- UC3M and MADCUP hosted the national final of STEM Racing Spain, formerly F1® in Schools, with 34 teams competing at IFEMA during Sports Summit Madrid.
- The contest challenges students (11-19) to design F1-style cars, present business and marketing plans, and compete in categories like engineering, scrutineering, and racing.
- Spain’s rising talent secured three spots in the world final in Singapore, backed by UC3M’s research efforts and support from F1 figures like Pedro de la Rosa.
Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M), as part of its Department of Mechanical Engineering and working in partnership with MADCUP, has hosted the national final of educational contest Stem Racing Spain, sponsored by Formula 1 and previously known as F1 in Schools. This project gathers students aged 11 to 19 years old who create, construct, and compete with scale model Formula 1 single-seaters running on compressed air, bound by technical regulations close to those of actual motorsport.
In addition to engineering, the competition tests competitors to deliver a business plan, to have their project justified in front of a jury, and to create communication and marketing plans. Awards are given in five categories: engineering project, business project, scrutineering, oral presentation, and track race. UC3M has supported the project within a research agreement with strategic and operational contribution to reinforce the presence of STEM disciplines in the contest.
The university has conducted research through interviews, pilot schemes, evaluation procedures, and the creation of best practice guidelines, some of which were given at the Organizational Engineering Congress in Madrid and have now been published. The partnership has paid off, as evidenced by the national final at IFEMA during Sports Summit Madrid, where 34 student teams participated after progressing through regional rounds.
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The level of the Spanish teams was so good that international organizers gave the three places in the world final in Singapore, rather than the traditional two, coinciding with the Formula 1 Grand Prix. The key researcher and professor of UC3M's Department of Mechanical Engineering, Luis Isasi, highlighted the need to have such programs to generate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics early on.
He stressed that awareness needs to be built at the primary and secondary levels, since waiting until university level is usually too late to instil curiosity in these areas. He further stipulated that the competition not only develops technical competencies like design, analysis, and manufacture but also instructs students in teamwork, innovation, sponsorship negotiation, and communication with experts competencies which will serve them well in the professional world.
Participation in Spain increased from ten teams in the previous year to over a hundred this year, demonstrating the increasing popularity of the program. With the addition of such experts as the former Formula 1 driver Pedro de la Rosa and Kick Sauber engineer José Manuel López to motivate participants, UC3M's participation highlights its efforts to enhance STEM fields, develop young talent, and share knowledge with society.
