Words by Diego Lerma
If you no longer go for the gap, you are no longer a racing driver. —Ayrton Senna
The spirit of racing, as it applies to life, entails doing whatever it takes to seize opportunities and make the most out of your circumstances. Just as Ayrton Senna always seized the moment, I believe that everyone has the right to have the best tools and opportunities in life.
In today's world, regardless of your background or interests, the ability to adapt to new developments is essential for success. This skill and mindset can take various forms from gaining a deeper understanding of technology to navigating real-life situations.
In this regard, the Philippines has regrettably fallen behind. Regionally, the nation's quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education is comparatively poor. One of the most significant missed opportunities I see here is that despite the Filipinos' creativity, they are not exposed to how the rest of the world, particularly the developed nations, operates throughout their lives. This is evident in the lower-than-normal success of startups in the country, not to mention our innovation rate. The need to invest in more diverse and applicable skill sets in education is thus apparent.
To continually improve standards, other nations have implemented more progressive educational programs. In 1999, the UK introduced "F1 in Schools" as a competition aimed at introducing STEM to young people in an engaging manner. Teams of three to six members compete in designing, building, and racing miniature cars under strict regulations, with the current world record being under a second! However, teams are not just judged on the speed of the car; they are also evaluated on their reaction times, verbal presentations, pit displays, adherence to regulations, and their engineering and enterprise portfolios.
I spent most of my school life in the Philippines attending the International School Manila, where I had the opportunity to participate in similar robotics competitions. Despite the long history and worldwide expansion of "F1 in Schools," I had never even heard of it here.
The pandemic led me to relocate to a boarding school in Sydney, where I became friends with Will. We bonded over our shared interest in F1, drawn to its intensity and the unwavering competitiveness of the drivers who strive to be the best, no matter the challenges they face. Consequently, when we discovered this competition, we were surprised to learn that our school had never participated before, despite the fact that there had been eight Australian world champions in F1 in Schools since 2004.
It became clear that we had to join. Despite our lack of knowledge about the challenges it entailed, we initiated an F1 in Schools club at school and entered the competition as a team, joined by other friends who shared our "we-can-do-that" mindset. From February of this year until late August, we dedicated ourselves to developing the team and our car.
Just last month, we competed in the F1 in Schools Western Sydney Regional Finals. During this competition, Will was responsible for engineering the car, while I led the enterprise section of our team. This role involved tasks such as acquiring sponsors, managing the team's social media, advertising, tracking finances, creating a 15,000-word business portfolio, preparing a 10-minute verbal presentation, building a pit display, and more.
It provided us with real-world experiences and insights into how a company operates internally. It was a valuable learning experience for me and the other team members, including Anthony, who helped with marketing, and Lachlan, who coded our website and is currently working on our app. We gained knowledge about marketing our venture, understanding what sponsors look for, preparing for worst-case scenarios, and managing long-term timelines. As a result of our dedication to innovation, not just in aerodynamics but also in other areas, we successfully qualified for the State Finals in late October.
This experience went beyond a typical "school task." While we entered the competition and obtained the standard equipment required for all participants, sponsored by our school, the majority of the logistics were managed by our team. We had to independently figure out what was needed, conduct our own research, and reach out to corporate sponsors. This self-reliance allowed us to think creatively and innovate beyond the competition's standard structure, which, in my opinion, is a significant advantage in promoting creativity.
No matter which field you enter, the F1 in Schools competition offers a wide range of skills to learn. Students not only acquire the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with their peers to resolve disagreements and manage expectations but also learn to interact with businesses. This includes pitching to sponsors, sending emails, following up, and collaborating with school administrations to make presentations, even in other schools. Additionally, they develop the skills to organize and manage long-term projects, establish schedules, and meet deadlines. These skills, along with honing problem-solving and critical thinking abilities, are applicable across various fields, even if they are not related to engineering or enterprise management.
In recent years, there has been a cultural explosion around motorsport and, particularly, F1, thanks to the Netflix series "Drive to Survive." Surprisingly, F1 in Schools has not yet gained traction in the Philippines, despite neighboring nations like Thailand and Malaysia adopting the program as early as 2007. These countries, with smaller populations, have already achieved success on the international stage, with three Malaysian and four Thai teams qualifying for the World Championship in 2023.
It is increasingly encouraging to observe that our government and large corporations are inclined to invest further in education, recognizing the imperative of ensuring the nation's long-term social mobility and economic welfare, especially given its growing population. With the Philippines boasting just over 100 science high schools and many private schools investing in international engineering competitions such as VEX, F1 in Schools would be an ideal addition to the STEM education curriculum for a nation with brilliant minds seeking more experience from a young age.
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Editor's note:
Diego Lerma, a 16-year-old student in Year 11 at Cranbrook School in Sydney, Australia, leads the team "Australis Racing." They are currently participating in the F1 in Schools New South Wales state finals, which will take place from Oct. 17th to 19th at the Eastern Creek Raceway. Stay updated on their progress by following Diego, Will, Anthony, and Lochie on Instagram @australisracing.