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F1 engineering leader backs Teesside’s STEM credentials

Formula 1 engineer Rob Smedley visited the Tees Valley recently to encourage business leaders to shout more about the area, as well as lending his backing to the region’s commitment to STEM.

Rob, who is Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams, spoke with members of the Business Exchange at Teesside University as well as University staff at its annual Working with Business conference.

The Business Exchange is a network of senior leaders from businesses and organisations in the North East and North Yorkshire, with events held at the University’s Darlington campus throughout the year.

Rob, originally from Normanby, was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Professional Studies by Teesside University in 2009 and was the latest high-profile figure to link up with the Exchange.

Reflecting on his career in motor-racing, Rob believes the same qualities which make a successful racing team, such as a constant pursuit of perfection, continual innovation and competitor knowledge, can be applied in business.

He explained: “I think the whole F1 community is very, very interested in education. We’ve started lots of initiatives at Williams Grand Prix in order to get the education community and younger people involved and interested, not only in Formula 1, which is something that most young people are interested in anyway, but in engineering in general and in the STEM subjects.

“We are trying to catch the kids early and pull them so that we do end up with really good engineers, with really good mathematicians, with really good physicists, and hopefully we’ll get the best ones in Formula 1.”

Laura Woods, Director of The Forge, said: “As a native of the Tees Valley, Rob is a fantastic inspiration to us all. His achievements at the pinnacle of motorsport make him a brilliant role model for young people.

“He’s a very engaging speaker, and as well as entertaining both our audiences with his insights into F1, he had some serious messages to impart about business performance and the need to foster ambition and talent.”

Rob added: “There are so many great things going on in Teesside and I think we need the self-confidence to shout about them and change people’s perceptions of the area.”

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