Formula SAE-A will be held at racetrack The Bend in Tailem Bend, just under 100km from Adelaide, from 2026 to 2030.
Serving as the conclusion of a year-long university engineering program, the event sees engineering students from several countries design, construct and test a Formula style racing car. More than 1,200 students from engineering fields spanning mechanical, electrical, mechatronics, robotics, computer technology and artificial intelligence are expected to take part each year.
Students will attend from Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan and the Middle East, with the five-year hosting arrangement forecast to be worth $22.6 million to South Australia.
“It’s just not about engineering, it’s about leadership, project management, teamwork, innovation, cost, reliability of supply and safety,” said SAE-A president, Martha Oplopiadis.
“Formula SAE-A is the most effective applied engineering education program in Australasia. Students experience engineering not as an abstract discipline, but as a real-world profession.
“For many students, Formula SAE-A represents the first time their work is assessed by practicing engineers rather than academics alone.
“This intense engineering competition requires each team to continually improve, to analyse, to develop and try again.
“This produces graduates who do not see engineering as a finished process, but as a continual one.”
Formula SAE-A also includes a recruitment exhibition with companies like Ford, Toyota, Hisense and Tesla Energy using it to look for young talent.
“Securing Formula SAE-A is a big win for our state and a strong vote of confidence in South Australia’s growing opportunities in the engineering sector,” said South Australia’s state development minister, Chris Picton.
The event is moving to South Australia after 26 years in Victoria, representing the second motor-related event South Australia has won from Victoria this year.
“We are delighted that Formula SAE-A has chosen South Australia to be its home for the next five years,” said Business Events Adelaide’s CEO, Damien Kitto.
“It is unique in several ways, combining aspects of workforce development with a sizeable economic contribution to a regional community.
“It also offers a clear demonstration of the many long-term benefits of attracting business events – talent attraction, investment opportunities and exposure of our newly merged university among them – as well as the quality of our regional infrastructure.
“An event like Formula SAE-A is perfect for The Bend, and it shows once again that South Australia offers a solution for a wide range of business events, even beyond Adelaide.”
Formula SAE-A is set to be South Australia’s largest regional event that draws both interstate and international attendees.
