Students from St Colman’s College in Cork were celebrating on Friday last as Adventum Racing were crowned ‘Medtronic National Champions’ at the finals of this year’s F1 in Schools Ireland competition. The team fought off intense competition from over 60 other teams representing secondary schools around the country during the day-long event in Salthill, Galway. The podium was completed by Catalyst Racing and Kronos Racing from Marist College Athlone and Gonzaga College, Dublin respectively.
F1 in Schools is a global STEM competition that challenges students to design, build and race their very own miniature Formula One Car. The competition, now in its 16th year in Ireland, encourages students to consider careers in STEM, and focuses on magnifying the appeal of roles in STEM fields using the magnetic appeal of Formula One. Teaching skills such as computer-aided design and 3D Printing, the competition enrolled over 700 students for the 2021/22 season.
The winning students will now progress to represent Ireland at the 2022 F1 in Schools World Finals later this year. Commenting on Adventum Racing’s win was Team Manager, Fionn O’Connell:
We are absolutely delighted to be named National Champions. We learned so much as a team over the past 9 months of working together, and now we can’t wait to represent Ireland at the World Finals!
On hand to award the CJJ Motorsports Cup to the winners was Damien Joyce, Engineering Director at Medtronic, title sponsors of F1 in Schools Ireland. Commenting on this year’s competition, he said:
Medtronic is delighted to partner with F1 in Schools again this year and are particularly proud to host this year’s national finals in Galway. Developing a diverse pipeline of talent for Medtronic is a priority for us. We value the focus that F1 in Schools places on key competencies like design, manufacturing, strategy and critical thinking, while honing IT, communication and finance skills. Congratulations to the National champions Adventum Racing and all other teams involved.
Alongside the overall winners, Donal McDermott from Marist College Athlone was named winner of the Meta Engineer of the Future Award. The award is designed to highlight the technical work and achievements of a student during the competition. The judging process included interviews with F1 in Schools Ireland and Meta to discuss their participation in the programme.
Speaking about the Award, Aoife Flynn, Head of Community Development at Meta’s Clonee Data Centre said:
We are delighted to award the Meta Engineer of the Future Award to Donal, whose participation in F1 in Schools Ireland has been outstanding. He has demonstrated excellent technical and engineering skills, teamwork and creativity. At Meta, building new and innovative technology is at our core. Supporting programmes such as F1 in Schools invests in and inspires emerging engineers of the future. We look forward to continuing this partnership and supporting students’ growth in STEM.
F1 in Schools will begin enrolling students for the 2022/23 season in September 2022. Aaron Hannon, Chairperson of F1 in Schools Ireland, is calling on schools to enter next year’s challenge:
F1 in Schools is a great opportunity for second-level students to dip their toes into the world of business, leadership, engineering, science and technology before deciding what direction they want to take after they’ve finished secondary school. This year, we have had a fantastic competition where students have had the opportunity to learn new skills and meet like-minded people. We’re calling on more schools, teachers and parents to apply and get young people involved next year. F1 in Schools opens many doors for our participants, including a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent Ireland at the F1 in Schools World Finals and meet some of the stars of the F1 world.
Registration for F1 in Schools Ireland 2022/23 will launch in September 2022. For more information visit f1inschools.ie or email [email protected].
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