A group of local students and teachers received the opportunity to visit the state-of-the-art McLaren Technology Center at Woking and take a glimpse at its MP4-12C manufacturing operations.
The McLaren Automotive factory tour is a part of the British government’s “See Inside Manufacturing” campaign and was organized in cooperation with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
The initiative hopes to make students, who were selected through a competition to design their own vehicle that would transport an object as quickly as possible over a distance of 10 m, to see the inside workings of engineering firms. The government wants to attract some of these youngsters to this field, turning their “boring” outlook on its head and boost UK’s technical expertise.
Ron Dennis, McLaren Automotive executive chairman, is highly supportive of the initiative: “Education sits at the very heart of Britain’s opportunity to lead the world in advanced engineering. It is up to all of us, as employers, as parents and as the Government, to reignite in young people a sense of passion in studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, in order to open up more employment opportunities in those areas.”
The first part of the tour consisted of the young visitors and their teachers walking past the “boulevard” displaying McLaren’s racecars.
They were then allowed to enter the -normally restricted- areas of the wind tunnel and the workshop where the racing department’s Formula 1 cars are manufactured.
Brad Fincham, one of the carmaker’s dynamic test engineers, explained to them both what inspired him to choose his profession and what it is like to be an automotive and racing engineer.
McLaren’s head of design, Frank Stephenson, subsequently gave them a rare insight on the new MP4-12C supercar.
“The McLaren Manufacturing Challenge is a great way to get students engaged with engineering and design”, said Stephenson. “I’ve been hugely impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication with which the students have approached their vehicles. They’ve obviously worked very hard and I applaud their efforts.”
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