“Dream job” doesn’t even begin to describe the opportunity Infiniti is offering undergraduate engineering talent in Canada. For the third straight year, Canadian engineers will have the opportunity of a lifetime as they compete in the Infiniti Engineering Academy. Those selected will be competing with the Canada’s top up-and-coming engineers in a national competition that will conclude in Montreal this summer.
The initiative is part of Infiniti’s new partnership with the Renault Sport Formula One Team as part of its automotive-to-Formula 1 training program. The fortuitous engineers will, according to Infiniti Motorsport’s Global Director Tommaso Volpe, “work across both road car and race car hybrid systems.”
As the technical partner for the Renault Sport team, Infiniti has been charged with the development of the Renault Sport RE16 Power Unit’s Energy Recovery System (ERS). Successful Infiniti Engineering Academy winners will “play a key role in bridging the gap between us and the race team,” according to Volpe.
Since the program’s inception the number of placements has grown from three in the first year to six in 2016. Canadian winners will join winners from each of the other regional competitions taking place in China, Europe, Mexico, Asia and Oceana, with competitions in the Middle East and the United States yet to be confirmed.
Past winner, Alex Allmandinger from the U.S., described his experience as “truly once in a lifetime.” Since his selection in 2015, Allmandinger has been working with Infiniti’s Customer Oriented Engineering group in the U.K. where he has been exposed to various emerging technologies and see “what the future of the automotive industry looks like.”
Allmandinger describes the competition as “rewarding” recalling the sense of victory felt at each step in a process that included “videos, more interviews and calls, further applications and write-ups” before even reaching the U.S. final.
His advice for 2016 applicants? “Just go for it.”
“If you’re dedicated and passionate, there is no reason it can’t be you. It’s really too good of a chance to pass up,” he added.
To apply for the 2016 Infiniti Engineering Academy visit https://academy.infiniti.com/.
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