Race cars speeding down narrow curved tracks, tires screeching and rubber flying as competitors push down the accelerator to reach the finish line - this is what I had imagined the team did all day when I had first applied to be a part of the NUST Formula Student Team(NFST). However, once I successfully passed the rigorous evaluation phase and walked into the limited office space allocated to the team, my initial views were quickly dismantled.

NFST established itself as the pioneer of Formula Student culture in Pakistan back in 2012 and despite a grimy office, has never stopped the grind. They continue to achieve newer heights every year at the Formula Student (FS) motorsport competitions, the world’s most established educational engineering events organized by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, a global community of more than 120,000 mechanical engineers nurturing future engineering talent since 1847. The team designs and fabricates a student version of the F1 race car, and is often associated with being the crazy ones, brimming with dedication, discipline, and determination. The goals of the team are not simply restricted to creating the best FS race car the country has seen, rather it prides itself on expanding the FS culture and inculcating it within the youth of this country.

Brandishing the names of industrial and franchise moguls like Schaeffler, Rolls-Royce, and Waterlink Group of Companies, representatives of NFST compete every year with the same consistent efforts, on the prestigious Hockenheimring racing track and Silverstone circuit. The values deeply embedded within the team are very evident in the way we come together every day, working till late in the night, encouraging each other in moments of gloom and despair, and then coming back stronger than before as one unit. We never miss out on a single detail, be it in the design, manufacturing, assembly, or marketing of the prototype.

At the beginning of this year, NFST secured 2nd position in the entrance quiz for FS Netherlands. We have also been ranked 1st among Asian teams in FS UK 2019, 2020 and 2021. The team came out on top again this summer at FSUK’ 21, securing an overall 15th position in FSUK among 65 teams across the world, 3rd position in the Design Event and 8th in the Cost Event.

To continue this successful streak and see other Pakistani teams also take part in such competitions, we have already laid the foundations for the FS Community within Pakistan, which aims to build a safe and connected space for all the current FS teams, across different Pakistani universities. The team will equip existing teams with the required knowledge and tools to optimise their performance. This country is in dire need of an intellectual revolution, and we must realize the importance of valuing knowledge, ideas, and promoting innovations, talent, and technology.

Allowing one initiative of NFST to segue into another, we have been linking the goals of FS Community to the implementation of plans to strengthen the academia-industry linkage. This project will be an extension of NFST, promoting the triple helix structure of the intricately bound industry, academia, and the government. To facilitate its realization, we hope to partner with the big guns within the industry to allow students to gain as much knowledge, experience and assistance during their undergraduate projects.

With such a trailblazing record, we are eager to excel in the upcoming FS competitions, refining our design and concepts along the way. Once again, we hope to raise up our green and white flag for everyone to see, inspiring the young minds back home to dare to be the crazy ones. And while I still have yet to see my team members racing on the infamous tracks, it is safe to say that the team has certainly gained my respect for their unparalleled work ethic and the dingy office space is now my second home.