Formula SAE: A Ground for Students and Companies to Anticipate the Future

The 2024 edition of Formula SAE Italy once again saw a great response from the teams, universities and sponsors involved in the event, with around 1600 students taking to the racetracks over the five days in which they faced both static and dynamic tests.

The event represents an opportunity for boys and girls to test themselves in a different context, which allows them to deepen their knowledge on multiple levels, since students must deal not only with the engineering aspect, but also with budget management, organization and collaboration within the team and respecting deadlines. Furthermore, Formula SAE also represents a great opportunity to get in touch with the world of work, since there is always the eye on the students of various companies interested in work, also for a possible inclusion in their staff.

Motorsport.com spoke about the importance of Formula SAE with Gianmarco Giorda, General Manager of ANFIA, who talked about the work behind the scenes in organising the event and its role as a bridge between the companies and teams that take to the track.

Also this year about 1600 people went to Varano, with a great participation not only from Italian universities, but also from non-European ones. A demonstration that this is a quality event of international caliber: the students come here knowing that this is a high-level competition and that, in the heart of the Motor Valley, also thanks to your contribution, there are some of the most important brands in the world of automotive and innovative technologies.

“There are certainly various reasons why so many students choose to come to this event. Clearly, it is a competition with an extremely high level of innovation, with teams that over the years have shown that they know how to renew their prototypes. On the other hand, the students find a group of high-level sponsors and judges, representing companies that are well-known abroad: brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Brembo, Pirelli, Iveco and Dallara represent Made in Italy, but are known worldwide. Therefore, also from a recruitment point of view, here the students find companies that could be interesting to work with after finishing university. Furthermore, there is a third element, that is, that here in Varano they find a location that also offers the possibility of having fun. Clearly, it is a competition based on results, but these are guys who, in parallel with their efforts and commitment on the track, find the opportunity to spend a pleasant week. We also try to offer them an environment that can host them in the best way, with a well-equipped campsite where they can enjoy their free time away from the track”.

An opportunity for students to also interact with each other and exchange ideas.

“Of course it is a competition, so obviously every team wants to win, but what we see is that there is also a collaborative spirit and they help each other. If a piece or a tool is missing it is lent from one team to the other. Here, human values ​​are also important”.

As organizers of the event, it is certainly a satisfaction to see famous brands that believe in this project.

“This is fundamental. Seeing the names of important brands that decide to actively sponsor, also sending judges and recruiters during the week is a key aspect. But it is also an enrichment for the companies themselves: there are students with interesting technologies and, perhaps, the companies can also take some innovative ideas from the students. On the other hand, there is also the possibility of networking between people who come from companies in different fields, from which collaborations can arise”.

Gianmarco Giorda, General Manager ANFIA

Photo by: ANFIA Press Office

As ANFIA, how do you try to interface between students and companies? This year you created an application, also with the aim of facilitating matchmaking for recruitment purposes.

“We work mainly on two areas to bring companies closer to young people and vice versa. On the one hand, the app gives the opportunity both before and during the event to create these connections between brands and students. On the other hand, before the event, we organize webinars with some companies for interesting girls and boys with a view to future recruitment: in these meetings we talk about the company’s vision and mission, the brand’s values ​​and possible free positions, in order to put the two parties in contact”.

Eng. Dallara told us how Formula SAE is not only an opportunity for students to show off to companies, but there is also the reverse process. Companies come for recruitment purposes, but they can also find innovative solutions and ideas that find fertile ground in Formula SAE.

“Absolutely true. Maybe here you discover some technological innovation, or a new approach to certain issues or certain components. This also helps you think a little outside the box: maybe the company that is used to thinking in a certain way, comes here to Varano and discovers a different way of approaching the problem, so it can become an enrichment for the brands too”.

Clearly, students look to the automotive world to understand which direction to go, especially regarding the transition to electric. However, on the other hand, as Eng. Dallara told us, the opposite also happens. In Germany, for example, there is no longer a category dedicated to combustion engines and even in Italy there are fewer and fewer teams in that class: this is also an indication to understand in which fields the engineers of the future are specializing.

“From my point of view, Formula SAE must be a mirror and anticipate what happens in the real world. For example, here too we have noticed the trend towards electrification: if this path continues, the future will probably be less and less combustion-engined teams and more and more electric ones. For our part, we have the task of recreating a situation that reflects that of the real world, preparing and helping the university to produce people who are ready for the world of work, therefore already turned towards change and future challenges. If we continued to do the things we did years ago, in the end a gap would be created between the skills of the university and what the world of work demands”.

Formula SAE Italy 2024

Photo by: ANFIA Press Office

Driverless is the class that has grown the fastest in recent years. Undoubtedly companies are also working on this theme, but is it fair to say that Formula SAE has a sort of pioneering role regarding autonomous driving? Many companies come here to Varano precisely to recruit, also because it is a relatively new sector.

“This is true. In its own small way, the evolution that the driverless sector has seen here has perhaps been faster than autonomous driving in the automotive world. It is almost as if Formula SAE anticipated this phenomenon because, if one looks outside, the challenge of electrification is absorbing many more resources from companies than those of autonomous driving. Having to make choices, car manufacturers prefer to focus on the theme of electrification, also due to needs arising from regulatory constraints. In Formula SAE, however, the teams have continued to invest in autonomous driving”.

Your role as an organizer is not only to give students the opportunity to interface with various companies, but also to give them the opportunity to learn something new. Let’s think about smaller teams or first-time teams, where students may also be involved in budget management or sponsor search: a challenge that could also be useful when they enter the world of work, because these are choices that companies face every day.

“Of course, especially for smaller teams or those with a smaller budget, Formula SAE represents a gym where they can train, test and learn from other teams. Being together with other students and experiencing collaboration between teams also allows those who are less experienced to enrich themselves with the experience of others. This is an important value that a competition like Formula SAE offers to students.”

What is the challenge you find most fascinating in Formula SAE?

“This is a very interesting question. In Formula SAE, teams are called upon to do their best in all three areas of evaluation: the most technical part, namely design, the cost part, and the business-presentation part where the strategic aspect counts. Trying to be as balanced as possible on these three fronts is perhaps the most complicated challenge to face, because perhaps some teams excel in the technological part but encounter greater difficulties on costs. We try to explain how important it is not only to build a vehicle with good performance, but also to know how to present the project in the best way with a good balance of costs. In our role, we try to give input and guidelines to students on how to set up the work for the following years”.