Sellafield Leads in Training Next-Gen Nuclear Engineers

At first glance the link between nuclear decommissioning and racing cars might not be apparent. After all, where racing is about speed and risk, what we do at Sellafield is about taking the time to get things right and tightly maintaining a grip on keeping safe.

Yet for the past decade Sellafield Ltd has maintained close links with motor racing through the Formula Student initiative.

Rob Wild has worked for Sellafield Ltd as a mechanical engineer for 10 years since joining as a graduate. He is currently working on SHEP, our Sludge Handling and Export Plant project.

Robert is also a lead judge and organiser of the Formula Student competition, in which student engineers plan, build and race high-spec racing cars. He got involved with the competition when studying at Liverpool John Moores university.

Rob said:

These days the competition involves more than 3,000 students each year, representing more than 16 countries. The cars they are building are using cutting edge technology - more than half are now electric and this year we saw 20 autonomous cars take part.

That means the paddock has changed - where it was once full of oily handed mechanical engineers it now has electrical engineers and computer programmers.

Rob is now part of a team of judges from Sellafield Ltd. The group of volunteers were at the recent Formula Student Competition at Silverstone racetrack.

When we have finished judging we go around, talking to the students. It's a great opportunity for Sellafield to sell itself to a huge international group of talented engineers.

These engineers really are the best - during the competition they are being courted by Formula One teams. It's not really about racing cars, that is only the challenge they have been set.

The kind of things they are doing - running a project, employing innovative engineering, keeping people safe and presenting their findings and ideas, translates directly to the kind of engineers we are looking for to deliver the Sellafield purpose.

Being part of Formula Student gives us access to this talent and a real opportunity to explain to this next engineering generation why they should consider Sellafield for their career.