Frequently Asked Questions

No. FTAD is designed to develop your skills from the ground up. What matters is your willingness to commit, contribute, and grow within a team.

You can work with your school administration to start one. FTAD provides the structure, ruleset, and support network to get a new chapter off the ground.

Yes. Roles in FTAD are functional, not fixed. Many students contribute across disciplines, and teams are encouraged to develop well-rounded members.

FTAD operates on a two-year development cycle. Year one focuses on experimentation and building your car and organization. Year two focuses on optimization and peak competition performance.

Beyond the technical skills specific to your role, you leave with leadership experience, an understanding of how organizations operate, and a portfolio of real work built under competitive pressure.

Schools provide the space and supervision. FTAD provides the program structure, technical ruleset, and access to the national competition network. The barrier to entry is intentionally low.

FTAD integrates engineering, entrepreneurship, and competition into a single program. Students are not just building a machine; they are operating a professional organization with real fiscal, creative, and strategic responsibilities.

Time commitment scales with the team's ambitions. Faculty advisors serve in an oversight capacity, and the program is designed to be student-led by nature.

FTAD holds regional events open to all registered teams and invitation-only national events based on regional performance and portfolio quality. Events follow a structured format: inspection, judging, and races.

FTAD is an independent program currently active across 5 schools and growing. We are open to partnerships with academic institutions and organizations that share our mission.

Sponsors are integrated into the team's brand. Your identity travels with the team across competition events, social media, portfolios, and public-facing materials throughout the season.

Sponsorship structures are flexible and discussed directly with team business leads or FTAD leadership depending on the scope of partnership.

FTAD teams are required to maintain fiscal accountability as part of their entrepreneurship pillar. Sponsors can expect regular communication and documented outreach from the teams they support.

FTAD is currently active across 5 schools with a national competition structure. As the program grows, sponsor visibility scales with it across new regions, schools, and audiences.

Yes. Sponsors are encouraged to participate as mentors, guest speakers, and industry partners, creating direct access to the talent pipeline FTAD develops.

Any professional background is applicable. Engineering, marketing, law, finance, design, and communications are all directly relevant to what FTAD teams are doing at any given moment.

As much or as little as fits your schedule. Mentors contribute through single workshops, ongoing advisory roles, or anything in between. There is no fixed commitment.

Because FTAD simulates a real professional environment, mentors engage with students who are actively managing real deadlines, real sponsors, and a car on the track. Advice is immediately applicable.

Yes. FTAD welcomes mentors who want to engage broadly across the program, and we can connect you with teams that align best with your background.

Reach out through the FTAD website and we will connect you with the right team or chapter based on your expertise and availability.