I was lucky enough to get accepted onto the McLaren NEXT Programme last year. The NEXT Programme is an initiative set up by McLaren Racing to introduce more female engineers into their talent pool. As part of the programme, 25 aspiring engineers were invited to MTC (McLaren Technology Centre) for a week to experience what it is truly like to work at McLaren Racing. It was a busy week with visits to Deloitte and Cisco as well as exposure to race strategy, aerodynamics, data visualisation, sustainability, AI and so much more. We even got to experience the internal celebrations after their Silverstone success with a quick chat with Andrea Stella afterwards.
We had women from many different companies (Deloitte, Cisco, Allwyn and McLaren) come in to talk about their experiences as women in the engineering industry, the challenges that they have faced and any advice they had to offer us. One lesson that really sticks out to me was where we were told to stand our ground and take our seats at the table. Sometimes, as women, we can shy away or let the imposter syndrome affect us, but the reality is that if we’re in the room in the first place, then we deserve to take our seat at the table. That really resonated with me, and I actively think about this whenever I feel like making myself feel small in those situations. Being able to hear these thoughts and experiences from other females made me feel like I was less alone and gave me more confidence to push myself.
We were also tasked with our own engineering challenge to solve in small groups. Our challenge was to improve the sustainability of the team in some way and propose the idea in the form of a presentation. It was really interesting working with the other girls in my group. We really worked well together and brought different ideas and skill sets to the table. Our idea was to create a system that worked with X-rays and 3D scanning equipment to detect flaws in carbon fibre and assess whether the component could be used again to help reduce carbon fibre wastage. At the end of the week, we then presented our idea on stage in front of multiple engineers and employees that we had met over the course of the week. It was very nerve-racking but a great test of our presentation skills. Being able to see the other teams present was great. Everyone had such amazing ideas and different approaches to the problem.
I also learnt a lot from the girls that I spent the week with. There was such a wide variety of females with completely different backgrounds from my own. Everyone had different skill sets, and we had such a wide range of expertise. This really opened my eyes to how much of a variety of jobs and disciplines there are in the engineering sector, and I truly learnt a lot from the other girls. Everyone was also very supportive of each other, which was lovely to see, as sometimes the motorsport industry can get quite competitive, due to there being so few jobs available. We all pushed each other and supported one another, and still keep in contact. It is amazing to see them all excelling in their careers.
It was also very valuable being able to talk to the recruitment team as part of the programme. As motorsport is such a competitive industry, being able to sit down with the team and get to know them, get their advice and ask as many questions as possible was a great opportunity. Being able to fully understand how the process works and being able to ask what they are looking for in the applications was invaluable. It was also really cool to discuss with them the application process for the programme itself. It was crazy that they remembered looking at our application and remembered certain details about everyone. We also learnt that there were 550 applications for the programme, which really reinforced the fact that I was surrounded by some really talented people.
I am incredibly grateful for my time on the NEXT programme and couldn’t recommend it enough. It was an invaluable experience to be able to see the inner workings of the team and meet so many contacts with people in the team and the other girls on the programme. Being able to hear everyone’s experiences has really set me up well for my career, and I feel prepared for graduate applications. Having exposure to multiple different sides of engineering and motorsport was truly eye-opening and helpful in fully understanding how a successful team operates. It is an experience that I will take with me throughout the rest of my career.
This article was written by Briannie D.
