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Can you tell us a bit about your Formula Student experience, how it started and what inspired you to become a judge?
I competed at Formula Student UK in 2004 and 2006 with the University of Hertfordshire, leading the team to finish 5th overall in Class 1 in 2006. I also designed the chassis and suspension and drove in the sprint and endurance events that year.
Following that I was “hooked” on the Formula Student experience and have remained involved with the competition ever since. After volunteering as a Design Judge and Scrutineer I joined the Formula Student Organising Committee in 2008 and represented the UK event on the international rules committee for several years.
I also co-authored the original SES template with Dr. Andrew Deakin and was a contributing author to the “Learn and Compete” book.
Most recently I held the position of Chief Technical Scrutineer from 2012 to 2019, before stepping up to be Head Judge at the start of the 2020 competition year.
Do you believe the future of Formula Student can adapt to the COVID-19 crisis and how?
Engineers are first and foremost “problem solvers” and the best engineers always find a way to adapt to the circumstances/challenges they are presented with, making the most of the resources at their disposal in an innovative and efficient manner.
I have no doubt that the Formula Student community can adapt to the ever-changing landscape that we all face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is already evident in the range of virtual Formula Student events that are to be held around the world this year.
Beyond this summer’s events there will inevitably be further adaptations required as society in general and industry at large navigate the post COVID-19 world. At this point in time no one can accurately predict what that will entail, but a similarly dynamic, innovative and well-reasoned approach will be required by all.
What are the main challenges currently facing the competition in your opinion?
The immediate priority of minimising risk to staff and students at all Formula Student teams was addressed promptly by the unanimous decision to cancel the events originally planned for 2020.
Those event organisers holding virtual events must strive to ensure that the format of their event respects social distancing requirements, both in the lead up to and during the event itself.
Longer term, we as a community will continue to be dependent on the support of our partners/sponsors and volunteers. The full extent of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis is yet to be seen, but will likely see reduced operating budgets, for both event organisers and teams alike.
What can the Formula Student organising bodies do to help the struggling teams due to the current events?
The current and future situation will vary greatly by location, it is sadly inevitable that there will be a second wave of infection in some countries, and the full relaxation of social distancing measures awaits a viable vaccine.
As event organisers all the above is out of our control, we must each adapt to the particular circumstances presented and maximise our offering to the teams within those constraints.
The already announced Rules stability for 2021 will ensure that teams can continue to develop their 2020 cars, which should both reduce costs and allow extra time for teams that are still required to observe social distancing measures.
Do you think there are any positive outcomes for the competition from the current situation?
For our 2020 virtual event we have accelerated plans for the development of our autonomous competition, introducing a new “Simulation Development” static event. The cost event sees the return of the popular “Special Task” and the Virtual Dynamics introduces Lap-Time simulation using a Multi-Body Dynamics simulation environment and competitive “sim racing”.
It is our intention to take the learning from each of these and develop them further, either as standalone events or to embed them in the “traditional” event format.
In both scenarios it expands the range of activities that teams can engage with and increases the number of students per team that can actively participate each competition year.
Do you think it is beneficial for the teams to participate in an online competition and why?
While we are all disappointed that we won’t see cars competing against each other “on track” this year, the dynamic events are only one element of a competition format that is designed to improve the educational experience and in turn produce better engineers for their onward studies and careers.
In general terms participation in virtual events will:
- Allow teams to demonstrate the engineering work they have completed to date as well as how they have worked as a team to overcome the organisational challenges resulting from current lockdown restrictions.
- Retain the educational benefits associated with the opportunity to present work for peer review, receive feedback and the transfer of knowledge between industry and academia.
- Provide the opportunity for engagement and networking with industry professionals and potential future employers.
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Provide practical experience of remote collaboration on complex projects, which will be more prevalent in both academic and industrial settings in the post COVID-19 world.
- Allow teams to gain valuable feedback from judges on their 2020 designs and use this in the continued development for competition in 2021.
This will be beneficial to all team members, but particularly so to those who are due to graduate this year and may not have the opportunity to compete in future years.