Following the launch of Formula 1’s #WeRaceAsOne initiative last year it set out plans to increase diversity and inclusion across Formula 1, in addition to wider plans set out in its diversity and inclusion strategy in 2019.
Formula 1 announced last year that as a sport it would focus specifically on creating employment and education opportunities for underrepresented groups with a personal contribution of $1 million (around £725,000) from its non-executive chairman, Chase Carey, to finance primarily, but not exclusively, engineering-focused scholarships for underrepresented students.
Earlier this month, Formula 1 announced the Formula 1 Engineering Scholarships, for ten students from underrepresented groups including ethnic minorities, women, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Each scholarship will provide the full cost of a student’s tuition, together with a living stipend. The scholars will be part of the September/October 2021 intake of undergraduate courses in the UK and Masters (postgraduate) in Italy. All ten Formula 1 teams have committed to provide work experience opportunities to a scholar during their time at university. The participating universities represent different regions within the UK and Italy, and each will run an independent selection process to determine the scholarship recipients. Alongside Cambridge, Formula 1 is partnering with Coventry, Manchester Metropolitan, MUNER – Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Oxford, and Strathclyde.
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge