In a pioneering move towards enhancing engineering education through co-creation, an online workshop titled “Formula Student as an Instrument of Co-Creating Engineering Education” was held in February 2024. The event, spearheaded by Shobhit Shakya from TalTech and Ludmila Dohnalova from CTU Prague, marked a significant gathering of Formula Student teams from four EuroTeQ Universities: TUM, TalTech, CTU Prague, and TU/e.
This workshop is part of a broader initiative to research various instruments and communities of co-creation within the EuroTeQ consortium. Prior to this, the Student Formula teams from each university were studied, and the outcomes of the studies conducted so far were discussed with the teams representatives. These studies aimed to unravel the dynamics within the teams and their contribution to co-creation in engineering education. The findings from these studies were presented and discussed during the workshop, offering valuable insights into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) associated with the teams and the wider student competition ecosystem.
The Formula Student competition, one of the oldest student engineering contests among the EuroTeQ Universities, serves as a important co-creation instrument. The workshop’s goal was to delve deeper into this ecosystem, understanding its potential in fostering innovation, teamwork, and real-world problem-solving skills among engineering students.
The workshop conducted a SWOT analysis, which shed light on various dimensions of the Formula Student teams and the overall competition ecosystem. These insights are invaluable, not just for the teams involved but also for the future of engineering education across the EuroTeQ consortium. The knowledge and ideas generated from the workshop are expected to contribute significantly to improving challenge-based and co-creation teaching methods within these universities.
This collaborative effort underscores the importance of student competitions as platforms for co-creation in education. It also highlights the EuroTeQ Universities commitment to evolving engineering education through innovative practices that involve direct student engagement and contribution.