Month: June 2024

The choice of what to study at college often comes to students during a conversation with their tutor, or after conducting an in-depth web search of the ‘most fun university towns’. For one lucky group of students at the University of Wolverhampton (UoW) in England, however, their sights have been set on a career in motorsport from a young age.

Following on from BETT, the world’s largest technology and education event, we sat down with students from the University of Wolverhampton’s motorsport engineering course to discuss how they came to be involved in such a specialized degree – and how it is preparing them to enter the motor racing world.

Alyce Mayo, a second-year motorsport engineering student, says motorsports has been a passion of hers for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve been growing up around motorbikes my whole life,” she says. “I pursued the University of Wolverhampton because they not only offered a degree in motorsport engineering but also had a professional race team, and that’s what I wanted to be a part of.”

For Tyler Lewis, inspiration struck when an unexpected visitor turned up at his school. He was just 13 years old when a delegation from UoW gave a talk to students about the exciting work being done by the Formula 3 student team – less than a mile away from the school.

“From then on, I knew exactly where I was going to go, and I strived to join the course, becoming the first person in my sixth form to ever achieve this,” he says.

“I had always been into cars, from getting my first Hot Wheels car to watching car shows on TV with my dad every weekend growing up. And then it almost just naturally progressed into, well, how do these cars work? How do they get faster?”

In years gone by, both Alyce’s and Tyler’s dreams would most probably have gone nowhere. But thanks to the partnership between Lenovo and UoW, those dreams have become reality. The duo are part of an ambitious generation of engineers benefiting from specialized courses which create opportunities for a broad variety of backgrounds and experiences, some with very little exposure to STEM.

The UoW Engineering degrees go beyond the classroom by giving students real-time learning experiences through involvement in its motorsport racing team, University of Wolverhampton Racing (UWR).

Working with professional racing drivers and motorsport technicians, through UWR students travel to racing circuits around the UK to compete against professional and amateur drivers in multiple championships.

As third-year student Thomas Russell puts it: “As soon as you decide that you want to be a motorsport engineer, you become so focused on a certain set of criteria that you immediately become an optimal employee prospect.

“That’s an incredible opportunity. You then tick most of the boxes that employers are looking for – which is something most people who are twice your age still don’t have.”

Lenovo actively supports higher education through a range of university partnerships and has been a proud partner of UWR for 8 years. It is important to note the word “partner” here. This is much more than a simple sponsorship, as multiple alumni success stories attest. Students are making the transition from university to the very top level of the sport: Formula 1®. Lenovo and F1 have been in partnership since 2022, bringing the sport to a global TV audience well in excess of 1.5 billion.

Lenovo’s technology supports the motorsport industry at all levels, from the training of tomorrow’s engineers to the execution of the F1 organization’s most critical operations.

Lenovo’s partnership with UoW is enabling students to work in a specialized world and have access to unique opportunities by providing equipment to assist with CAD design and the extraction of real-time data during races, to donating PCs to help students complete their dissertation projects that directly influence the racing team.

Richard Mann, a third-year engineering student and head of UWR’s Morgan team, has been front and center in helping the race team excel while also completing his studies.

“Lenovo technology facilitates easy communication, sharing ideas and reviewing designs,” he says. “This collaborative approach allows us to innovate and improve based on real-time feedback.

“The programme exposes us to real-world systems and work environments. Lenovo technology streamlines our tasks, making us accustomed to the efficiency required in the industry. It’s preparing us for a seamless transition into the professional world.”

The significant number of UoW graduates already working in motorsports teams and the related supply chain is clear evidence that UoW has created a winning formula in its motorsport engineering degree – and that Lenovo’s partnership has further enriched those learning opportunities.

With plans in place to enhance the tech stack for 2024, the next generation of engineering talent is already on the starting grid, eager to show what they can do.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 17, 2024 /3BL/ – The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) has recognized family-owned spirits company Bacardi with an award for its work to protect the river running through its BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin distillery.

The site in Hampshire, England was one of the top-scoring initiatives from across the globe, earning the Wetlands and Water Bodies award at this year’s WHC Conservation Conference held in New Orleans. The accolade is presented to a high-scoring project that both collects and evaluates monitoring data to inform the next steps in its corporate wetland conservation efforts.

Recognizing and celebrating excellence in corporate conservation, this follows the distillery’s WHC Silver Certification in September 2023, which saw it become the first spirits production site in the UK to hold the certification.

The Bacardi team invests in conservation work to support local wildlife and biodiversity around the home of its BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin. On the banks of the River Test – an area which has held Site of Special Scientific Interest status since 1991 – wildflowers have been planted and fish and eel passes have also been constructed to allow for greater movement of river life.

In addition, the distillery is part of a nationwide program called the Anglers’ Riverfly Monitoring Initiative, which engages a local community of volunteers from the Watercress and Winterbournes Landscape Partnership Scheme to monitor the river’s invertebrates. This study provides invaluable insight into the health of the river, helping to track and monitor any changes over time.

“At Bacardi, protecting the environment and wildlife surrounding our production sites is not a choice, it’s a must,” says Rodolfo Nervi, VP, Safety, Quality & Sustainability, Bacardi. “We’re incredibly proud to win this award as we continue in our commitment to do the right thing by people and planet.”

“WHC is proud to honor the Bacardi-owned BOMBAY SAPPHIRE site with the Wetlands and Water Bodies Award,” said Margaret O’Gorman, WHC President. “This award not only recognizes Bacardi for its achievements, but it also serves as an example of the actions taken by the private sector to support biodiversity around the world.”

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE distillery joins other sites from the company’s portfolio in securing the WHC certification. Both Bacardi in Puerto Rico, which is the largest premium rum distillery in the world and the home of the world’s most awarded rum BACARDĺ, and the Bacardi Bottling Corporation site in Jacksonville, Florida, have previously earned WHC certifications.

Find out more about Bacardi and its ESG – Environmental, Social & Governance – commitments, including its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, at www.bacardilimited.com/good-spirited.

ENDS

Media contacts:
Phillippa Williams, Communications Director – pholmes@bacardi.com

Always drink responsibly.

About Bacardi
Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held international spirits company, produces, markets, and distributes spirits and wines. The Bacardi Limited portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDÍ® rum, PATRÓN® tequila, GREY GOOSE® vodka, DEWAR’S® Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, MARTINI® vermouth and sparkling wines, CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON’S® Scotch whisky, ST-GERMAIN® elderflower liqueur and ERISTOFF® vodka. Founded more than 162 years ago in Santiago de Cuba, family-owned Bacardi Limited currently employs approximately 9,000, operates production facilities in 11 countries and territories, and sells its brands in more than 160 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. Visit www.bacardilimited.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.

About Wildlife Habitat Council
WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) has been working at the nexus of business and biodiversity for 35 years and is the only international NGO focused exclusively on enabling private sector action for nature. WHC builds strategies and frameworks for companies to integrate nature with climate, equity and engagement to support sustainable ecosystems and healthy communities. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations. WHC-certified programs can be found in 19 countries and 48 U.S. states. Learn more at www.wildlifehc.org.