Motorsport Engineer’s CAD Design Career Accelerator Program combines theory with hands-on tasks for an unmatched educational experience. In this course, you will get to see how F1 aero designers use CAD software through practical assignments.
It’s an excellent course to learn CAD for the first time or to brush up on the best practices and latest developments. The CAD Design program also includes a CATIA 3DExperience licence at no additional cost.
In this article, we’ll give you a closer look at our course, including first-hand insights from students who have completed the program and their takeaways from what they learned.
What is the CAD Design Career Accelerator Program all about?
The CAD Design course was developed with the goal of helping people to develop their CAD design skills. This program, led by former F1 aero designer Martin Buchan, presents a unique and comprehensive curriculum.
Barkın İnal, who took the course this summer, believes this rewarding course is for anyone wishing to refine their technical skill set to move forward professionally in motorsports. “It’s very beneficial for anyone who wants to develop a career in motorsports.”
The course covers part design, drawings, and shape design. Students come out of the course with a thorough understanding of how to use CATIA to create a range of parts and designs.
Throughout the CAD course, students receive feedback and can ask questions to learn every aspect of the software. Barkin was especially grateful for the interactive nature of the course. “Martin helped us a lot in every aspect relating to design”, he said.
What do you get with this course?
In a nutshell, this course offers comprehensive learning, career support and helps you build a design portfolio. Here, you have a career-centred program spanning six weeks, featuring live guidance from a former Formula 1 engineer and a licence included for CATIA 3DExperience.
You’ll benefit from personalised attention and insights within an exclusive small-group environment.
The coursework is made up of tasks and assignments that mirror real-world challenges. Moreover, you’ll have the chance to interact with guest speakers and establish contact with professionals in the industry.
Upon completion of the course, in addition to your CAD portfolio, you will also get an industry-recognised course certificate.
After finishing the course, our student Shane Kenyon was very happy with the course: “You get a CATIA licence, Martin’s brain to pick, and you avoid pitfalls. Even the course is live with fellow students, so I appreciated that aspect because it’s something you cannot get simply by clicking on slides or a YouTube video.”
“In the end, you get a nice portfolio with original parts designed, which allows you to demonstrate your abilities and explain the challenges faced during the process”, he added.
What can students expect to learn?
In this course, you can expect to learn the practical skills necessary to kickstart your professional journey in motorsport engineering.
Through this live course, you’ll apply theoretical knowledge and practical execution of CAD concepts to create, develop, and enhance race cars. This know-how enriches your capabilities and portfolio, which elevates your application when applying for motorsport teams.
During his time in the CAD Design course, Dániel Medgyesi found the practical experience to be the key element to his learning. “The most efficient way to learn something new is by getting hands-on experience, and with this course, you can learn how to design and formulate Formula 1 parts according to a valuable design flow.”
Oriol Dachs, who completed the course alongside Dániel, added, “this course allows you to be efficient in a Formula 1 environment, identifying and solving potential problems before they occur.”
How much CAD design experience is needed to enrol in the course?
You do not need to already have CAD experience to take this course! In the CAD Design program, everyone starts on the same page. The program is adaptable to suit every student, no matter their level of proficiency with CAD design. In week 1, the course kicks off with the foundations of CATIA 3DExperience software, meaning the course is suited to every level of experience.
David Neva tells us, “What is great about this course is that you start with the basics. Even though I have been using CATIA for six years now, everyone learned according to their goals and what they wanted to achieve with the course. You shouldn’t worry if you have no experience because Martin starts from the basics and builds your knowledge bit by bit.”
What sort of projects do students work on in the CAD Design course?
The CAD Design course will not only teach you the basics of CATIA 3DExperience, but it will also allow you to show your creativity.
Motorsport Engineer and Martin Buchan have designed a course that will allow you to build your very own CAD Design portfolio. In your portfolio, you can show off the engineering and design challenges you take on in the course. Each task and project in the course is modelled to reflect the demands of working in a Formula 1 team.
The best part of this structure is that students get feedback from Martin over the six weeks of the course. This allows each student to better their understanding of course concepts and make the best designs possible.
In this respect, Qi Chen does not doubt that the CAD Design course helped her think like a Formula 1 engineer. She tells us, “You need to be creative in this course. There is more than just following the instructor’s steps. Eventually, this challenging environment calls for the need to think like a real engineer.”
What advantages does the CAD Design course have over other online resources?
This program is not only complete, it is also unique. In the CAD Design course, students are given personalised support. Students are not only given feedback on their work, but they can also ask questions in real-time and learn directly from a former Formula 1 engineer.
Jeffrey Astorga summarises the experience he had in the program. “What this course gives you that YouTube videos can’t is if you run into an error, no one will help you address that. The experience with our instructor is invaluable as a resource to guide you in the right direction.”
He further pointed out, “The Formula 1 way of thinking that comes from Martin’s experience, explaining case studies as he teaches you throughout it is where the real value is and makes it worth it.”
How taking the CAD Design course impact your career?
The CAD Design course not only teaches you CAD Design, it also gives you insight into working in motorsport. The course includes lessons and insider information about what working as an aero designer is like, how to find and apply for roles in F1, and what the interview process might look like. Additionally, the course features guest speakers so that you can network and ask questions about the industry.
Our student Juan Chavez tells us, “This course will not only build your technical skills but also give you an insight into motorsports. Here, you receive feedback from a former Formula 1 engineer and get a lot of opportunities to connect with many people involved in the industry.”
The hard work of building your portfolio could mean landing your dream position in Formula 1 or endurance racing.
Steven Reng, who recently took the course, tells us: “[the CAD Design course] is the beginning of great things in my career, as I see myself being in motorsports for the long haul. Having a portfolio and the skills now that I need to give me a leg up in whatever role I enter is huge.”
So why enrol in this unique program?
Enrolling in this course is an investment in your future. Steven explains further why he decided to enrol in the course, “It’s a broad learning experience, and it’s a unique chance in the sense that you get access to top-level tools that racing teams use and learn it from someone who has knowledge of and knows the possible tasks assigned to you.”
At the same time, Steven emphasised that this course gives you insight into aspects you won’t learn anywhere else. “You get to discover how Aero Design teams structure themselves in Formula 1 and the processes they apply to design and produce parts. Throughout the course, there is advice on potential interview questions you may encounter or case studies on problems that teams currently face and how to solve them.”
Steven enjoyed that “at the end of the course, you come away with a design portfolio, which is a critical supplement to applications to speak about your work in interviews and shows off your capabilities as a designer and an engineer in this space.”
Final Thoughts
Our students have said it best. Motorsport Engineer’s CAD Design Career Accelerator Program is an excellent way to take the next step toward your dream role. It combines in-depth technical training with real-world tasks, making it a perfect opportunity to grow your CAD Design skills.
This program equips students with the practical knowledge needed to excel in the motorsport industry. If you’ve been looking for a way to learn CAD Design for F1, this course is for you. We hope you will join us in our next edition of the program.
Should you have questions about the program or want more information, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@motorsportengineer.net.