F1 in Schools

I’ve just finished two exhausting days of judging F1 in schools at Double Tree, KL. Over 20 teams from around the world, including several multi-national collaborative teams, are participating in the event.

I plan to enjoy the final rounds of knock-out racing tomorrow.

I’d like to say that this has been an eye-opening event for me. While the LEGO competitions were impressive in terms of what the students could do with LEGO bricks and some clever programming, this competition takes the ballgame to a whole new level.

The teams had to manage not just the technical and engineering aspects of the car, but also the artistic side – such as booth display, clothing, websites etc – and the business side of things – raising sponsorship, marketing and merchandising.

The level of things that they learned and did throughout the competition is so advanced that I really think that most of these students are a class above most graduates. But of course, they are at the world championships after all.

Some teams just blew my mind with the kind of innovations that they came up with. I’d even say that some of these teams are ready for commercialisation.

Sweet video from one of the collaborative teams – Ireland & Malaysia – Red Bull in a bottle and coffee in a can!

FYI, these cars reach speeds of over 60 kmph!