Oxford Brookes students accelerate towards motorsport dreams with Sir Lewis Hamilton scholarships

Three Master’s students with dreams of a motorsport career have been awarded fully-funded scholarships at Oxford Brookes University, thanks to a charitable foundation set up by seven-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton.

Steven Naaba from Plymouth, Wesley Massumbukolt, from Milton Keynes, and Gerren Ntiri, from east London, all started their MSc in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes this academic year. They are part of the second cohort of students to receive the grant from Sir Lewis’ foundation, Mission 44, supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

The scholarship programme was established in June 2022, with the aim of increasing diversity within Formula 1 and UK motorsport, and to address the underrepresentation of individuals from Black or Black mixed ethnic background in the industry.

Steve, Wesley, and Gerren follow in the footsteps of Amjad Saeed and Jonathan Keeya who were part of the first cohort to receive scholarships last year. This means that five of the 13 students who have so far been awarded scholarships under the programme have chosen Oxford Brookes for their studies.

Gordana Collier, Head of the School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics at Oxford Brookes said: “We are very proud to support Wesley, Steven, and Gerren as they pursue their dreams of a career in motorsport through this amazing opportunity with Mission 44 and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“They gain not only access to top-tier facilities and education but also become part of a community driving much-needed change in the industry. We look forward to seeing the impact these students will make in motorsport.”

All eight scholars of this year’s intake attended an event on 11 November at the Formula 1 Exhibition at Excel London where they met representatives from Mission 44 and the Royal Academy of Engineering. They also met engineers from Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team, as well as the five scholars from the first cohort, who have since graduated and are working in F1 and the wider sector. 

The MSc Motorsport Scholarship Programme was started following The Hamilton Commission’s report ‘Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport’, which highlighted an underrepresentation of Black people in the motorsport industry.
Each student on the scholarship will receive a £28,000 grant for their studies. 

Steven, Wesley, and Gerren will be able to take advantage of cutting edge facilities at two brand new and innovative buildings at Oxford Brookes University’s Headington Hill site. The transformational new facilities, which will open for Semester Two of the 2024/25 academic year, include a new teaching building, a specialist purpose-built workshop and improved outdoor spaces within a picturesque woodland setting. 

The buildings will be home to the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, along with the Faculty’s Architecture, Built Environment and the School of Arts departments on one campus. Together they will bring together engineering and motorsport with creative art and design thinking, innovative applications of artificial intelligence and robotics, and converging technologies and digital innovation.

More information on the new Headington Hill site can be found on the Oxford Brookes website. 

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “We are delighted to be supporting this new cohort of brilliant young engineers. This programme will give them incredible opportunities to meet representatives of many F1 and motorsport employers and we’ve already seen the success of the programme with last year’s graduates finding employment in the motorsport sector. We are grateful to Sir Lewis and Mission 44 for their support with this programme, which we hope will catalyse a step change in the employment of Black people in the UK motorsport sector.”

Jason Arthur, CEO Mission 44, said: “Mission 44 is proud to support the MSc Motorsport Scholarship programme which has already resulted in talented young engineers from Black and mixed Black backgrounds securing jobs in Formula 1. Programmes like these are vital if we are to see real change in the industry, and we’re looking forward to working with the Royal Academy of Engineering to empower the students announced today, to succeed in their dream careers.”