Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about a wonderful and worth while initiative called the F1 in Schools program. I have had the privilege to play a very small part in this program over the last three years, presenting awards at the national finals and having had the exciting opportunity of meeting with the teams to see their fantastic work. F1 in Schools, also known as the Formula One Technology Challenge, is a program for high school students worldwide that aims to get students learning about engineering and design. Teams use industry level technologies to design, test, manufacture and race miniature Formula One cars. It is not all about engineering, though. Students are set many challenges, such as public speaking, project planning, graphic design, manufacturing, resource procurement and sponsorship and marketing. I consider it to be an effective incubator for our future entrepreneurs. Whilst there are short-term goals, such as building the car and competing in the heats and the finals, F1 in Schools also has very important long-term goals. The program connects students to the engineering industry and it helps to inspire them to pursue careers in engineering. But the benefits for participants go far beyond a career in that field. The skills they learn can be applied to almost any future endeavour. In Australia, F1 in Schools is an initiative of Re-Engineering Australia, a not-for-profit organisation committed to teaching students about engineering and design in exciting and challenging ways. Other support is also received from government, industry, community groups and local schools.

The F1 in Schools program is a worldwide competition. More than 20 countries participate in it. Participants come from Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Middle East and Australasia. Every year students progress through regional, state and national finals. The program offers each team a chance to learn from other teams and to meet industry representatives. The best Australian team goes on to compete in the world championship.

The 2012 national finals just took place, and I was lucky enough to be there. I am immensely proud to report that a team from my home state of South Australia was crowned the national champion in the professional class. The Brighton Secondary School team, which went by the name of Cold Fusion, also had the fastest average car time.