OUR TEAM
The purpose of SDU Vikings is to create a team of skilled and dedicated students who can test their theoretical knowledge in a practical context. To achieve this, Vikings has participated in Formula Student since 2007. This is an international competition where more than 1200 universities compete to build the best racing car. In addition to trying to build the best car and educate the best students, we also create a great social environment - having fun while learning.
OUR DEPARTMENTS
BUSINESS & OPERATIONS
Business and Operations is responsible for supporting the other departments financially and logistically. We aim to build strong partnerships with sponsors, create engaging content across our platforms.
MECHANICAL
Being part of the Mechanical team at Vikings means helping design, manufacture, and implement key components like the chassis and suspension while gaining hands-on engineering experience.
ELECTRICAL
The Electrical Team is responsible for creating all electrical hardware and connections throughout the car, along with the software for projects such as the two battery systems, dashboard and master controller
DRIVERLESS
Using sensors, algorithms, and software, the goal of Driverless, in collaboration with the Mechanical and Electrical teams, is to make the Viking platform drive on its own.
HISTORY
The SDU Vikings Racing Team began designing and building its first Formula Student car in the fall of 2006, making it one of the oldest active student associations at SDU. Since then, the team has grown significantly, combining passion, innovation, and engineering expertise.
Over the years, we have developed 11 different car platforms of which the first four were internal combustion, but in 2011, we made the switch to electric powered vehicles, embracing new technologies and sustainable engineering.
Today we are over 130 members split between two campuses in Odense and Sønderborg. Due to the amount and complexity of the tasks ilvolved, it requires a team with diverse skills. Therefore, we collaborate across more than 15 different fields of study to succeed in our goals. Most students have an engineering background, but we also have students from business and humanities.
Many of our former team members now possess highly coveted positions in reputable companies such as Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, Universal Robots, Blue Ocean Robotics, B&R, Grundfos etc.
FORMULA STUDENT
Formula Student (FS) is Europe's most established educational engineering competition and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, tasking teams to design, build and race a single-seater race car.
Backed by industry and high-profile engineers, the competition aims to develop enterprising and innovative young engineers and encourage more young people to take up a career in engineering, with over 1200 university teams taking part.
The project usually forms part of a degree-level project and is viewed by the motorsport industry as the standard for engineering graduates to meet, transitioning them from university to the workplace.
It is a kite-mark for real-world experience, combining practical engineering experience with soft skills including business planning and project management, while also encouraging teamwork, innovation, and creative problem-solving.
THE COMPETION
In Formula Student competitions, teams are evaluated across a wide range of categories, including “Business Plan,” “Endurance,” “Engineering Design,” “Cost and Manufacturing,” and several others. Each of these categories is designed to test different aspects of a team’s capabilities — from technical knowledge and design innovation to project management and financial planning.
The dynamic events, such as acceleration and endurance, assess the car’s performance on track, while the static events focus on the team’s ability to justify their engineering choices and present a viable business concept. Each category contributes differently to the overall score, with some carrying more weight than others in determining the final standings, ensuring that success in Formula Student reflects both engineering excellence and well-rounded team performance.
