New Member Project Program

QUT Motorsport is always looking for new and innovative ways to involve and integrate new members into the team. It's a shortcoming we have faced in previous years, however, this year we implemented strategies to assist new members in their transition to become fully-fledged active members of QUT Motorsport. 

Through the introduction of a new leadership role, 'New Member Coordinator,' new members were able to have a single point of contact that they could go to for all of their queries related to their involvement in the team. This not only improved communication through our channels, but it also allowed our technical leads to keep focus on their design and development tasks while assisting new members where necessary. 

The New Member Project program was designed to help our team discern what areas the incoming members would be best suited to based on their skills and work completed in the program’s tasks. 

QUT Motorsport Team Principal, Luke McCallum, said: “With the average student completing a four year degree, member recruitment and knowledge transfer is paramount for the long term success in an environment with such a high member turnover. Many hours of planning were required to put this program into place, however we believe it was worthwhile for both the team and potential new members. From a new member perspective, it helps create an immediate understanding of the team’s expectations and requirements, which allows them to quickly determine whether this is something for them. The team also benefits as it helps us identify which students show the greatest interest and commitment, so we can help nurture and guide them in their journey with the team. Overall, it has been a great success and couldn’t have been achieved without the massive commitment from the whole leadership team!”

A range of new member tasks were set-up in accordance with each technical lead and their relevant sub-teams. These ranged from mechanical, electrical, mechatronics and software tasks through to business / organisational projects. All of which had been specifically designed for incoming members from those with relative inexperience to those who are further along in their degree. This gave them a taste of the work and dedication required to become members who will eventually be able to take on larger tasks with a greater weight of importance within the team.

This year, we had a significant level of interest with over 130+ people attending our Week One Introduction Meeting in February. It is important that all those who want to get involved are given a fair and equal chance so that we can help continue the future success of the team by maintaining a high-level of consistent engagement.

Week One Introductory Meeting in February. Photo by Alison Powell

Project supervisors were assigned to each of the new member tasks (the supervisors being one of our more senior members to whom individuals could address technical questions to along with the New Member Coordinator). The tasks were then handed out in the week following the first meeting and individuals began work on their projects within groups of three to four. 

New members working in their group with one of our senior members in March. Photo by Alison Powell

Due to the unprecedented circumstances of COVID-19, our new members were unable to present their work to the rest of the team at our weekly meetings as originally planned. Thus, it was decided to have them record and submit a video presentation that corresponds to their report that our team would then review and provide feedback on. 

Our leadership team was absolutely blown away with the standards to which the projects were completed and the high-level of engagement of the individuals involved. Over 30 groups took on a new member project with 29 high quality submissions received come the due date. This exceeded our expectations, especially considering the challenge presented with Coronavirus. We look forward to implementing this program further in the years to come. 

Chamath Dharmasiri, QUT Motorsport, New Member Coordinator, said: “For a first attempt at such a program, the results were exceptional. The quality of the solutions generated, as well as the way in which they were documented and presented, exceeded all of our expectations. Ultimately, it provided the leadership group with a strong understanding of where these new student’s interests and strengths lay, meaning they could be utilised in the team to their maximum potential moving forward.”

As a team, we thank all the new members who were involved in the projects for your ongoing commitment and hard work. We are truly inspired at the amount of dedication shown and we are excited to have you stay on in the team! 

Alison Powell

Media Coordinator

All photos were taken before COVID-19 lockdown in February / early March this year.