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Recruiting students from other departments of the The second example is at the University of Bath where
university would expand the FSAE project and students the students also have a room of their own, but have
from departments such as business management, sub-divided it so that in addition to the main area for the
marketing and legal studies could make a valuable FSAE team there is now a separate room with the
contribution to the project. equipment and health and safety requirements to allow
the students to lay up fibreglass to construct the body
An example of this can be found in the German shell.
Technical high schools where business and fashion
combine with the main FSAE team. This would help turn Not all universities can provide the same equipment and
FSAE into a truly multi-disciplinary project. some of the luckier ones can boast extra facilities such
as a composite department (with the facilities to produce
Most of the students questioned felt that had the carbon-fibre) and an autoclave (for curing small
University of Sussex promoted the FSAE project better components). Lack of specialist facilities is not
and given it more publicity internally, it might have necessarily a bad thing, though, as students will have to
attracted students from other disciplines. With more think about how they can overcome a problem without
them.
Timing of the project failure of an individual team. On our visits to the
University of Leeds and the Swansea Institute members
The suitability of FSAE to support engineering from right across the department were willing to
programmes, typified by UK specifications, implies a contribute to their teams, not only technicians but also
substantial commitment from universities and institutes academics if a special skill was required to solve a
in both time and facilities. In particular there needs to be specific problem.
a substantial commitment from the entire academic staff,
as opposed to the current level of only two or three in Funding raising by students
each university or institute.
The total cost to a university of a project like Formula
We believe that full integration of FSAE into engineering Student is typically around £8,500. This cannot be borne
education should be possible but more research would solely by the universities and institutes. Sponsorship
be needed to establish the best way to do this. A project must be found and this is one of the tasks that the
semester in the final year is recommended. students have to undertake. It should be assigned to as
large a number of students as possible (some
For instance, the University of Bath have successfully universities have as many as 10 students doing this);
integrated FSAE into their semester system (which is unfortunately it is not a task which many want to do.
different from the semesters operated by other
universities), operating on these lines; in the third and Sponsorship of projects like FSAE can offer benefits,
fourth years the second semester is given over entirely such as closer ties with the community; an example at
to project work, thus allowing the students to concentrate the University of Sussex was a sponsorship deal with
only on the project and not to worry about assignments, Brighton and Hove City Council which involved the
revisions and exams. Students in their third year FSAE team visiting local schools to give presentations
completely evaluate the previous years’ car so that in about the competition and the University.
their fourth year they can design, make improvements,
build, test and compete in the new car at the Formula One fundamental decision the team must make
Student competition. concerns how to present the project. The Sussex
experience has been that a motor-sport pitch is not as
The current arrangements show us that students’ compelling to potential sponsors as an education
priorities are a major factor in the success or failure of proposal. All sponsors need to know about the possible
the team; students are aware that final grades are very promotional aspects, but motivation is of key importance.
important to their future careers, consequently they Other funding opportunities exist related to the more
focus on their exams rather than finish the car. For proven University process ie: teaching and learning. For
example, in the UK the exams are usually in May and example, linking this to creative methodology has lead to
June and the competition is early July. This focus by the funding at the University of Sussex.
students on their exams, we believe, explains the
relatively poor performance of a large number of the UK However, some teams may take a pragmatic approach
teams. to sponsorship and only seek to involve organisations
which can give them positive help in the construction of
There are two possibilities to resolve this conflict for the the car. For example they may approach Quaife
student. One is to move the competition date to the Engineering Ltd because they wish to use the
Easter holidays and therefore the competition marks can company’s transmission systems. With this type of
be incorporated into their degree marks. This may mean focussed sponsorship, though, there is always the risk
however that the students might have to work on the that car design could be influenced or limited by the
project through the summer holidays in the previous requirement to use only the sponsoring company’s
academic year. This would also involve additional staff products.
time and associated costs.
Fund raising is some way from the professional
The second solution is to move the ending of the engineering development that FSAE is intended to
academic year from June until September. However this foster. However, it is a necessary part of the modern
solution raises complications for students trying to obtain world and most teams could not function without
jobs, going on to further study and also delays their additional financial support. Fund raising requires a
graduation award ceremony. This solution also creates recognition and communication of the values that the
additional work for the university administration, unless students themselves have internalised as their
all courses in all subjects are moved from June until motivation. It is therefore a valuable activity as the
September, but as this would not be necessary in most students will foster important skills. As students are
subject areas, this solution is unlikely to be favoured. deficient in this area they may need to be given
instruction on money raising techniques, because if they
University and Department commitment were more successful in raising sponsorship it would
ease the financial burden on the universities. A guest
From our observations it is clear that the level of lecturer, specialising in this area, at the beginning of
departmental support was also a factor in the success or each academic year would be able to fill the gap in this
type of learning, which would not normally be a room for interpretation allows other materials than those
justifiable part of the curriculum in traditional mechanical specified, if approved by the technical judge.
engineering courses.
Under the section Safety and Technical Inspection in the
To gain small amounts of money (which all add up) the Rules, the Objective states:
students can target their main shopping street, while
places like garages and motor shops may agree to give “The objective of safety and technical inspection is to
commodities instead of cash, which can be just as determine if the vehicle meets the FSAE design and
useful. safety requirements and if, considered as a whole, it
satisfies the intent of the Rules. For purposes of
A great deal of parts can be found at breakers' yards interpretation and inspection the violation of the intent of
and if the situation is explained to the owners of these a rule is considered a violation of the rules itself”.
yards, the cost if any, can be relatively small.
While students use ProEngineer for determining the
One of the German teams told us that they had financed strength of the vehicle and also to help with material
their entry and the cost of sending the whole team to selection they do not take these techniques further and
America in 2003 by producing and selling a €5 calendar, do crash test modelling. They also ignore such items as
whilst a team from the University of Birmingham – padding for legs and many students were seen driving
having won sponsorship from various engineering, cars with their elbows outside the cockpit, creating
manufacturing and IT companies and wishing to take the vulnerabilities in the event of a crash. It is generally
car to Australia to race in the competition – have recently considered best practice to keep every part of the driver
appealed, through a Professional Engineering magazine, within the confines of the cockpit, as this offers the best
for anyone willing to sponsor them. level of protection. This aspect of safety needs to be
looked at more carefully by the universities and
TEAM AND ORGANISATION institutes.
A proper understanding of team dynamics and team While motor sport is regarded as dangerous there are, in
organisation is a vital contributor to the success of a fact, no more accidents than in any other sport, but
FSAE team. students should be made aware of the potential dangers.
The importance of team dynamics raises many The universities and institutes have to take care to
questions such as whether there is a natural leader ensure not only that competent students use equipment
among the students. The selection is often left to chance such as welders but also that the actual design and
and in the course of the project one student may emerge building of the car is safe. For example, there is often a
who assumes the role. Teams are often unable to fault with the seating position, and if the students would
organize themselves effectively, they decide to only hold spend time in studying before starting to build the car
a regular meeting once a week and these become many problems and disappointments would be avoided.
regular ‘talking shops’ about the aspects of the car which Universities and institutes have to cover themselves with
prove ineffective for reaching a final specification and to regard to accidents, and the safety of students must be a
move on to the next stage of construction. It is often not priority but there is no need to smother creativity.
clear why one student is picked to do a certain task.
TEACHING AND LEARNING.
Managing project risk
Project management - An example in teaching and
As with all motor sports there are risks involved, not only learning
with the testing of the car but also during construction
and development. Project management typifies an important topic that at
first glance appears to be adequately covered by the
When most universities started the FSAE project they project but in fact is simply overlooked in the project
found that their safety policies generally prohibited organisation. Simply exposing students to a set of
students using machine tools, welding equipment etc. circumstances where it would be a good thing to know
Subsequently they had to revise their rules about the abut project management is not enough, and the subject
use of the workshop, power tools and the supervision needs to be presented and practised by the students.
that was required before the students were allowed to
work on the project. Most of the universities required the Project management is a subject that needs more
students to be competent with the machinery they were attention as it is now recognised in the wider world of
using and in most cases they have to have a certificate engineering as a necessary skill. Projects are more
to say that they are. informal than ever before and management is based on
guidelines rather than procedures and policies.
The rules of the FSAE competition have covered all
safety aspects, from driver’s restraint systems to head It is clear from the results that given the best project
protection and crash protection, but a certain amount of environments and encouragement, students fail to
master project management techniques. We believe that theoretical lessons learned in the lecture theatre. By
it is vital that universities and institutes that do not combining the two, for all students, we believe that there
already do so, should include this subject in their is the potential for greater understanding of, and ability
curriculum. Such inclusion would assist the students in to apply successfully, engineering and project
their priorities with regard not only to the processes and management concepts. The result of which, in a
parts needed for their car but with their documentation correctly structured and implemented system, should be
as well and indeed their other subjects. One of the main better-trained engineers. Such sentiments can only be
benefits however would be that they would be implemented in degree programmes if the activities of
conversant with this major skill when applying for FSAE can be tied to the learning objectives of the
employment after leaving university. degree programme. Such a link cannot simply be made
to overall programme learning objectives but rather to
Project management is a subject that could be taught the specific objectives of courses.
from the first year not (as in most engineering courses)
only in the final year of the degree. As most FSAE The UK specification and the Engineering Council
Student teams are final year students they have not had requirements can be matched very closely with the
sufficient time to fully understand this important FSAE project. The parallels are shown in the appended
engineering process, which would not only assist them table and illustrate that by laying proper emphasis on
with the management and construction of the car, but key aspects of the project and adopting a progressive
would also assist them with some of their other studies. and systematic approach, the project could support a
whole engineering programme.
There was a great difference between the universities
that taught project management and those that just What does this mean for UK universities that are active
mentioned it or handed out a few pages on how such in FSAE? To make best use of the resources, it would
management worked. Our evidence suggests that teams be better for FSAE to be fully integrated into their
that did best in the competitions had a better curriculum. This will mean an adjustment to the details of
understanding of project management, which showed the engineering curriculum with substantial benefits.
that they had been given better tuition in this important Curriculum models, like taking three years to complete
area. the design and details of the car, would allow processes
(such as project management), analysis and design
One of the subjects that we noted in our conversations methods to be fully explored.
with the students while they filled in our questionnaires
was that many did not understand the meaning of The University of Hertfordshire has based a substantial
Critical Path Analysis or did not recognise it under this part of its teaching in automotive engineering on the
name. When this was explained to them some students FSAE project. The University enters several FSAE
said they had been taught this technique but they did not Student cars in the annual competition and the majority
recognise its value in helping them to build the car. This of final year projects are oriented towards FSAE. The
was yet another sign that the students had not University uses the FSAE projects to aid recruitment and
internalised the importance of the planning and evidence from public perception and league tables
monitoring process. demonstrates that the initiative is proving successful.
There was also the question of documentation. This is FSAE is in some ways too big for a final year project.
not something that young engineers expect to spend Our evidence indicated that the result is often ad-hoc
time at, although it is becoming an increasingly important and the result of attempts to assemble and test the car
part of an engineer's work. If students from the business at the last minute.
side of the university could be persuaded to take part,
and credits were given for the work that they did, it would Many students feel a sense of ownership about the
not only make the task of building the car easier, but project, looking upon it as ‘theirs’. This sense of
there would not be such a rush for documentation at the ownership is, in part, built up by the fact that the car is
end. constructed in a separate room used only by the FSAE
team, they can work upon it when they like, they have
Skills that the project requires should be learnt in a designed and built it, and they’ve even spent their own
timely way, and their application in the project monitored money on it. (When we visited Swansea Institute of
and perhaps assessed. Otherwise the valuable Higher Education the students were having a ‘whip
opportunity that the project presents is squandered in a round’ between themselves for the purchase of a
teaching and learning sense. necessary component.)
Making FSAE a cornerstone project for the Engineering This sense of ownership is good in the fact that you get
programme. students who are really interested and prepared to
spend all the time they can working on the project, but
One benefit from having FSAE at the heart of the the down side to this is that the students get no credits to
curriculum is that there are many correlations between add to their degrees. If the project were to become part
the practical, real world skills it employs and the of the curriculum, though, it is possible that when some
students have finished their course they will just walk x Licensing for all the software they require
away from the project before it may be finished. x A reasonable selection of hand tools
x A secure account system outside normal university
CREATING A SUCCESS channels
x Some arrangements for testing facilities: engine
What makes for a successful team? dynamometer, facilities to test car as a whole
x Some means of transporting the car for testing and
In spite of the promise, it has become increasingly competitions
obvious during the investigation that students on a FSAE x A dedicated member of the technical staff.
project are dissatisfied with several of its aspects. The x Broad co-operation across the whole of the
little help or direction received from staff in regard to how university staff, not just two or three members in
to obtain sponsorship, and the lack of drive to obtain engineering.
more members for the team are just two areas of
dissatisfaction. Another major one is lack of academic
credits offered to students. The Sussex experience with facilities was that the team
simply didn’t function until there was a dedicated space.
The factors that affect students’ commitment to the A corner of the workshop would have worked if there
project are mainly the lack of credits and the workload in had been a member of the technical staff appointed to
the building of the car, and the commitment to their care for the team. The dedicated space allowed the
exams particularly with regard to revision after Easter, students to take command of the situation.
which is just the time the car needs to be tested.
However, we believe that if the recommendations laid Tel: + 44 (0) 1273 606755
out in this paper were fully implemented, FSAE has the Fax: + 44 (0) 1273 678399
potential to grow into a world-class training project for Email: r.k.stobart@sussex.ac.uk
engineering students. With the increased mobility in the
world’s employment market, having an international
training project allows engineering graduates the
opportunity to fully realise their potential while allowing
potential employers to reasonably compare candidates
from different countries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REFERENCES