Formula SAE-A racers impress head-hunters

Hundreds of Aussie engineering students vying for careers in the automotive and motorsport industries impressed head-hunters from the likes of Tesla and Ford in a competition test bed on the weekend.

Engineering students from around the globe competed at Winton Motor Raceway for the 20th annual Formula SAE-A event run by the Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A).

As usual, each team competed in the cars they designed and built, before being judged on all aspects of design and performance.

This year those judges included a team of Tesla recruiters from California, as well as employers from Ford, Siemens and Australian Defence Recruiting.

Both electric and internal combustion engine classes were held, with teams from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India and Pakistan going up against each other.

Over the four-day competition, students were able to lodge their details with Tesla and a dozen other employers at the careers expo, with many hoping to get a foot in the door with Formula 1 and Supercar teams.

SAE-A chairman Adrian Feeney recruiters and visiting Formula 1 engineers were impressed by the level of technology and advanced features presented this year.

“It’s no wonder companies like Ford, which employ more than 2000 engineers, designers, technical and automotive specialists in Australia alone, see this as a natural recruiting ground,” he said.

“Our first event had about six cars and fewer than half of them finished; this year we had 32 cars – half of them electric – and very few failed to go the distance.”

Melbourne’s Monash University University claimed top spot in both the ICE and EV classes, ahead of the University of Queensland.

New Zealand’s University of Canterbury was awarded third place in the EV category, while Griffith University took third for their internal combustion entry.