Racing Ahead
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As India gets ready to host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix next year, motorsports is a career to be in. An integrated US varsity offers undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in the field of motorsports engineering. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is an urban campus of Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana. IUPUI offers more than 250 degrees across 22 colleges.
Patricia Biddinger, director, international recruitment and retention at IUPUI talked to HT Horizons about the unique motorsport engineering programme.
What is the scope for motorsports engineering?
Motorsports is a $1 billion-plus industry. There are many employment opportunities for people interested in motorsports - race teams, manufacturing, and design to name a few. In Indiana alone, there are more than 1,000 companies in motorsports-related industries. It is noteworthy that auto racing is a big industry in several countries. Students will be qualified to work in the sector, regardless of the country or location.
Why was the motorsports engineering programme started?
There was a demonstrated need. There are no other motorsports engineering degree programmes in the US. Before we came up with the motorsport engineering programme, only England had such programme. The industry is unique, so a specific programme made extremely good sense. Response to this relatively new programme has confirmed our thinking.
How different is this from automobile engineering?
It is not too different. The fundamentals are the same but the class-related and extracurricular projects are all motorsports related. The internships are also related to motorsports.
Usually specialisations are studied at the PG level. Why is IUPUI offering it at the UG level?
We were inspired to start the programme because of a demonstrated need and because there were no UG programmes in this field. Graduates will be qualified to work within the automotive industry. Some of our students are currently pursuing a five-year programme to earn both a bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering as well as a BS in motorsports.
