FORMULA STUDENT
For engineering students since 1981
In today's world, relevant work experience in the field is extremely important so that graduates can find a job more easily. With this approach, the history of Formula Student began in 1981 in the United States. Formula Student is an international car and engineering racing series, exclusively for university students, the central element of which is a custom-built formula racing car. Approximately 800 teams from institutions participate in international competitions every year. These competitions are organized during the summer, 9 such events have been announced in Europe for the 2020 season.
It is important to highlight that, despite the fact that the built machines would be competent for serious racing (3.0 second acceleration to 100 km/h; very light carbon fiber frame), Formula Student is primarily an engineering competition where, in addition to dynamic competitions (racing on a track), students compete in several so-called static races. (financial, documentation) competitions also compare their knowledge.
In the Formula Student competition series, only university students can form teams and compare their skills in the various categories. The teams can operate under the auspices of a specific university, and essentially the theoretical knowledge acquired at the university must be put into practice, supplemented by a lot of extra information.
Teams can enter three categories: internal combustion vehicle (CV), electric vehicle (EV) and self-driving vehicle (DV). A university can participate in the competitions with only one team per category. The cars must be designed and built strictly according to the Formula Student competition regulations, and this is checked at the machine acceptance at every race.
As mentioned above, the competitions are divided into static and dynamic competitions. The static competitions include the Business Plan Presentation Event; the Cost and Manufacturing Event, where we have to present individual elements of the car and its connections; and the Engineering Design Event. The dynamic numbers measure the car's stability capabilities (Skidpad race number), acceleration (Acceleration race number), as well as its dynamism and reliability (Autocross and Endurance race number). Teams are scored by event according to predetermined formulas, and based on these they are ranked in the world rankings.
The team captain is responsible for each team, he oversees the entire engineering and management processes. In the hierarchy system of our team, the chief engineer is below him, who is responsible for the engineering processes and the car. The group leaders of the various sub-units (who have typically been members for at least a year) and their groups (engine, vehicle dynamics, electronics, frame, aerodynamics) are located under the chief engineer. The management group directly supports the work of the team captain, but is also in close contact with the other groups. They are responsible for sponsors, marketing, effective communication, events, appearance and other non-engineering tasks.
In order for a Formula Student car to be built, external help is needed. Our supporters can contribute to our developments in a variety of ways, be it financial, production, educational or product contributions. We wouldn't be where we are without them. In return, the teams can provide an opportunity to appear, participate in the events of the given company, and a large percentage of the members find both internships and full-time jobs at the supporting companies.