I’m Brendan McAuliffe, a recent graduate of TCD and a Formula Trinity Alumni. I graduated this year with a masters in Computer and Electronic Engineering and have recently taken up a job with a Telecommunications Software Company – Software Radio Systems for those of you interested. I spent 2 years as Deputy Lead of the electronics team for FT, during my 4th and 5th years of college. It’s an experience that has taught me more than lectures ever could, and not just about engineering, but how to work and communicate as part of a large team with varying skill levels and ideas.
I first heard about the team when a friend of mine had posted online about his trip to Silverstone as part of FSUK18. I wasn’t fully aware of FT before this, and as soon as I knew about the team I had to join. I’ve been a motorsport fan my whole life – from motocross, to rally, to Indy-car and of course F1. My love of motorsport paired with a desire to learn the practical side of my degree (something you don’t always get in Trinity) meant that FT was the perfect opportunity for me. As well as the opportunity to build a car and race it at Silverstone, not everyone at a dinner party can say that can they?
As I mentioned, I was Deputy Lead of Electronics for two years. This meant I was responsible for organising meetings, taking minutes, planning work and helping to make final design decisions. Pretty similar to being Department Lead – but without the extra pressure. I also had to complete tasks along with the rest of the team to help meet deadlines. Overall, the position showed me the importance of organisation, communication, planning and teamwork. No matter what you are taught in lectures or have read in books about engineering, no amount of theoretical knowledge can help unless you can work as part of a team and roll up your sleeves. Thankfully everyone in FT is not only willing to do this, but has the brains and abilities to do so. I ended up learning more in my time at FT and working with some great engineers, who I would now consider my friends, than I ever did in lectures!
This leads on nicely to talking about my experiences last year at FSUK19. Going over I knew my department, and some of my friends from my year across other departments on the team. But there were members that I didn’t know at all, or who I had only spoken to on occasion. FSUK19 changed all of that, it was an experience that can’t be emulated or even described in a way that does it justice. A year of hard work, learning and late nights comes down to two intense days of scrutineering and judging. To present your designs to a team of world class engineers, who will rip you apart for half-effort design and uneducated assumptions can be pretty daunting. But knowing the caliber of team mates you have, and knowing all that you have learned and prepared means it is an experience you can enjoy and learn from. When the work has been done and judging complete, which we nearly topped last year by coming second overall. You are left with a week of racing, team building and networking. Mixing with other colleges, your own team and talking to companies like Mercedes, Bosch and Jaguar makes for one of the most entertaining, yet productive weeks of your life as an engineer. I came away from my week at FSUK19 with a new wealth of knowledge, experience and friendships that will hopefully last for years to come!
Some of my favourite memories of college will come from my time in Formula Trinity – and not just my week at Silverstone. It’s an experience and team by which I will compare every opportunity and venture for the rest of my engineering career. So, what should you take from my ramblings? If you are an incoming student, or are already studying engineering or other STEM subjects and are keen to learn new skills, develop your existing ones and make new friends and experiences along the way, then join a Formula Student team. Formula Trinity will continue to be one of the best teams I have been a part of, and an integral part of the engineer I have become.