FSAE-A improvements

[NickFavazzo]

I'm glad to hear about that Geoff, I cannot say I have heard a lot about what is going on, I will speak to UWAM alumni to see if they donate/want to. I know in my experience on the team we have had past members at comp but it was more of an impulse thing than something planned, though I am sure I could get some help.

@Chris, Our academic supervisor takes interest in the team, he is quite high up in the uni department though so he is a busy man, He sits in on meetings now and then to check progress and help us on other issues (such as dealing with other university staff).

I recall there was a DVD made of professional comp footage, it was sold at cost and there were not enough sold to cover the initial outlay, maybe SAE could give us these little things at a normal market rate, I would sure buy one.

[Jon Oneill]

Geoff,

Awesome to hear you are getting involved with the planning this year.

I'll do my best to contact our team alumni, to try and get them involved in the event. I am unsure of the possibility of contribution, but we should definitely be able to find some additional support staff for the event.

Has anyone considered ringing in new team members, and getting them to assist at the event as volunteers. We're going to try and get a few to help this year, and i know there are a fair few teams with additional members at the event, looking for something to do. Why not sign up as volunteers and get as close to the action as possible.

As for the subscription fee to SAE, If you don't live in Melbourne, there seems to be very little that SAE provides to you as a member. Personally I have attended several Sydney based SAE events, but it gets very frustrating when everything seems to be in melbourne all the time. What about us, and everyone else in the country. I agree that the SAE event, and the competition is valuable and worth the $55, And I am confident that I will continue to support the event in the future. I also however understand why alumni don't continue as members after they graduate, perhaps a younger focus is required?

Couple all that with the fact that not all SAE student members end up in the automotive sector (I'd say hardly any do), the lack of alumni membership seems well explained. More events, get togethers, Networking opportunities could only help...

[Big Bird]

Thanks for the feedback thus far, both here and via PM. Fair and valid comments.

A professional industry organization such as the SAE is only as strong as its membership. So maybe some constructive feedback might be in order - what sort of benefits or events would you like to see in order to continue your SAE memberships? I trust we'll be sensible and respectful about this - no ridiculous wishlists or wild expectations. If the ideas presented are well reasoned and realistic, then they will be taken seriously.

I don't think this is too far off the original topic, and like it or not the membership issue has direct consequences on the quality of the event.

[moose]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JonJon:
Has anyone considered ringing in new team members, and getting them to assist at the event as volunteers. We're going to try and get a few to help this year, and i know there are a fair few teams with additional members at the event, looking for something to do. Why not sign up as volunteers and get as close to the action as possible.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are probably a few places that they can help, but it's very likely that there are safety/insurance concerns that would preclude them from working the "hot" areas.

There is a lot of responsibility/risk in having the team members with each car, but you really want people who are a bit more experienced working the track rather than a bunch of 18-19 yr old students (not that older folks don't do stupid things).

So many decisions are made in a split second, and having a student get hurt would be a major blow to the competition IMO.

-Matt

[Natalie Ajay]

Hi all,

This comment is probably more specifically aimed at you, Geoff.

I to this year went about getting some changes made to comp to improve the situation we;re in. After speaking to some committee members they have given me permission to write up a presentation to be given to the committee as consideration for event improvements. I haven't yet submitted it - which seems to be a good thing - so many other people clearly are on the same page as Monash Uni here.

My presentation was going to be written on behalf of the Vic teams (there should be members at RMIT, Melbourne and Swinny who are in the know regarding my preso) but it seems to me that this presentation is really an Australia wide team consensus.

The three improvements that I outlined in my presentation were:

<span class="ev_code_RED">1. Student committee to help run the event
2. more sponsor involvement (financially and at the event)
3. improvement of event location or if we stay at werribbee, improvement of facilities (ie: accommodation for interstate teams).</span>

Geoff, considering the two of us are already in discussions with the committee - are you able to contact me at natalie.ajay@monashmotorsport.com and we can maybe do this as one, instead of two people doing the same thing?

That way when I hand over my presentation, it can be on behalf of all (or most) australian and NZ teams, and we can have a more proactive, wholesome approach to improving FSAE-A for all of us.


I'm weary of posting my presentation on here as I feel it isn't the right time, and we need to have a structured approach to this, but in the meantime - Geoff can you please get in contact and we could maybe go about this together?

Also, does everyone for the most part agree to these three points above? I think it is a good head start, and once we have a student alumni group set up to help with the event, a lot of things like live timing, results and other improvements will flow on through the work that they do. I have already personally spoken to Holden and I know that they are willing to be more involved on a financial and graduate level with this competition - it is just that there isn't anyone from FSAE-A with the time or resources to manage the sponsorship relationships effectively. A student alumni group would mean that we could get more companies (not just automotive) involved and therefore increase career opportunities and hopefully help make the competition more affordable.

Thanks,

[Charlie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by moose:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JonJon:
Has anyone considered ringing in new team members, and getting them to assist at the event as volunteers. We're going to try and get a few to help this year, and i know there are a fair few teams with additional members at the event, looking for something to do. Why not sign up as volunteers and get as close to the action as possible.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are probably a few places that they can help, but it's very likely that there are safety/insurance concerns that would preclude them from working the "hot" areas.

There is a lot of responsibility/risk in having the team members with each car, but you really want people who are a bit more experienced working the track rather than a bunch of 18-19 yr old students (not that older folks don't do stupid things).

So many decisions are made in a split second, and having a student get hurt would be a major blow to the competition IMO.

-Matt </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are more than a 'few' places that student volunteers can help. There is always a massive need for volunteer help at these events, and annually there are inexperienced people who are part of the 'hot' areas. Standard procedure is to pair experienced track workers with inexperienced ones when possible.

I would encourage you not to discourage people from volunteering when you don't fully understand the situation

Student volunteers are great help. Best to notify SAE as sooner rather than later though, because there is time needed to organize and inform volunteers. Walking up right before endurance will not have the same positive impact as inquiring on day 1.

[Jon Oneill]

UTS is completely in support of these 3 points Natalie.

It should be a fantastic starting point, and should lead to wider improvements in future years.

In regards to the student committee, are we thinking a representative from each team, or just whoever can help.

I'm very excited to see a change, and action being taken to put SAE-A back on the world map.

Primarily, my interest lies with supporter/spectator facilities & media coverage. If we increase the general knowledge of the competition, both in the industry as well as wider society we should see a natural increase in wider event support. This should result in major increases in SAE memberships, FSAE-A event support & individual team sponsorship. Surely car enthusiasts and clubs have an interest in what we do, so why not approach & include them as well.

Geoff, perhaps I should contact you personally regarding member activities & improvements after I have approached our alumni & current team members regarding the issue.

[Chris B]

yeah natalie for the most part the main three points you've outlined seem to be the core ones. especially as these sorts of things would benefit us as well.

with regards to any form of student comittee to help with the event, in order to ensure it remains impartial i feel that every participating uni should have the opportunity to supply a rep. (i say uni not team as uni's with elec and petrol cars would then at an advantage.)

[Kevin Hayward]

As an aside, how would people like to join a design report consortium?

My thoughts are that every team that signs on would submit their design report for the year at the same time they submit to the judging. They would be collected and a CD handed out to all participants after the event with all the collected reports.

this may help all teams gradually improve their approach to the event, and what sort of work is being done in Oz. Overall it should make the Australian teams slightly more competitive and the help bring up the design scores of some of the struggling teams.

Kev

[Natalie Ajay]

Hi again,

to Chris - I completely agree that all uni's have the opportunity to put forward a representative. If we were to have a committee of students there wouldn't be any point if not all student bodies could have a say if they wanted to.

to JonJon - I would suggest that the stuent group be hopefully made up of at least one person from each team, but at the end of the day the more hands on deck to help prepare the event the better, especially alumni.

Also the supporter/media coverage topic - I do have a slide in my presentation specifically on event awareness and sponsorship interaction with the students. I also highlight all the events that all of our teams have attended to increase publicity and awareness - all events which FSAE-A could have attended but chose not to. This slide isn't to have a stab at FSAE-A, but to illustrate to them that there is plenty of scope to expand their sponsor opportunities and publicity.

Will be interested to see what anyone else has to say in regards to my three main points - because if we are all basically in agreement then I think it would be worth me starting a petition to hand in along with the presentation.

Thanks!