Dubai All Set for Final of Infiniti Engineering Academy

With the entries tripling last year’s total, the recruitment for the 2017 edition of the Infiniti Engineering Academy to unearth the best and the brightest engineering talent in the world closed on a high. The fourth edition of the contest attracted as many as 12,020 registrations, almost three times the number in 2016. The Academy is a unique automotive-to-motorsport engineering recruitment program and the entries were drawn from as many as 41 countries comprising seven participating regions:  Asia & Oceania, Canada, China, Europe, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, and US. As part of the contest seven one-year placements are available with Infiniti and the Renault Sport Formula One team.

In the UAE region, one of the seven finals will be held in Dubai on September 6 and 7. The final will witness stiff competition between the contestants as there is only one placement available for the entire region.

Commenting on the number of entries received, Tommaso Volpe, Global Director, INFINITI Motorsport said that he was thrilled with growing popularity of the INFINITI Engineering Academy with its reputation and credentials soaring every year.

He added that this unique program connects deeply with the world of engineering students as more and more students are drawn into the contest to test their skills against their peers on a global basis. He said that Infiniti was highly impressed by the incredible talent of the students that registered for every edition of the Academy.

Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director, Renault Sport Racing said that the seven Academy winners from the 2016 intake have already taken up important roles at the team’s Enstone base, thus strengthening its technical resource with fresh-thinking engineering ability. He said that attracting top new talent is crucial for success in Formula One, and the Academy helps them to do this.

“We look forward to and presume the same great levels of talent from this year’s winners, and they will be expected to quickly slot into our team and contribute to our 2017 and 2018 Formula One campaigns”, added Abiteboul.

Juergen Schmitz, Managing Director, INFINITI Middle East said that he has seen the INFINITI Engineering Academy go from strength to strength in the past few years. The once in a lifetime opportunity has drawn significant interest from engineering students in the region and he concluded by saying that Infiniti is anticipating yet another hotly contested final in Dubai next month.