For over 20 years now we’ve supported the Greenpower Education Trust and its goal to prepare, and enthuse, young people about a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).
Annually, teams of school children from both primary and secondary schools come to our Dunton Campus and compete in either the Formula Goblin or F24 classes, bringing with them the electric vehicles they’ve built to compete. The younger students use a different chassis and a car which is designed for short distance activities like slalom races, drag races and sprint races.
The older students have to compete over a 90 minutes trial on our test track to see how far their vehicle will travel, but they must also add in a pitstop and a change of drivers. All these things not only help competitors understand the technical side of building the vehicles, but also learn about strategies and teamwork; all crucial skills that employers like us look for.
This year, we decided to have our own young students, the Ford apprentices, design, build and eventually compete in the next class up for 16 to 24-year olds, the F24+. At the Dunton event we had the early prototype of their vehicle on show. Here is what two members of our ‘Dunton Dynamos’ apprentice team, Ishraq Chowdhury and Sabeen Rahman, said about the experience.
How did you both find a love for engineering when you were younger?
Sabeen: I certainly didn’t get experiences like Greenpower at school, but I remember going on a school trip to Thorpe Park, an amusement park. I probably wanted to be an actress or something, but remember loving all the rollercoasters and thinking building rollercoasters would be a good back-up. I ended up researching it and realizing engineering was the way forward for me, helped by my love of top level motorsport too.
Ishraq: Since I was young I always loved cars and planes, but never thought about the engineering side of them. Then at secondary school I really enjoyed physics and maths and saw how that linked with what I loved. My sixth form was actually a part of Greenpower, and I absolutely loved it, was obsessed with it.
Why did you feel Ford would be a good place to start your engineering journey?
Ishraq: For me, part of it was seeing Ford’s support of Greenpower. If they care about the development of those young people it gave me the impression they would care about me as a young person and my development.
“Since being here, many of those I’ve met who are flourishing in their careers started as apprentices.”Ishraq Chowdhury, Ford apprentice
“My love for speed and mechanics meant Ford felt like an obvious place to go. But the company also aligned with values I liked, such as the desire to inspire young people.”Sabeen Rahman, Ford apprentice
Sabeen: What I’ve noticed since being here is even as an apprentice, it never feels like I’m burdening people if I ask questions. I guess it’s because, as Ishraq said, so many have been apprentices so know what it’s like.
You had the vehicle you’ve build for the F24+ class on show at the recent Dunton event. How was it received?
Ishraq: We actually only had about five weeks leading up to the event, so what we showed was just an early version. We’ll be refining it over the coming months. We tried to pay homage to Ford’s victory in Le Mans 60 years ago with the black with white stripes; it also made sense as both Le Mans and Greenpower are endurance events.
What really struck me was one 10-year-old girl who come and talk to me about it. She was so enthused and excited, telling me she really hoped her secondary school would be part of Greenpower.
Sabeen: What was good for me was being part of the scrutineering of the other vehicles. There was definitely some inspiration to be had from that about how to shape our own vehicle. A lot of the younger Goblins came up to ours and were really excited about it, but we didn’t really show any of the internals as that’s still a work in progress.
Do you have a dedicated place at Dunton for the team to work on the project?
Ishraq: Even though we’re working towards a degree, this is quite an extra-curricular activity, but Ford is really supportive. We have a place in the Environmental Test Labratory (ETL) that we can use.
Sabeen: It’s really good as we get to keep the vehicle and all our tools there so it’s ready to work on. But there are also a lot of people in the ETL who know a lot more about things like electrics than us, so having them on hand to help is amazing.
What is the apprentice team aiming for with its vehicle?
Sabeen: We’re hoping to get a wild card into the event at Goodwood in October to take part in the F24+ class.
Ishraq: There’s still plenty to do, but it’s great for us to see a project through from the start to finish. There are 10 of us in the team and we all bring different things and allows us to use our best skillset. I actually won the competition as a student in 2022 so can bring a lot of my knowledge of Greenpower, but things have changed a lot since then. It’s brilliant to have the team, and there have been some really creative ideas we’ll be using. Hopefully they’ll help us do Ford proud at the event.
Both Sabeen and Ishraq were recently interviewed by Louise Woodhams, founder of Discover EV. You can listen to the podcast here.
Zining Zhang is a communications and brand specialist for Ford UK
Greenpower FAQ
What is Greenpower?
Greenpower Education Trust is about preparing young people for future careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). It does this by getting them enthusiastic about it through a unique challenge; to design, build and race an electric car.
Who can take part?
There were two challenges; Formula Goblin which is for older primary school pupils and F24 which is for secondary schools. There is also the F24+ class for students aged between 16 and 25 years old.
What's involved?
The cars have the same batteries and motor but Formula Goblin uses a different chassis and a car which is designed for short distance activities like slalom races, drag races and sprint races. The F24 and F24+ classes focus more on endurance, aiming to see how far their vehicle can travel in a set time.
