F1 IN SCHOOLS™ ANNOUNCE NEW SPONSOR

F1 in Schools™ is proud to announce SolidWorks Corporation, the world's leading 3D CAD software manufacturer for design, analysis and product data management, as a new UK sponsor and Global supplier for the next three seasons. The collaboration between SolidWorks and the F1 in Schools™ global Technology Challenge gives students entering the competition access to the key resources they need to enhance their engineering education.

The aim of F1 in Schools™ is to encourage students to consider engineering as a career, highlighting the positive nature of all that embraces engineering in a fun and positive way. The challenge is for school children aged 11 to 18 to use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and race a 20th scale model F1 car made from balsa wood and powered by CO2 cylinders.

The availability of the complimentary SolidWorks Student Design Kit 3D CAD software to all students who compete in the challenge will enable them to perform all of the design and analysis tasks undertaken by a typical engineer as they create scale model Formula 1 cars.

Founder and Chairman of the F1 in Schools™ Technology Challenge, Andrew Denford, commented on his delight of the new partnership, “We are thrilled that F1 in Schools™ has joined with SolidWorks to offer students a fresh incentive to join the challenge. Design and analysis is an integral part of F1 in Schools™; the 3D CAD software along with the available CAM software will provide valuable engineering skills. It will also give the students the ability to realise their designs before the manufacturing process, just like in the real world of Formula One™.”

“The challenge currently operates in 26 countries across the globe, with over 7 million school children aware of and participating in the competition; we aim to provide all of these students with the SolidWorks design software, giving F1 in Schools™ a huge technological appeal for students and schools alike.”

“Real-world experience is a powerful method of attracting students to productive engineering careers,” said Marie Planchard, SolidWorks’ director of world education markets. “The F1 in Schools™ competition provides an amazing opportunity for students to design, test and build their own designs and work as a team. We are proud to sponsor such a program.”
F1 in Schools™ is regarded by the Formula One™ fraternity as a platform for introducing Formula One™ to a global teen demographic. The student challenge is also helping Formula One™ shed its image as an elitist sport accessible only to multi-million pound budgets; on the contrary, F1 in Schools™ is open to any school with access to a simple computer. The 2008 World Championship will have the support of a host of companies, together with recognition from all the Formula One™ teams and its Patrons.