to Formula Student 2012 and ask around.

[cranclive]

I have wished Matt all the best for the course at Brookes which has a good track record for motorsport. However, there is a lot of misinformation presented on this and other fora regarding education programmes. The Linkedin issue highlights this. People reading this thread may think Cranfield doesn't have many graduates going into motorsport. Not so. Proportionally it is probably higher than Brookes as Cranfield is exclusively postgraduate. There is a Cranfield Motorsport group on Linkedin that you can join. Top rally companies have senior personnel from Cranfield. If you look at M Sport and Prodrive for example you will see personnel with Cranfield connections. Christian Loriaux, Technical Director, M Sport is a Cranfield alumnus. Dave Lapworth at Prodrive is on the Cranfield advisory panel. Cranfield has expertise and facilities centred on off road applications, unique in the world... £4M invested in its off road dynamics and terramechanics facility. Research underpins teaching. Cranfield is also the main provider of impact testing for F1 and supplies race simulators to F1, NASCAR etc. In short it is a university with significant links to motorsport and a highly influential alumni and advisory panel. Practitioners such as Pat Symonds, Alex Burns and Daniele Casanova lecture at Cranfield. Probably the main difference with Brookes is Cranfield is more research orientated and is solely postgraduate.

[cranclive]

There have been a number of engine related thesis projects at Cranfield University on its MSc Motorsport Engineering and Management. The thesis equates to 40% of the course which includes powertrain. There is also PhD research at Cranfield. Last year there were engine related projects with Cosworth and McLaren for example. Race Tech magazine published an article on Ralph Koyess' work on turbocompounding based on his thesis. Cranfield graduates go on to power train related roles. A number of ex Cranfield students are at Brixworth for example. So Brookes has a very good engine related course or you could consider Cranfield, using the thesis to specialise. Hope this advice helps.

[MadMatt]

Scott do you have an idea which optional module are you gonna take ?