FS2020 x COVID19: Update 3 April 2020

Firstly I hope everyone is safe and keeping well.

In our announcement last week we mentioned that we were looking at virtual events and hoped to confirm details shortly after Easter, however a week does seem like a pretty long time at the moment so we wanted to post a mini-update for you.

The organising committee and members of the IMechE Team have formed smaller sub-groups to investigate:

• Virtual FS-AI competition
• Virtual Business Presentation, Engineering Design and Cost & Manufacturing presentations
• Scrutineering documents feedback
• Virtual racing competition

Great progress has already been made in each of these areas. We have already started the consultation process with FS-AI teams and we expect a communication regarding scrutineering documents to go out next week to AI and FS class teams.

We have agreed the proposed format for the virtual static events and we are investigating a few different platforms for hosting a combination of pre-submitted presentations and interaction with judges. More on this shortly after Easter, as promised.

The virtual racing competition is really exciting (thank you to teams who have already sent in their experiences and recommendations for platforms such as Assetto Corsa and rFactor). This will probably take the longest to figure out as it’s something completely new for us, but we’ll share our thoughts as soon as we can. Although this will be a fun element, we do want it to have some educational value too.

Lastly, we know you are waiting for clarification of the refund situation. The IMechE team is working on the refund policy as we negotiate liabilities with all parties involved. Rest assured, this is a high priority for us and we will provide you with further information as soon as we are in a position to do so.

Please continue to do your part to keep yourselves, your colleagues and your families and friends safe.

Lucy Killington, Formula Student Project Manager and the Formula Student