Abstract
Organising a multidisciplinary student organisation face challenges in regards to student engagement,ownership and commitment. This article will discuss key factors to create commitmentand ownership in volunteer organisations. The identified factors are 1) an engaged core group ofambassadors who spread motivation, passion and drive, 2) build relations across departments andlevel of responsibility to lower the threshold to share ideas, give feedback and ask for advice, 3)expedient and communicated organisational structure that divides responsibility and ensures collaboration,and 4) clear individual and personal incentive to participate. These factors will increaseyour likelihood of success with motivating your members to be committed and take ownership.Align Racing UiA, the case of this study, is a student organisation with over 60 students engagedin multidisciplinary tasks. The team goal is to produce one race car per year and compete in FormulaStudent. The core visions for the team was establishment of community spirit, ownership andcommonly established success factors. This vision, and continuous progress, was enacted throughoutthe year of the competition with a focus on dependable communication across the departmentsand fast paced problem solving. The team achievements were impressive, compared with otherFormula Student teams.
Highlights
Building a student organisation is challenging, the aspect of how to organise and motivate members
Align Racing UiA (AR) is a Formula Student (FS) team at the University of Agder (UiA) that consists of over 60 students from different disciplines, working voluntarily to achieve the team goal competing with their race car at Silverstone Race Circuit, UK
Building relations and friendships across studies and interests, being part of a skilled team and getting real work experience are all motivational factors for the members
Summary
Building a student organisation is challenging, the aspect of how to organise and motivate members. The vision for AR is to create an A-team and a B-car. Focusing on making a successful team, where members are challenged, supported and thrive. The car becomes the product of team spirit, collaboration and passion. It does not dictate how to organise a voluntary organisation and motivate students in a complex multidisciplinary project. The challenge of balancing demand for studies and FS contribution. These challenges are faced by, but not limited to, voluntary student organisations and will be addressed and reflected upon based on more than two years of experience from leading AR. The question is: What are the key factors to gain commitment and ownership from members in student organisations?
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