Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M), through its Department of Mechanical Engineering and in collaboration with the organizing entity MADCUP, took part in the national final of the educational competition Stem Racing Spain supported by Formula 1®, formerly known as F1® in Schools.

The challenge consists of students between the ages of 11 and 19 designing, building, and competing with a scale model of a single-seater car powered by compressed air, following technical regulations similar to those of real Formula 1. But the competition goes beyond engineering: teams must present a business plan, defend their project before a jury, and prepare communication and marketing strategies. In total, 20 prizes are awarded in five different areas: engineering project, business project, scrutineering (technical verification), oral presentation, and track race.

Thanks to a research agreement under Article 60, UC3M has contributed strategic and operational advice to enhance the presence and quality of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) profiles at this event. To this end, it has researched the subject through interviews, pilot projects, evaluation of results, and the development of best practice guides to ensure that all aspects of the competition run smoothly. Some of these results were presented at last year's Organizational Engineering Congress in Madrid, the summary of which has now been published.

The result has been a success: in the national final, held at IFEMA as part of Sports Summit Madrid, 34 teams of students from all over Spain competed, having previously qualified in regional rounds. The standard of the Spanish teams was so high that the international creator of the competition decided to award three places for the world final in Singapore, coinciding with the Formula 1 Grand Prix, instead of the usual two.

Professor Luis Isasi, principal researcher of the project at UC3M, where he is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, emphasizes that these types of initiatives are essential for sparking interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from an early age, since “by the time students reach university, it is often too late to spark that interest.” In addition, fostering awareness of STEM careers in primary education is important “to enable young people to gradually learn what they need to pursue their professional careers in the future,” he adds.

These types of competitions allow young people to experience firsthand the importance of teamwork, innovation, and resource management, which are key skills for their professional future. “Students learn everything from design, analysis, simulation, engineering, manufacturing, and competition to the management of the entire process. They face challenges such as approaching a sponsor to convince them to financially support their project or presenting their proposal to experts and explaining why their proposal is sound in business or technical terms, so they develop highly useful skills,” he concludes.

A growing international presence

The increase in participation in Spain has been significant: from just ten teams last year to more than a hundred this year. Looking ahead, the goal of the collaboration between UC3M and MADCUP is to consolidate this growth and expand the scope of the STEM Racing project, which already represents a global standard in terms of the practical training of young talent.

The national final also featured round-table discussions with motorsport experts and the participation of leading figures such as Pedro de la Rosa, former Formula 1 driver and current Aston Martin ambassador, and José Manuel López, Bortoletto engineer at Kick Sauber, who spoke about their experiences and motivated the participants.

With this initiative, UC3M reinforces its commitment to promoting STEM disciplines and transferring knowledge to society, in line with its mission to foster talent and innovation from an early age.