Infiniti’s search for up-and-coming student engineering talent begins its third successive year with the 2016 Infiniti Engineering Academy. Students from all over the world have the chance to earn a great career opportunity working at Infiniti Motor Company and the Renault Sport Formula One Team. (Image courtesy of Infiniti Motor Company.)
Do you watch motorsports and think, “I could make that car faster”?
If every time you see a race you find yourself compiling a list of engineering tricks to bring to the track, your chance is here.
Infiniti Motors recently announced that applications are open for its 2016 Infiniti Engineering Academy (IEA) program, an opportunity for engineering undergraduates to start on an exciting automotive career path.
Now in it’s third year, the program is part of Infiniti’s search for up-and-coming engineering talent. Students from all over the world have the chance to earn one of seven placement spots as an engineer for the Infiniti and the Renault Sport Formula One Team.
This partnership between Renault and Infiniti offers engineering students a unique automotive-to-Formula One training program. The program covers a mix of academic and professional experience across multiple disciplines, including electronics, aerodynamics, mechanical design and composite design.
"The academy offers a compelling opportunity for up-and-coming engineers to experience the fundamentals of automotive and motorsport engineering,” said Bob Bell, chief technical officer at Renault Sport F1.
Tommaso Volpe, global director for Infiniti Motorsport, described what the companies are looking for in applicants: “We want candidates that dare to be different – candidates who think about challenges from fresh angles and are brimming with the kind of creative human talents that we believe drive the greatest advances in high performance technologies. ‘Game changers’ may sound clichéd, but the automotive industry and F1 have never been more competitive, so we need the best of the best.”
What It’s Like Working with Renault and Infiniti
One of the 2015 Academy students, Alex Allmandinger, offered some perspective on the experience of attending the Engineering Academy and his placement experiences at Infiniti and Renault Sport.
Allmandinger described his initial reaction at being selected for the 2015 IEA, stating, “I was extremely excited, of course. As soon as I applied, I knew what kind of impact that this program could have on my future and my career as an engineer. The opportunity to not only work in Formula One, the pinnacle of motorsport, but also further my experience in the automotive industry – it's truly once in a lifetime.”
The IEA offered a wealth of experiences, including contributing to the design and development of upcoming vehicles, working on future tech for the alliance with Renault and performing static and dynamic vehicle evaluations. “I've had the opportunity to work with some pretty cool technologies, as well as see what the future of the automotive industry looks like,” said Allmandinger.
He recently began the F1 part of his work placement, which is going well. “I'm learning new skills all the time and applying these and what I already know to the race car is thrilling for me. It is a really challenging environment, not only due to the technical aspects, but also the fast-paced timelines and merciless nature of motorsport. I really enjoy seeing something that I worked on racing around the track on a Sunday.”
“The best advice that I can give for someone applying to the Infiniti Engineering Academy is to just go for it. All of us who are currently in the Academy were just students last year, and now we've gotten the chance to be Formula One engineers. If you're dedicated and passionate, there is no reason it can't be you. It's really too good of a chance to pass up,” Allmandinger added.
For more information on the Infiniti Engineering Academy and to apply, visit their website.