Motorsport engineering scholarships to aid diversity

Five engineering students from a Black or mixed Black ethnic background aiming to work in motorsport are being supported in their studies by scholarships awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and supported by Mission 44.

The first five successful applicants for the MSc in motorsport engineering or an associated discipline are:

• Laila Fadli Dokkali from Greenford in West London will study for an MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design at Cranfield University
• Nevin Hall from Edinburgh will study for an MSc in Information Systems at Kingston University London.
• Jonathan Keeya from New Malden in Surrey will study for an MSc in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes University
• Amjad Saeed from Hayes in West London will study MSc Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes University
• Benjamin Theo Woodhouse from Cardiff will study for an MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University

Each student will receive a grant of £25,000 to cover full tuition fees and living costs, along with wraparound support through networking events and motorsport experiences, with the objective that within two years of completing the MSc, most, if not all, will be employed in the engineering sector – with the majority in the motorsport sector and Formula 1.

All five awardees attended a first networking event at Silverstone Museum on Thursday 12 October 2023.

They met with staff from the Academy and Mission 44, had a Q&A session with engineers from the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, toured the museum and had sessions on the simulator.

The MSc Motorsport Scholarship Programme was launched in June 2022 with inaugural funding from Sir Lewis Hamilton HonFREng and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, now continued through the work of Mission 44.

The Scholarship Programme was developed to address a specific recommendation within The Hamilton Commission's report, Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport.

Sir Lewis Hamilton HonFREng formed The Hamilton Commission with the support of the Royal Academy of Engineering to address the underrepresentation of Black people in UK motorsport and the STEM sector.

Katie Miller, Head of Impact at Mission 44, says, 'This is just the start of their journeys and we can't wait to see where the next year takes them.'

The second round of applications for the Masters in motorsport scholarship opened on 17 October.

Applications can be made via the Academy’s website.

Closing date is Friday 8 March 2024 at 4pm.