Highly respected professionals with Formula 1 experience, still active in the world of international motorsport, will be transferring their knowledge to applicants for the Master's programme in Motorsport Engineering at Széchenyi István University. The English-taught programme, which will start in February 2025, is open to students from several continents who are interested in design engineering, primarily with a Bachelor's degree in engineering. Renowned partner teams will also help in gaining skills in the design and testing of racing vehicles.

Széchenyi István University plays a prominent role in the practice-oriented education of professionals who are able to respond to the challenges of the automotive industry and compete on the international stage. The aspiring engineers can hone their skills in world-leading student racing teams such as the world record-holding SZEnergy Team and the Formula Student East-winning Arrabona Racing Team. The Győr-based institution, which is deeply connected to the world of auto and motorsport in countless ways, is expanding its educational offerings in this field by launching a Master's degree programme in Motorsport Engineering at the Audi Hungaria Faculty of Vehicle Engineering. The new programme aims to provide state-of-the-art knowledge in the design, testing and operation of racing vehicles. Students will be given project assignments that address real-world problems and the experience of renowned technical sports professionals to help them become skilled motorsport engineers.

“Although we can find examples of this type of education in Western Europe, such as in Great Britain, France, Spain and Italy, however, Széchenyi István University is playing a pioneering role in Central and Eastern Europe by launching this new Master's degree programme,” said Dr Dániel Feszty, Head of the Department of Whole Vehicle Development at the institution.

He added that the language of the programme is English, because applicants are welcome not only from the region, but from all over Europe and even from other continents, North and South America, Australia and Asia. "We offer our students a high quality programme that provides valuable knowledge for the international market, as most of our guest lecturers are professionals from the sport, many of them former and still active Formula 1 engineers. In addition, we work with partner teams that give us the opportunity to deepen practical knowledge," he said.

According to Dr Dániel Feszty, Head of the Department of Whole Vehicle Development the new master's degree programme is likely to attract significant international interest. (Photo: András Adorján)

The programme, the duration of which is one year, is organised into six modules, consisting of 12 courses, each of which includes a project assignment to be solved in addition to the theoretical instruction. "Each module features personalities such as the founder and owner of OptimumG, known for its lap-time simulation, tyre modelling and suspension design software, and former Formula 1 and Indycar race engineer Claude Rouelle, a world-renowned expert in dynamic simulations of racing vehicles. Also from Formula 1, we are joined by Andor Hegedűs, currently Senior Project Designer at Aston Martin F1 Team, and Dr Sándor Kling, currently an Senior Structures Engineer at Williams Racing. Thorsten Pfeffer is Head of the Drive System Development Department at Audi Hungaria and was previously Head of Research and Development at Sauber Petronas Engineering’s F1 team, while Norbert Gatzka has more than 20 years of experience at BMW, including designing BMW’s F1 powertrain," said Szabolcs Kiss, co-founder and CEO of Performanceology, a start-up that aims to develop artificial intelligence-based race engineers. A Széchenyi University and Arrabona Racing Team alumnus, he currently serves as both a lecturer and the operational manager of the programme.

Claude Rouelle, a world-renowned expert in dynamic simulations of racing vehicles, will also be among the guest speakers at the Széchenyi István University course.

Among the lecturers of the Master's programme are Dr Barna Hanula, Associate Professor at Széchenyi University, an internationally renowned expert in the design and development of high-performance engines, Dávid Bári, an expert in race car dynamics, co-founder and managing director of the M1RA Motorsport Team with two-time world champion Norbert Michelisz, and Bettina Szelezsán, System Engineer for the Hyundai Motorsport World Rally Championship (WRC) team in Germany.

The student racing team of Széchenyi István University, the Arrabona Racing Team, provides a practical background for the Master's programme. (Photo: András Adorján)

Participants in the programme can solve their project tasks with the help of partner teams such as the Radical Motorsport Hungary Team, M1RA Motorsport, the National Automobilsport Federation of Hungary, BirelART Hungary or the Arrabona Racing Team. The first year of the programme is planned to start with 20 participants and will cover topics such as data collection and analysis, race car powertrain systems, different set-ups, aerodynamics, design and testing.

"Széchenyi University's education, research and innovation activities in eleven disciplines give it the advantage of interdisciplinarity to compete with national and international competitors. One focus of our institution's activities is modern research on mobility, which also requires the synthesis of several disciplines. This approach is also reflected in our teaching, as we aim to help our students to see the complexity of the challenges of a sector and to provide real solutions. We also train the professionals of the future in engineering fields, and with our Master’s programme in Motorsport Engineering we also aim to provide a broad, practical knowledge base, and our students learn from internationally recognised personalities with experience at the highest levels of motorsport", said Dr Zsolt Kovács, Vice President for General and Educational Affairs at the University.

Applications for the programme, which will start in February 2025, can be submitted until 15 September 2024.The information page for the Master's course can be found here.