The drive to open Sunswift Racing beyond engineering

Sunswift Racing isn't just about engineering and race cars, it is a gateway for professional development in several non-technical disciplines.

Published on the 21 May 2026

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From one volunteer to a full media department

Sunswift Racing has been a long-standing UNSW institution for the last few decades, establishing itself as a proving ground for budding engineers who also harbour a love of motorsport. But whereas the car engineering department of the Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) is mature, non-engineering departments of the Sunswift team, such as media and business, are relatively recent.

In fact, the media department for Sunswift Racing comprised of just one volunteer only a couple of years ago. Media Department Lead and Social Media Officer, Holly Tam, notes that while the volunteer did a great job lone wolf-ing it, one person does not make for a proper media department.

"One person is not enough to be a full team, so they brought in a few media students who [also] did Sunswift as a course," recalls Holly. "That's when media became a full department and they also brought in business students, so [we] work quite closely together."

For Holly, it was an interesting pivot as she initially had no interest in Formula 1, but word of mouth got out about the team wanting more media people to join and she ultimately joined during Term 2 2025.

"It's definitely an adjustment for everyone in the team, because a lot of the people who are engineers, industrial designers or computer scientists have never worked with a media team before."

Holly's path towards joining Sunswift isn't that dissimilar to how media departments are built up within racing teams, whether it's at the university level or at the top-tier professional level.

With the increasing importance of having an active online presence for fan engagement, community building and business obligations, racing teams are increasingly more open to tapping into talent from areas that they might not have considered previously.

Building Sunswift's online presence and getting valuable experience

While Sunswift Racing comprises of about 150 people, the media department is comprised of just four, all of whom are integral for the online look and vibe for the team.

"We have a Social Media [Officer] on our Instagram and Facebook, we also have a Media Officer [who] work with external media planning and strategising," explains Holly. "We have a Content Creator [who does] editing and curation and we have a Photographer/Videographer."

Despite being a very small department, Sunswift's media team punches well above its weight when it comes to output, ideas and fulfilling professional obligations, all while having a generous amount of creative freedom. The result? An online presence that has grown dramatically in just the past year or so since Holly joined, with several thousand followers across Sunswift's channels.

"I reckon [we] actually do have a lot of [creative freedom], but our biggest change was just getting a social media presence out there. [Previously] we had a small presence, but now we have people dedicated to it," she says.

While the media department is given leeway to do whatever they want on the team's socials, the practical learnings that come from being part of Sunswift cannot be underestimated. While lectures are valuable, nothing beats the hands-on learning that comes with being a part of a racing team.

"I definitely think communication and [upskilling] is a big thing and you get to learn things outside of what you think you can do as well," says Holly.

Pointing to an example of a media department team member who had never used video editing software before joining Sunswift, Holly highlights how the team is an environment full of growth opportunities: "[Growth] is very much embedded into the team. Upskilling is a big part of it and a lot of unexpected opportunities come up."

Talking and doing business in a racing team

Running a racing team is every bit an engineering endeavour as it is a business undertaking, and Sunswift is no exception. Like its media department, the team's business department is a relatively recent development that's firmly in the building stages.

For Arushi Bansal, a third-year Information Systems and Commerce student and the Business Lead and Academic Liaison for Sunswift since 2025, this means coming into a department that's still finding itself while doing a little bit of everything.

"I started off doing financial forecasting and procurement, but the business [department is] still kicking off and I've had to wear multiple hats," she explains. "So I've been helping with little things like HR functions, like onboarding new recruits, and event logistics, which is also [focused] on sponsorship management. So it's a little bit of everything!"

Breaking down why it's been difficult for Business students to join Sunswift, Arushi says it's a combination of awareness and the complexities of enrolment due to the whole VIP structure, but work is underway to integrate them into the team, as is currently being done with Engineering students.

"We're working with the Business School right now and trying to get integrated within Sunswift Racing," says Arush. "Because this is something quite different to other VIP projects, it's taken a little bit of time. But hopefully, this is something we can do in the future."

In other words, there's still plenty to come for those Business and Commerce students who are keen to join the team. Arushi notes that many previous Business recruits were purely from word-of-mouth, which indicates that there's definitely interest from non-engineering students to be a part of Sunswift.

"Everyone who currently is in the business team, we're all [wearing] multiple hats. Hopefully as our team expands, we can have one person in each role.

"I feel like Business students are integral to the team and we're realising that there's a lot of scope [for them to contribute]."

With the Business department also comprising just four people, including Arushi, there's plenty of scope for the team to grow further. But even in its lean 2026 state, the Business department has been punching above its weight and making tangible contributions to the wider Sunswift team.

"We've been working on getting an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system functioning," explains Arushi. "A lot of Sunswift processes are manual and they're a bit scattered and isolated. So we're trying to bridge that gap, make it into one centralised platform and [seeing] how we can integrate with our current systems."

There are also plenty of irons in the fire when it comes to outreach projects, as Arushi points out that it's something the Business department is passionate about: "We've been running a couple of workshops. We have partnerships with the Gateway Program. We are currently working on building a programme for STEM students. Outreach is something that I think a lot of people are passionate about, so hopefully we can build on that and do more."

Keen for a new challenge? No motorsports knowledge required

Since the Sunswift media and business departments are still relatively new, there's still plenty of room for growth. Holly points out that a new challenge is getting the word out that Sunswift is open to non-engineering students: "We have so many roles in media and business. We're open to Arts & Design students because those skills are very important and useful."

As for the type of person who could suit the Sunswift environment, Holly highlights the willingness to learn as the biggest trait for those interested in joining the team: "Anyone who's willing to learn [as] our biggest value is on education and innovation."

For Arushi, being open-minded and able to communicate effectively is important: "Sunswift challenges you in ways that you wouldn't expect, so being open-minded is quite important. Communication is really important. There's a lot of cross-collaboration and you need to be an effective communicator. So, I think overall effective communication, problem-solving skills and good teamwork is what's needed."

She also points to how Sunswift replicates a proper workplace environment that societies and classrooms simply can't: "There's a level of professionalism and structure. A lot of the responsibilities I've had are very closely aligned with my degree, so I would say that it is also kind of a very high-performing environment."

"Everyone has their head screwed on [and] they put a lot of effort and heart into Sunswift. If you talk to anyone [on the team], there is a level of dedication you don't expect, [especially] as we are students."

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