1. EESC-USP Formula SAE Team
Luís Augusto Franciosi
Optional Essay
Applicant for MIT MBA Class 2015

2. Formula SAE
SAE INTERNATIONAL FORMULA SAE COMPETITION PROJECT FEATURES
 Established in 1905  University category, founded in  Design of a product, not only
 Scientific and educational 1981 a prototype
organization, nonprofit  Goal: To complement the  Daily production of 4 units
 Dedicated to spreading education of engineering  Maximum production cost:
knowledge and techniques students
related to mobile technology U.S. $ 25 000
 7 competitions in 6 countries  Target market group: non-
 It has more than 128,000
members including engineers,  MIT team also participates in professional weekend
businessmen, teachers and competitions autocross racer
students
 Competition requires  Four-stroke engine of 610 cc
 Presented in more than 97 technological development,
countries  High performance in
research and competitiveness acceleration, braking,
handling and comfort
 Reliable and easy to maintain

3. Time line
• 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007
06/2003 11/2004 05/2005 10/2005 05/2006
Team establishment I Formula SAE Formula SAE II Formula SAE Formula SAE
Brazilian Competition Competition – Detroit Brazilian Competition Competition – Detroit
Champion Champion Top 15% in two
categories:
14th – Project
Presentation
18th – Costs
06/2004 06/2005
I joined the team I became the leader 06/2006
of the team
I left the team

4. The challenges
 I started in the motor group, designing an Intake system I designed and
innovative intake system constructed, working as an engineer
 When I became the leader, I knew that, to achieve
more expressive results, I needed to transform the
team from a small student group to a team
structured like a company. To do so, I faced many
challenges, such as:
 To keep people motivated on a project that was
voluntary and required great dedication
 To negotiate with the university scarce resources - as
the group was relatively new, it had not the
necessary support from the University in terms of
infrastructure, computers and tools
 To organize the group with clear roles and
responsibilities
 To get sponsorships (in Brazil, by that time,
something quite challenging)

5. Team main results when I was the leader
Team before my leadership Team after my leadership
Champion of I Formula SAE Brazilian Champion of II Formula SAE Brazilian
Competition (2004) Competition (2005)
No relevant positions in USA Formula SAE Top 15% in two categories in USA Formula
Competition (2005) SAE Competition (2006)
12 members without clear roles and 50 members with clear roles and
responsibilities responsibilities
1 Professor engaged 8 Professors engaged
Makeshift workshop / poor resources Definite workshop / better resources
Sponsorship: US$ 30 thousand Sponsorship: US$ 60 thousand

6. Team Organizational Structure

7. The Team
Me

8. II Brazilian Formula SAE
Competition’s podium
II Brazilian Formula I published the paper
SAE Competition’s "Entrepreneurship in
trophy EESC-USP Formula SAE
Team," describing how I
led the team from a
small student group to a
team structured like a
company and how this
change was decisive for
the obtained results
The result of the competition was published in
several newspapers
“We worked hard to achieve this
result”, celebrated the team leader,
Luís Augusto Franciosi.