Hands-On Experience through SAE Competition

How do you know what you’re supposed to do outside of college?

When students prepare to graduate from college, entering the workforce can be daunting. Sometimes it feels like you know it all, and other times you might not even know where to start. That’s why CAPSTONE classes, SAE groups, and Formula SAE competition groups are so important. These competitive design series involves designing building a formula-style, open-wheel concept vehicle to perform in a competition.

In this episode, John Kittleman gives us insight into how these competitions go and what students have to learn. John is a GTA at Oregon State. His role is to help lead 25 students in developing the suspension system.

Listen now to learn more about SAE competition groups and how they help develop future engineers.

Summary

Some Questions I Ask:

How did you get into GFR and Formula Student? (0:46)
What are the specifics with what your students are working on? (2:57)
What challenges come up when collaborating globally? (5:34)
With the exchange program, how does the university class structure play into the team structure? (9:01)
How does Siemens Software allow you to connect with the industry, both in the US and internationally? (10:59)
What’s your advice to future engineers? (18:20)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

What is SAE and Formula Student? (1:16)
How the Formula team decides which cars should be autonomous versus electric for competition. (4:47)
What range of experience students have around building racecars on the Formula Student teams. (9:32)
How Formula Student and SAE utilize Siemens Software. (11:11)
How Formula Student is adjusting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (13:20)
Why John plans on pursuing aerospace engineering after graduation. (16:47)
Why it’s important to take calculated risks to forward your career. (21:06)

Subscribe to the full Innovation in the Classroom series to hear more.

Innovation in the Classroom

Innovation in the Classroom by Siemens explores best practices to empower the next generation of digital talent. In this podcast series, Dora Smith takes you through discussions with leading voices from the world of engineering education who are preparing future engineers in Academia 4.0 to shape the world of innovation.