Oxford Brookes University has launched a new motorsport programme to respond to a long-standing industry need for flexible, market-driven educational short course provision.
Building on the success of its existing motorsport educational programme, Oxford Brookes University is proud to launch a new suite of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) short courses.
Industry has long expressed a need for a new way of upskilling its employees. Oxford Brookes responded with the development of an innovative method of ‘learning while earning’. These new postgraduate level courses are delivered in a supported distance-learning format, which enables students to study whilst in employment, study part-time at their own pace, develop core competencies at a higher level, impact on company performance, and attain a postgraduate motorsport qualification. Since the courses run 24/7, 365 days a year, and do not have fixed end dates, they provide the flexibility required by busy employees within the motorsport industry.
The courses, of which there are currently three – Data Acquisition, Motorsport Chassis Dynamics and Business for Motorsport – have been developed specifically to cater for industry needs. Over time, further topics, including Racing Engine Design and Motorsport Aerodynamics, will be developed to provide learners with a wide range of choice of study topic, and the opportunity eventually to acquire a full Motorsport MSc.
Since the fundamental aim of the project was that the courses had to be current and relevant, industry worked with the course development team to provide insight, data, and case studies; the courses also have been thoroughly critiqued and praised by acknowledged experts from the highest levels of the motorsport community. As Mike Meechan, Manager of the Motorsport Knowledge Exchange, notes, ‘the course development process has been a fascinating and gratifying example of industry and academia working closely together for high mutual benefit, and we acknowledge fully that the programme could not have progressed in the way that it has without the key input and cooperation of a number of high-profile motorsport companies. It is also a good example of using complementary expertise from different academic institutions – primarily, in this case, Oxford Brookes University and The Open University – to develop a new product which spans the disciplines of motorsport business and engineering education and supported distance learning.’
For more information, please visit http://motorsport.brookes.ac.uk/cpd-courses.
