A. Watch out for my e mail in June/July each year to recruit second year students.
A. No. CAP score is not one of the selection criteria, although I do monitor the whole team’s CAP scores in case they drop to dangerous levels.
A. The main qualities we look for are passion, perseverance, team spirit, and fire-fighting skills (ie. the ability to quickly solve unexpected problems). Building a race car and racing in it internationally is serious business. So you need to be dedicated to the job. We sometimes work past midnight to meet a deadline. You must be willing to learn fast and get your hands dirty building a car. To survive this project, you need to be good in your mechanical engineering fundamentals, preferably with a certain level of interest in cars and/or for racing. Experience in these areas will help you progress faster although the skills can be nurtured on-the-job. Physical fitness and an adventurous spirit are plus points. This project involves every branch of Mechanical Engineering (Thermodynamics, Fluid mechanics, Applied mechanics, Manufacturing, Materials Science, Electronic control), hence integrating the entire ME syllabus. Even after being accepted into the team, your first year in FSAE (ie. Year 2 of studies) is really a probational year. You can be told to leave within that year if your performance is not up to standard. During that period, you are allowed to drop out of the team if you cannot take the pressure or lose interest.
A. Your FSAE work in Year 2 does not carry MCs or marks since you are still on probation that year. The knowledge gained in Year 2 is essential for building a race car that is safe to drive and good enough to race in. You will only get MCs and grades for your FSAE work in Years 3 and 4, as follows:
ME3101/3102 Mechanical systems design (8MCs total) lasts your whole Year 3
One stint of VIP (6 MCs) from May to July between Years 2 and 3 OR Years 3 and 4
FYP (8MCs) lasts your whole Year 4
In addition, you can also opt to do two ISMs (ME1000 and ME1001) any time on topics relevant to FSAE. Each ISM is worth 2 MCs
[VIP = vacation internship program, FYP = final year project, ISM = independent study module]
A. It will be a three year commitment, starting with Year 2 just after streaming and ending on graduation. Year 2 is a learning year with apprenticeship training. You need to learn real fast because in the following Jan/Feb, ie. half a year later, you will be involved in the conceptualization of the following year’s car, together with the Year 3 and Year 4 seniors in the team. During the long vacation between Years 2 and 3, you will be designing the new car together with the seniors. In Year 3, you will be building your first race car together with the final year students. In May of Year 3, you will fly to USA with the team for the competition (all expenses paid). In Year 4, you will be building your second race car. In May of Year 4, you will fly to USA for the competition for a second time.
A. No, you have to sacrifice IA and SEP. If you wish to be on the FSAE programme, you must be prepared to devote three years of your life (Years 2,3,4) to FSAE work. Formula racing is not child’s play. If you are not decided about IA or SEP, you may apply for FSAE first. By the following Feb you will know if you make it into the team. If you don’t make it into the team, it is still not too late for you to apply for IA or SEP.
A. You must be fully committed to getting the new car up and running, fully tested and prepared for the competition. Like for Formula One cars, each year we have only about 18 months to bring our car from concept to competition. So there is an overlap period between the old and new teams.
A. It takes up a lot of their spare time. This is the annual cycle:
Jan to April: Conceptualisation of the following year’s car
May to July: Design of car, computer simulations, lab tests.
August to October: Actual fabrication of the car
November: Stop for exams
December: Prepare the car for its maiden run, engine tuning
January to March: Car set-up, test drives, modifications, adjustments, drivers’ training
April: Stop for exams, car gets transported to USA.
May: Competition in USA
Throughout your Year 2, I will be giving you night classes (3 hours per week) on race car engineering. (Your FSAE seniors will help me teach certain topics that they specialize in to share my workload.) On another night of the week, you will be taught how to fabricate metal and non-metal components using machine tools. Since this is still not enough for you to build a race car, you will be given relevant books or chapters to study and taught how to weld metals and operate machine tools. Your FSAE seniors will also teach you the proper use of hand tools, riveting, fitting, measurement, moulding of composite materials, spray painting the chassis and car body, plus the CAD (computer aided design) softwares that are necessary for designing the car and for FEA (finite element analysis) simulation. We have to build a reliable and competitive car which will not endanger the lives of the drivers.
A. It depends on the time of year. During vacation time, you are expected to work an average of 8 hours a day. If there is a deadline to hand in CAD drawings, FEA or design calculations, you may need to work round the clock and through weekends as well. However, you may take short holidays and go for reservist in-camp-training. During term time, you can only work on the car between lectures, at night and on Saturdays. We try to keep Sundays free. After the car is completed, we will need to test the car, which can be anytime when a test venue is available, whether in the daytime, at night, or on Saturdays and public holidays. If you learn fast and work fast, and manage your time well, you may still have spare time to pursue your other personal interests. The more you learn, the better an engineer you will be and the better will be the car that you construct.
A. It depends on the student. Some students do better after joining the FSAE team as they will understand better what is taught in the classroom. Others may suffer a drop in CAP score due to neglect of their studies. It is all a matter of proper time management and prioritisation. Because of our reputation built up over the years, companies outside generally have a very good impression of NUS graduates with FSAE experience. Daring to race in a car that you built yourself is proof of your technical competence and self-confidence, more than exam grades and class of honours.
A. You will gain plenty of hands-on practical engineering and the personal satisfaction of constructing a Formula race car. You may even be selected as one of our race drivers. (We need at least two drivers for each of the four races at the competition in USA, namely, drag race, skidpad, autocross, endurance race.) It is very satisfying to apply what you have learnt in class to fabricate a competitive engineering product, designed and built in the only Formula race car factory in Singapore. You will also join the ranks of the previous nine batches of team members in this prestigious FSAE project. Those who have graduated still miss FSAE and come back often to see us build the new car. They invariably find the three years in FSAE their most unforgettable experience in NUS, if not in their lives. Even in this time of recession, our graduating race car team members are already head hunted by some companies. When Formula 1TM held its first race in Singapore in Sep 2008, some of my ex-FSAE guys were engaged as scrutineers in the garages to ensure that the cars conformed to the F1 rules and were safe for racing. They were the privileged few to have the chance to look under the bonnets of the F1 cars and be in close proximity to the drivers and engineers, as well as be in the heat of all the action backstage.
A. That goes without saying. Accidents and injuries in motorsports can never be fully eliminated. However these can be minimized with proper safety procedures and if the car is properly constructed. That’s why there’s a lot of detailed computer aided design, calculations, simulations and lab tests to perform before and during the construction phase. After the car is completed, we conduct diagnostic test drives, as well as drivers’ training to prepare you for the annual competition in USA. After every test run, we will thoroughly check for wear and damages, replacing components when necessary. All this is very time consuming and pressuring, but necessary for safety. All year round, we practise stringent safety precautions. ME Dept will pay for your life insurance, whether or not you qualify as one of our racers.
A. If you don’t get selected into the FSAE team, you can still be involved in AE. If you are from ME Dept, you can opt for the AE specialization, which has certain requirements clearly stated at our ME Dept website under ME Specialisations.
A. No, if you are on the FSAE team, your default specialization will be the AE (automotive engineering) specialization since your FYP needs to be in the area of your specialization.
A. No, because you will still be graduating with a degree in ME which will stand you in good stead in almost all companies in Singapore. The specialization in AE can be an added advantage if you apply for a job in some automotive-related company, for which we will give you a separate certificate, which you can show potential employers when the occasion calls for it. By and large, FSAE graduates are wanted in many sectors of the economy, so the specialization is of little consequence.
A. Of course, it is hard work designing and building one race car per year for an international competition. Formula race cars represent the pinnacle of automotive engineering, requiring a high standard of engineering. A Formula race car experiences tremendous forces on the track, so much so that very often something goes wrong which needs immediate attention. Any procrastination could lead to further damage. When lives are at stake, there is little room for error. The annual FSAE competition in USA is like an Olympics of Engineering.
A. Definitely. We have had SAF regulars from the army, navy and air force in the team before. I always write to MINDEF to grant them permission to work on the race car during vacations without having to report to their units or they can take no-pay leave.
A. Of course. Many of our most competent team members hold poly diplomas as they are more experienced in practical engineering.
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