The 2025 STEM Racing World Finals will take place 25 September to 03 October.
We are on a mission to enable participating SA teams to fly our flag high at the pinnacle of STEM Racing competition. Schools, teams - here are the technical regulations.
>>> Stay on track for success. Let's Go!
Among the well known and former F1 design engineers are South African, including Rory Byrne (Ferrari, Benneton) and Gordon Murray (McLaren, Brabham). Both are still active in their careers, inspiring high performance road vehicles and safe driving. Can we build on this legacy? Yes, we can!
STEM Racing ZA is focussed on Design, with a quest to get young STE(A)M talent in SA from Pupil-to-Pinnacle in Formula One, international motorsport and allied industries.
Does your school have the talent and do you have what it takes to become the next "Adrian Newey"? Get started on Autodesk and Fusion 360, offered at no charge to all participating STEM Racing schools, teams and participants.
Hear how Fusion 360 supports the blueprint for STEM Racing World Finals succcess. for beginner and intermediate level CAD designers.
Ready? Let's Talk to get your school teams registered.
Let's get F1-supported STEM racing going in ZA in 2025. The road to the World Finals takes about 3 years - mobilise the 2028 goal now!
We are excited to share the announcement that is set to grow STEM education at the pinnacle of motorsport.
Read all about it in the press releases from Formula One and STEM Racing HQ:
Press Release - Formula One: https://corp.formula1.com/formula-1-to-support-re-branded-stem-racing-programme-and-inspire-the-next-generation-through-education/
Press Release - STEM Racing HQ (previously F1 in Schools HQ): https://www.stemracing.com/news
F1 in Schools has now expanded to 62 countries, engaging aspirant STEM minds to apply their talent towards careers in motorsport.
The overview outlines the process and equipment investment. For safe and affordable entry point, it is recommended that schools and teams in South Africa start with the Primary STEM programme, using paper-based cut-outs and a hand-held pump for propulsion. Once the programme is well embedded in approved extra-curricula activities, and programme fit at the school is proven, teams can progress to the Entry Level class - design on CAD and Make using custom model blocks.
>Schools - invest in a track, dedicate a teacher and provide space for the activity.
>Teams of 6 to 12 - raise sponsorships to buy consumables, run the team and race.
>Universities - partner with Future Ones for the school-to-Formula Student pathway.
>Corporate sponsors - financial sponsorships to fund and grow the programme and competition, across selected schools and teams, in South Africa. Future Ones NPC provides the central treasury and performance reports.
>Volunteers - support the programme office with programme-relevant experiential skills and mentorship. This could be in the fields of STEM, CAD, automotive engineering, marketing, motorsport, business management.
Join the Pupil-to-Pinnacle quest and, together, let's fuel purpose-driven passion. Let's Talk.
Overview:
Registration for 2025 Participation is open to schools and pupils aged 6 to 18.
Let's GO >>>Design >Make >Test >Race.
Access learning content on how to set up teams, compete and prepare for the World Finals.
Play Your Part and join the Challenge to take South African STEM talent from Pupil-to-Pinnacle.
You must be in it to win it!
Listen to our programme leads, Rohan and Seugne, unpack their F1 in Schools experience and how your school can Play Your Part in 2025.
Watch the recording here.
Momodou Ceesay, Deputy Head of Engineering, Construction and Building Services and STEM Ambassador, speaks about STEM education in the UK, Brazil and prospects for bright young minds who aspire to succeed in motorsport.
Listen to the conversation on YouTube.
Ready to Play Your Part as a school, team. sponsor or volunteer? Let's Talk.
Seugne Bosch is our lead female volunteer at F1 in Schools South Africa and a former World Finals competitor. Today, Seugne works as a cyber privacy consultant, representing a specialist, future-focussed profession. She is a role model to young females who aspire to enter and succeed in STEM industries.
How our female lead volunteer got on track with F1 in Schools.
During high school, I was always very interested in the sciences but never had the courage to explore STEM fields - it was very male dominated and representation for women was lacking. I first heard about F1 in Schools when I was 15 years old. Being a Formula One fan from a young age, I was excited to get involved in the challenge but doubted myself.
I attended an international school in China and joined a diverse team, representing South Africa. My teammates represented their countries, being Singapore, Taiwan and Canada. It took quite a lot of courage from my side to apply because it was an all-boys team. However once I got started, I soon found out that I did actually have the required IQ and confidence to play my part. This realisation opened up to an entirely new and exciting world for me which has shaped my professional journey.
My role in the team was sponsorship management and the project management of the car design.
Highlights from her journey.
My team, Team Qi, competed at the 2010 World Finals in Singapore. Interestingly, there was a girls team from South Africa that competed in the same year and they won an award for perseverance. We won the award for best website.
I have a ton of core memories from the experience. Two core memories that stand out for me. The one is meeting the Formula 1 drivers and Tony Fernandez, entrepreneur and founder of the Caterham Formula 1 team. The other is the hands-on experience with designing a competitive car and then presenting our design portfolio to the F1 in Schools World Finals judging panel.
Some challenges and her the team overcome them.
Most of my challenges were internal because representation was severely lacking for girls/women. It took a lot of courage for me to explore the depth of my own skills and to excel.
There are still a lot of stereotypes surrounding gender where girls are always made to believe that they are not good enough, strong enough or versatile enough from a very young age. The biggest challenge for any girl to face is to ignore all that criticism and believe that she is capable of whatever she sets her mind to achieve. I want girls to have that confidence and to contribute their perspectives and insights. Mostly, never to fear failure or feel guilty if they don’t succeed on first attempt.
The ROI delivered to the school and to sponsors.
F1 in Schools gives learners the opportunity to explore a diverse world of career opportunities. It helps build self-confidence and presents an opportunity to showcase one’s skills. When a young person’s talent is recognised, it motivates one to excel, to innovate and this supports the team’s success. The sponsors benefited from our culturally diverse team which offered them multi-country representation, one being China and the other being our home countries.
Key learnings that she continues to apply today.
I learned a lot from F1 in Schools - it is the reason why I have the courage today to take on opportunities, even when I think I cannot do it.
You do not need to be Einstein to be able to excel in STEM fields. What matters most is passion to explore and learn new things daily. Another key message is to never be afraid to be innovative. If you have a fresh idea or a different perspective, explore it.
What participation can offer to young STEM talent in SA.
Participation doesn’t just teach students the basic skills of STEM. It shows you a world of opportunities, possibilities and, most importantly, allows students to think laterally. We need more “out of the box” thinkers in this world. Remember that diversity is key to making STEM fields thrive.
Our lead volunteer’s “Impossible” goal for F1 in Schools ZA.
An “impossible” goal would be to secure enough funding to help our South African F1 in Schools teams and participants reach their goals and dreams.
Advice to young South Africans who want to achieve extraordinary success.
Learning does not end when you complete high school or university. Never stop learning and never give up.
My motto to every girl out there is: “Take up the opportunity even if you think can’t do it”.
