KARACHI: The students and faculty of the Pakistan Navy Engineering College-National University of Sciences and Technology (PNEC-NUST) proudly unveiled their formula electric racing car at a local hotel here on Monday.

The building of the electric vehicle (EV) is an inspirational as well as motivational journey, as was shown in the videos prepared by the students at the unveiling ceremony.

The Formula Student is an engineering competition held annually all over the world in which student teams from around the world design, build, test and race a small-scale formula-style racing car.

PNEC students first represented Pakistan in a Formula Student in Germany in 2012. However, the car they produced could not pass technical inspection and the students could not compete in the event.

EV and its 14-member team are set to run in the Formula Student to be held in the UK in July

Thereafter, though they did feature in a few competitions, they did it not without facing challenges, which they also overcame thanks to hard work and persistence. Then they were just stopped in their tracks, first because of the Covid-19 pandemic and then due to visa issues.

Still, the graduating batches made sure that before leaving the PNEC, they trained their juniors to design and produce a better car. That is how we are now in 2023 with a formula racing car, which is also an electric vehicle. This latest version runs on a 350V battery, which takes two hours to charge.

The EV and its 14-member team of Formula Electric Racing NUST (FERN) is all set to run in the Formula Student 2023 to be held in the United Kingdom in July now.

Bilal Mohammed Khan, a faculty adviser and an associate professor at PNEC-NUST, who worked closely with the students, told Dawn that the 14 students comprise seven girls and seven boys from the seventh and eighth terms of the electrical and mechanical departments. “Apart from them, there are also 25 trainees working alongside the team as they will take over from the core team after they pass out from PNEC-NUST,” he explained.

He also said that there was a girl and boy driver in the core team to drive the EV. “All the kids can drive of course but for this car we particularly found the thinnest, flyweight, kids. It is just like jockeys need to be delicately built to not burden the race horse,” he laughed.

Speaking at the event, PNEC-NUST Commandant Tauqeer Ahmad Khawaja said that PNEC-NUST has a rich history of student teams and societies working on extraordinary projects. “We are also dabbling in Artificial Intelligence,” he said, adding that FERN happens to be one of their major societies.

“Their dedication and hard work must be applauded. The team also includes girls who have no issues with working on projects till midnight. Despite being urged to head home, they insist on going home only after their work is over,” he said.

Finally, team manager Ali Kashif Rasool thanked his team and teachers, their sponsors, partners and last but not least, their parents. “Apologies for coming home at odd hours,” he smiled sheepishly.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2023