Team Agera: Our Experiences
SCWO has been supporting Team Agera, an F1 in Schools team from Raffles Girls School since 2017. We are proud of the team’s achievements and are excited for their journey ahead, as they make great strides in the traditionally male-dominated field of motor racing. Hear from the girls themselves on their F1 journey thus far!
We are Team Agera, an F1 in Schools team from Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary), comprising of five Year 4 students. In the past three years, we have been competing in the F1 in Schools competition, working hard towards our goal of representing Singapore at World Finals. If you have not heard of F1iS before, it is a global STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) competition that has close ties with the actual Formula 1 race! It is a multidisciplinary competition involving marketing, graphic design, research, manufacturing, and more.
Team Agera has had past experiences in F1 in Schools, and in 2018’s National Finals, we are proud to say that we not only achieved a record-breaking number of 5 awards, but also Overall 1st-Runners Up! This year, we will be carrying the Singapore flag to Abu Dhabi in November, where we will be racing for our nation against teams from over 40 countries.
Team Agera’s journey in F1 in Schools has been quite the rollercoaster ride, fraught with setbacks and disappointments, but yet filled with surprises and successes. In 2017, our first time competing at National Finals, we fell short of 2nd Runners-up by a margin of 10 points out of a 1000. A year later, we lost by a similar margin and settled for 2nd place. At first, it was only natural to be devastated by our loss. We had worked extremely hard for the competition, and initially, we could not bring ourselves to accept such a placing. “We could have done better.” “What if we designed the car differently?” These were among the many questions that we asked on hindsight.
However, as we reflected on our experience up till then, we began to notice the small successes and triumphs that defined our F1iS journey. From the drops in our car’s drag coefficients to words of affirmation from sponsors, these are the true aspects of F1iS that have defined and shaped Team Agera. F1 in Schools is not just about the results, but also the process. Through this competition, we have not only learnt new skills, but also become stronger. For example, apart from racing, an important aspect of the F1 in Schools competition is the Verbal Presentation. Here, we are tasked to present our competition experience to a panel of judges, incorporating creative but yet informative elements. This was one of the more nerve-wracking experiences for us as we had to perfectly synchronise our actions and lines, all while ensuring that it was informative, engaging and within a strict time frame. To overcome this, we supported and encouraged each other, and practiced countless times. It was through such experiences that we managed to bond as a team and spur each other on.
F1 in Schools has also given us the opportunity to liaise with so many industry professionals, from engineering mentors in NUS to education specialists in various tuition centres. These interactions have allowed us to gain lifelong wisdom and hands-on experience in the fields of enterprise and engineering, which will definitely benefit us in the future, regardless of our career paths. Part of the process we are most thankful for is also the opportunity to serve as ambassadors of female empowerment, more specifically females in STEM. Being an all-female team in the male-dominated field of engineering, we aspired to be role models for our female peers to inspire them to take an interest in the fields of STEM. SCWO has supported us throughout this journey by not only being a generous sponsor of Team Agera, but has also encouraged us in spreading our cause through various initiatives in our school. It is with their support that we have managed to come so far in our journey.
To support us in our road to World Finals 2019, please feel free to contact us at f1teamagera@gmail.com!
By Team Agera
