SINGAPORE – The world of student engineering competitions is shifting into hyperdrive. In a landmark partnership, Synopsys, through its Ansys division, and tech giant Nvidia have unveiled a groundbreaking digital twin racetrack for STEM Racing, set to fundamentally change how students learn, design, and compete.
Gone are the days of endless, costly physical prototyping. The new initiative, which leverages Synopsys's Ansys Discovery and Nvidia's Omniverse platform, will allow students to design, test, and optimize their miniature F1-style race cars in a fully immersive virtual environment—a game-changer for accessibility and innovation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.
A full rollout of the platform is planned for the 2025–2026 STEM Racing season, but attendees at the upcoming Aramco STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore (September 27 – October 2) will get the first look at a simplified demonstration version.
From the Workshop to the Virtual Wind Tunnel
Traditionally, student teams involved in STEM Racing have followed a process familiar to professional engineers: design, build a physical prototype, test it, break it, and refine it. This iterative loop, while educational, is constrained by budget, time, and access to materials.
The new digital twin platform shatters those constraints. Students can now run unlimited digital test laps on a perfect replica of the official competition racetrack. By simulating real-world physics like airflow, drag, and downforce, they gain access to the same sophisticated aerodynamic analysis tools used by Formula 1 teams and aerospace giants.
“This is about democratizing high-performance computing for the next generation,” said a representative from the collaboration. “We’re giving these students a professional-grade playground.”
At the World Finals, a user-friendly demo will allow younger participants to instantly swap components like spoilers and car bodies, seeing in real-time how each change impacts speed and handling. For more advanced teams, the platform offers a deeper dive: they can upload intricate designs into Ansys Discovery for rigorous Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis, with the stunning results visualized within Nvidia's Omniverse.
For more detailed information on the technical specifications and the partnership's vision, you can read the official announcement from Synopsys.
Scaling STEM Access Worldwide
This initiative is a powerful extension of Synopsys's existing role as the exclusive global CFD partner for STEM Racing. The company already provides over 400,000 students across 65 countries with free access to its professional engineering software, training, and curriculum support.
The digital twin racetrack supercharges this mission by dramatically lowering the barriers to advanced simulation. High-performance computing, once the domain of well-funded corporations and universities, is now being piped directly into classrooms and school clubs globally. This creates a scalable, cost-effective model for bringing cutting-edge engineering tools to students everywhere, regardless of their school's resources.
Industry Leaders Hail a New Educational Paradigm
The collaboration has been met with enthusiasm from all stakeholders, who see it as a critical step in preparing students for modern engineering careers.
Andrew Denford, founder and chairman of STEM Racing, described the digital twin as a monumental leap. "This is a huge step forward for student creativity and performance," Denford stated. "It unlocks a level of design exploration and optimization that was simply impossible before, allowing students to focus on innovation rather than fabrication costs."
Tim Costa, Vice President of HGX and High Performance Computing and General Manager of Industrial and Computational Engineering at Nvidia, emphasized the power of the underlying technology. "With Omniverse, student teams can optimize their car designs for the unique conditions of each track, just like professional racing teams do. It’s about making data-driven decisions in a physically accurate digital world."
The platform, built on Nvidia's foundational technology for creating and operating metaverse applications, also integrates AI-driven capabilities. This, Synopsys notes, ensures that students are not just learning current engineering practices but are being equipped with the skills for next-generation, AI-augmented careers.
The Starting Line for a New Era in STEM Competitions
The partnership between Synopsys and Nvidia marks more than just a new tool; it signifies a fundamental shift in the philosophy of design validation for student competitions. By moving the primary testing phase into the digital realm, they are creating an ecosystem that is faster, more accessible, and intensely data-driven.
For the students, it means learning to collaborate and problem-solve with the very tools that are shaping industries from automotive to robotics. For the global STEM education community, it represents a definitive leap toward the future—a future where every student with a big idea has a virtual proving ground to bring it to life. The checkered flag has dropped on a new race, and it’s happening simultaneously in classrooms and in the cloud.
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