Unlike most Business Focus interviews with Managing Directors and global decision-makers, this time we took a different approach, focusing on the next generation of future business and technology leaders. We interviewed Michaela Sykes-Turner, a student within a double degree program of mechanical engineering and industrial design, and a former Chief Executive Officer of Monash Motorsport, the Formula Student team of Monash University in Australia.
Monash Motorsport was established in 2000 and focuses on promoting student collaboration and learning in all aspects of engineering, with a view to providing practical and industry-relevant skills to complement the education the students receive at Monash University.
The team
The team is comprised of under-graduate students from various faculties who collaboratively design, manufacture, test and compete with formula-style race cars in Formula SAE and Formula Student competitions in both Australia and Europe.
“Formula Student is the largest design engineering competition in the world, and is held annually in each country,” explains Michaela. “There are some 100 people in our Formula Student team, working within an organisational structure not unlike that of a company. Top management consists of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Technical Officer, with departments including aerodynamics, business, electrical systems, powertrain, software, structures, and vehicle performance, each with its own leadership and management positions.”
She reflects that running such a large team was both a challenge and a great experience. “We are all volunteers, and each of us is driven by different motivations, so it’s about getting everyone together, to make our work as successful as possible. But the great thing is everyone is passionate and really dedicated, willing to work extremely hard. There are not many opportunities, at my age, to run a team of 100 people and be a part of developing and making your own formula racing car,” she says.
She explains that because learning is a big part of the work, every year people within Formula Student move into new roles. At the end of 2023, Michaela handed over her role to a new CEO, having moved to the Powertrain Department where she is responsible for managing the construction and running of the dynamometer.
The competition
As if that was not enough, Michaela is also managing the campaign for the team to participate in European competitions later this year. This is the first time since 2018 the team has qualified for the European competitions, so a sense of achievement is already in the air as they plan for four competitions in four countries over two busy months. She will be leading and managing the whole process, from shipping logistics and travel, to transport, visa, and customs arrangements, entering the different competitions in different countries, and day-to-day running the team through that whole two-month period.
The Monash team will be competing not only in driven competitions but also in driverless ones, where their car “sees” the track using cameras and sensors, to compute its way around the track. Excitingly, Monash Motorsport has also designed and built its own custom inverters and motors which they hope to test and compete with this year, an achievement only matched by only a handful of teams around the world, says Michaela.
“We will bring a team of around 60 people to Europe; this will be not only a great experience but also a unique opportunity. We will be competing against the best teams in the world and also learning from them. We hope to do well in Europe but even if we do not, stepping back and seeing a bunch of undergraduate engineers who are able to design and build this car from the ground up is quite amazing,” says Michaela.
The car
When the vehicle was designed, the students drew upon the learning, development, and legacy of what is now 25 years of Monash Motorsport. Following the pandemic, the team was proud to announce its most ambitious concept yet, a 4WD, autonomous integrated vehicle, capable of both driven and driverless racing – M23.
“Almost everything in the car is entirely custom designed and manufactured by our own team members, including our high voltage battery pack, PCBs, gearboxes, the chassis, as well as all of the coding on the car, including our autonomous systems and vehicle controller,” says Michaela.
She explained that Monash Motorsport normally re-designs the car every two years, but with the European campaign this year, only a minor re-design is happening. The modifications are still expected to improve the performance considerably. “We are looking to reduce mass across the car, for example by using a slightly different type of carbon fibre for the chassis, and once we finish manufacturing and testing our custom inverter and motors, we hope to compete with them in Europe.”
“The major challenge this year is getting enough testing time on the car: improving reliability and training up our drivers. Another challenge for us, compared to European teams, will be cutting out 8 weeks of our time going to Europe in a shipping container, and then 8 weeks coming back before competing in Australia again.” she says.
The future
She reflected that the next full design will be done in 2025, which hopefully will involve the latest developments in areas such as powered aerodynamics and high-speed axial motors. “And hopefully we’ll learn a huge amount from all of the teams, the companies and competitors in Europe, and take that knowledge back to Australia to build an even better car and more experienced team.”
Needless to say, the experience that students are getting within the team is priceless. “Being able to run a whole department or run a whole team, from the technical side, the operations side, the human resources side, has been a great opportunity, a great way of learning, and a great way to make lifelong friends.” says Michaela.
Surely, a lot of companies are already eyeing up the budding experts. “While you’re on the team you get to work with a lot of different sponsor companies, so a lot of team members end up applying for jobs with them. We also have a great alumni network though, and alumni always put job opportunities towards our team, but it is not just about us. Being university students for only a few years, our alumni help a lot with teaching the next generation of team members. When I graduate and leave the team, I will stay on as an alumnus to help future generations.” she concludes.
