Haas F1 Team welcomes the next generation for World Engineering Day
March 3, 2022
Today marks World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED), an official date created by the United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). To acknowledge this poignant event, Haas F1 Team welcomed a class of female students from Banbury STEM Academy to receive first-hand insight into the workings of a team at the pinnacle of motorsport.
The students are a part of the Futures Institute Banbury, a pioneering school designed for those who are interested in a career in STEM, and works closely with companies in the local area to provide visibility into the industry. As well as visiting Haas F1 Team, the group also toured Collins Aerospace and Prodrive for a holistic view of the engineering and manufacturing industry.
During the group’s time at Haas’ UK factory, Chief Information Officer Gary Foote gave the students a tour around the facilities, got up close with the intricate processes involved in pitstops, worked with race engineers to decode telemetry, and sat down for a Q&A session with female staff to learn about their career paths.
“It was great to show the students around our factory and hopefully we’ve inspired them a little when thinking about their future career paths. We all understand how vital engineering is in world of Formula 1 and it’s crucial that we make it accessible to the next generation, especially for women where gender balance in the sector needs to be improved. I hope they had a fun day and know they can rely on Haas for any future support and development,” said Ayao Komatsu, Director of Engineering at Haas F1 Team.
“Futures Institute Banbury is a specialist STEM school and part of the Aspirations Academies Trust. We were really excited to be attending a Girls in Engineering day at Haas, Prodrive and Collins Aerospace. When we were first approached, more students wanted to come than we had room for. Students often come to our school because of their interest in technology and our unique curriculum which has a focus on transdisciplinary learning. In years 9 & 10 we run specific employability projects in different areas including health and engineering. These projects aim to develop 21st century skills that will be vital to our students in the workplace such as teamwork and creativity – all the projects also aim to link to employers. Most importantly, the girls are keen to understand the range of opportunities that could be available to them in exciting successful companies like Collins, Haas and Prodrive,” commented Dr Catherine Pickup, Director, Project Based Learning at Futures Institute Banbury.
World Engineering Day was made to celebrate engineering and the contribution of the world’s engineers for a better, sustainable world. Aligned with Formula 1’s We Race As One initiative, Haas is dedicated to supporting the local community and increasing opportunities in STEM subjects.