Who and what is the UP Formula Student Project? This is an engineering-led student initiative focused on designing, manufacturing, and racing a single-seater formula-style racecar. Formula Student is an international competition that is common in Europe, the US, and Asia. It features university teams that will design and build a Formula student car to compete with.
PBDY spoke to Daivik Tulsee, a final-year Mechanical Engineering student. As one of student participants, Tulsee noted that the team is primarily made up of engineering students who work across various fields, including aerodynamics, main systems, and subsystems. Within these sub-teams, each student is working on a design/testing contribution to the car. Tulsee confirmed that the primary team is a final-year mechanical engineering team, adding that they currently have ten students who range from second year to third year in various disciplines of engineering that have joined the mission.
The following students were mentioned as part of this innovative project: Ryan Flemix, Natasha Peters, Daivik Tulsee, Muhammad Faydhan Kala, Ryan Bennet, Aislin Van Schaik, Filip Poludniak, Daniel van der Merwe, Onweng Angura, Kemeshan Moodaly, Gustav McCabe, Shekhar Rooplahl, Ryel Naidoo, Ian Bakker, Kayla Naicker, Priyadarshini Naidoo, Disiame Mokoena, Ayrton Contreiras, Francois Bennett, Imraan Karanie, Armand Cruywagen, and Christian Du Plessis. All of these students work together to empower future generations, showing that potential, alongside hard work and teamwork, can result in definite success.
Tulsee reported that “bridging from the engineering team, a marketing team was formed, with the Head of Marketing being one of the engineers. The rest of the team is composed of various other disciplines. These include computer science (web development), graphic designers, 3D animators, and we are looking to expand further. The marketing is utilised to showcase the talent of the team, the mission, and to inspire the next generation. We are currently utilising Instagram and LinkedIn, with our YouTube launching in March at the latest.”
While they are designing and building according to the International Formula Student regulations, their “competition” will not be the same. Four other universities in South Africa have joined their mission to design and build a racecar. These universities include the University of Cape Town, the Tshwane University of Technology, Stellenbosch University, and Nelson Mandela University.
When asked how long it would take to make the racing car, Tulsee noted that they are “looking to have it built and running by August.”
