Infiniti, Renault F1 team on hunt for top students

INFINITI is conducting its annual recruitment drive for the top engineering students worldwide to join the Infiniti Engineering Academy, working with the Japanese luxury marque and the Renault Sport Formula One Team over a 12-month period.

In its third consecutive year, six of the best engineering students – one each from China, Europe, Canada, Mexico and the Asia and Oceania regions – will receive hands-on training and real-world experience in areas including electronics, aerodynamics, mechanical design and composite design.

They will also work across Infiniti’s co-developed Renault Sport RE 16 power unit’s energy recovery system (ERS) for both road and race applications.

Infiniti Motorsport global director Tommaso Volpe described the program as a unique opportunity for students to train with specialised teams and a great way to kick-start a career.

“We can offer six engineers a truly technically rich, multi-discipline engineering placement,” he said.

“Not only will they spend six months at the Infiniti Technical Centre for Europe (based at Cranfield in Bedfordshire, England), they will also experience the facilities at the Renault Sport Formula One Team base in Enstone, Oxfordshire.

“Combining opportunities to work at both companies means our 2016 Infiniti Engineering Academy winners are set to craft their careers from the outset with an incredible 12 months at the cutting edge of big business automotive and motorsport engineering.”

Renault Sport F1 chief technical officer Bob Bell added that the program “offers a compelling opportunity” and would help winners “experience the fundamentals of automotive and motorsport engineers”.

Mr Volpe also said the winning students would work on hybrid technologies as battery-assisted powertrains become more prevalent.

“Our performance philosophy is deeply rooted in hybrid technology,” he said.

“We are pioneers of electrifying electrified performance, and as F1 continues to develop and flourish in this area, so too will our engineers working within the Renault Sport Formula One team.”

Infiniti is still to confirm whether participants from the Middle East and the United States will be eligible for the next intake.

More information, including entry details, can be found at Academy.Infiniti.com.