Welcome to the EcoCAR EV Challenge Year One Winter Workshop!
The last two days of winter storms in Austin, Texas have led to travel disruptions and widespread power outages, which presented unprecedented challenges for this annual EcoCAR tradition, the Winter Workshop.
Now that the ice is melting and the weather has begun to clear, EcoCAR Teams, Sponsors, and Organizers have arrived at the Hotel Viata in Austin for 3 days of hands-on training in the areas of engineering, communications, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“We are grateful that in the face of adversity, EcoCAR teams and sponsors braved the chaos and trekked from all corners of North American to assemble in Austin to connect, learn, and share at this year’s Winter Workshop,” said Jesse Alley, EcoCAR Sr. Project Manager. “The next three days will be focused on strategic training on connecting students with industry Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These high-value interactions will help teams evaluate and refine their plans for their powertrain and CAV system as they work toward an end-of year deadline to finalize those designs.”
During the workshop there will be 75 unique training sessions provided by 14 different sponsors including General Motors, MathWorks, AAM, BOSCH, MAGNA, PACCAR, and many more! These industry-led sessions will give students an incredibly valuable opportunity to meet 1-on-1 with industry sponsors to discuss a wide range of topics including: Media Training, Personal Branding, Systems Safety, Modeling and Simulation, and more.
Teams will also deliver their first presentation of the semester in the area of Project Management (PM). The PM Mid-Year Status Update will be presented to a panel of industry professionals who will provide immediate feedback to the students on their tactics for project topics such as: risk analysis and management, strategic decision making, scheduling, and team development. Each team’s PM will also present a reflection on feedback received from their own team members at the end of the Fall semester.
Additionally, NXP will be hosting the Sponsor Social Networking and Recruiting Event on the evening of February 2 at their headquarters. Students will learn about employment and internship opportunities with over a dozen EcoCAR Sponsors.
Follow along for updates from the Winter Workshop!
