Autosport to feature automotive education exhibits

Want a career in the automotive industry and in general or in motorsport in particular? Exhibitors at this year’s Autosport International show include some of the biggest companies and several leading universities presenting their courses and the achievements of current students at the show.

Indeed no less than 11 of the UK’s leading tertiary institutions renowned for their engineering courses will be present.  Traditional universities such as Cranfield, Oxford Brookes, Bolton, Birmingham City and Derby will be joined by a new online course, offered by the National Motorsport Academy, which is seeing record numbers of students enrolling all the time.

The National Motorsport Academy offers the world’s first online only motorsport engineering degree course, and the first students started in November 2015. However, as the National Motorsport Academy doesn’t adhere to traditional semesters, students can enrol at any time. Since the courses went live, the Academy is enrolling between five and 10 students every week, with more than 70 currently signed up.

Visitors to the National Motorsport Academy’s stand, and all of the other universities’ stands, will be able to talk to a selection of academics teaching the courses, as well as students currently taking part.

Many of the universities will also have cars on show, with many displaying cars the students themselves have created. Oxford Brookes, Birmingham City University and the University of Derby are just some of those displaying the vehicles entered into the 2015 Formula Student competition.

Beth Georgiou, Formula Student Project Leader, said: “We’re delighted to be taking part at Autosport International where one of our university teams, as well as our judges, will showcase just how Formula Student helps to nurture, develop and champion the fantastic engineering talent from across the world in a live, competitive environment. “

The University of Derby entered the competition for the first time, and were awarded a £3,000 grant by the IMechE as a result of picking up the ‘Rookie Team Award’. Other British universities put in strong performances, with the Oxford Brookes and Birmingham City University cars both finishing in the top 10 of the closely fought competition, which took place at Silverstone in July 2015.

University of Bolton, will be back at Autosport International giving potential students the opportunity to learn more about its courses and specialist facilities. In August, Bolton announced a £25 million investment into upgraded student teaching facilities, including the construction of a new National Centre for Motorsport Engineering.

Students from courses at all these institutions are in high demand, in the UK and around the world. Graduates have gone on to jobs at F1 teams such as Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren, while others have landed roles at Jaguar Land Rover, Tata, Team Dynamics, Aston Martin Racing, the British Superbike Championship and more.

Ian France, Autosport International Show Director said: “Britain is at the forefront of automotive engineering, and the universities at Autosport International are producing the core of the next generation of global talent. Anyone interested in building the cars of the future can get their career off to a fantastic start by talking to any one of the many institutions at Autosport International.” cja