Competing in a race of a different kind
On Monday, October 17, 2022 the Solar Car Race started at the car company Atteviks as part of Climate Week. Technology pupils from the county’s upper secondary schools were invited to compete with their cars in the categories Speed, Design and Innovation.
Climate Week runs between 17 – 23 October in Jönköping County with a variety of activities to provide increased knowledge and inspiration regarding the transition to a climate-smart society. A recurring activity during Climate Week is the Solar Car Race, which is led by the University of Learning and Communication at Jönköping University and the EU project MOST, in which Upptech also participates.
The jury consisted of representatives from Atteviks, JU Solar Team, Ung Företagsamhet and Solbilracet’s project manager Jesper Boesen. The jury also awarded a walking prize which went to the team that was most successful in the sub-competitions.
In addition to being part of the jury, the JU Solar Team displayed parts of their full-size solar car and answered questions from the students. They build the solar car themselves and will compete next year in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia.
There was a good atmosphere at the competition and the happiest was probably the team with Filip Andersson, Jesper Johansson and Mohammed Al Daabais from Aleholmsskolan in Sävsjö, who won both the speed prize and the walking prize with their car, which they have aptly named the Turbo car.
“It has been a great day and we are glad that we won so much. The race was quite even, but our car went very straight, which is probably why we won. We built the car in school before the summer holidays, but there has been some work with it outside of school as well. We did a 3D-print of the car’s chassis at home”, they say.
Jesper Boesen, director at the University of Learning and Communication and project manager for the second year of the Solar Car Race, is satisfied with the event.
“It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm and commitment from the students. I think events like this are important for several reasons. It’s genuine learning joy, where students have fun and learn about solar cells and the environment”, he says.
See also for more pictures and media coverage: Solbilsrace 2022 – MOST – Jönköping University (ju.se)
