National Motorsport Academy: Tips from the Class of 2019

Graduation has to be the highlight of most student’s time at university. The culmination of years of hard work. Graduation often means even more to students who study with the National Motorsport Academy as almost all of our students have full time jobs and families to support whilst they follow their dream of a career in motorsport.

This year, we’re proud to have more students graduate from the National Motorsport Academy than in any previous year and we look forward to the numbers increasing as our enrolled student list grows and the Master’s Advanced Motorsport Engineering continues to grow in popularity.

We’d like to massively congratulate the Class of 2019!

BSc (Hons) Motorsport Engineering Class of 2019

FdSc Motorsport Engineering Class of 2019

Ask the National Motorsport Academy Graduates!

It’s not an easy decision choosing to return to education. All of our students and graduates had doubts before they started. We asked some of this year’s graduates what they had originally worried about when thinking about studying at the National Motorsport Academy and here’s what they said.

How Can I Fit my Studies Around a Full Time Job and Family?

Many NMA students initially worry about fitting in enough study hours and this was something highlighted by our graduates as misconception number 1. When they first decided to ‘go back to school’ it seemed impossible that they could find any more hours in the day to study.

Distance learning is one of the best ways to study if you can’t afford to take a career break to return to university. Flexible online learning platforms offer the ability to study from anywhere, at a time to suit you. So, whether you are trying to fit in your assignments in between juggling children, work or just having a life, being able to access your course materials from anywhere means that you can be learning on the move.

Many students fit in an hour or two a night. Others are less disciplined and then try to fit a full module into one weekend (not advised 😊) Others, especially those already working in the industry, set aside time in the off-season or school holidays to get stuck in. In short, fitting in a degree doesn’t have to be arduous and when you are studying something you enjoy it’s amazing where you find time. All of the National Motorsport Academy’s courses are part or full time and fully flexible – you learn at your own pace, with no pressure to be anywhere at a specific time. It’s easy when you get going!

Student Support – The Tutors

Our Tutors earn high-praise from our graduating students and they all have a genuine passion for training the motorsport engineers of the future. Just pop down to the pits at any GT Cup race and you’ll see that our tutors take a personal interest in the progression of every student.

We know how busy life gets, especially in the motorsport world whether you’re participating as a hobbyist or in a professional capacity. Our tutors all work or have worked in motorsport, therefor they understand the demands of the job and make themselves available to students at the most appropriate times. That’s not to say that they’ll answer an email at 3am (we have to let them sleep sometimes) but they do their best to be available for UK and International students to answer any questions as you progress through the course.

Andy Napier graduated with the FdSc Motorsport Engineering and is now studying towards a full degree with the BSc Motorsport Engineering Top-Up – final year.

Andy leads Napier Racing, driving a Lotus Elise S2 135R in the Britcar Endurance Sprint Category. In 2018, Napier Racing won the 3rd Overall Trophy and the UK Class 5 Champions Trophy.

I’m Too Old to Go Back to Uni

Did you know…….94% of our students are over the age of 21 and 10% over the age of 40, proving the old adage about old dogs and new tricks completely wrong 😊

Going back to education once you are in the workplace always takes some courage. Terms such as ‘mature student’ also don’t do much to entice as the mind’s eye conjures images of being sat in a room full of people young enough to be your children! That’s one of the best things about distance learning – no lectures, no timetable, you can study at home, at work, even at the race-track.

Learning as an adult also comes more naturally when you have a passion for the subject. You’ll be surprised at how much you didn’t know you even knew. Life experience counts for a lot and many of our older students have enough experience and knowledge to leapfrog onto the final year of a BSc degree.

Many of our older students use our qualifications to bring their industry knowledge back up to date. Some use it as a tool to improve their chances of promotion. Whatever you reason for returning to education, you can be sure that you’ll be in like minded company, with lots of other people passionate about motorsports.

Team NMA – Peer to Peer Learning

Just because you’re learning remotely doesn’t mean you lose out on the University experience or opportunity to meet new people. As you may already know, each season, the National Motorsport Academy take part in the GT Cup, racing in the GTO Class. Our team in run by the NMA student body and all students get the -opportunity to get hands-on on race weekends. Our Graduates said that this experience was the highlight of the course as it enabled them to put their learning into practice as well as meet other like-minded students who were at different stage of learning. This level of knowledge share is not always available on other motorsport courses as you all start at the same time and progress at the same stages. Peer-to-peer student support in the NMA doesn’t just give you help and advice on modules or personal projects, it also means you get the camaraderie and banter of the race weekend.

Get Your Career On Track!

If you’d like to find out more about studying with the NMA, you can now view our prospectus online or download for viewing later.

You can also view our full 2019 Graduation Brochure to view our Graduates Final Year Projects.