New wheels for UCOL students

9 July 2019

Continued partnership between UCOL and Ford has brought a new addition to the automotive workshop: a prototype Ford Mustang to serve as a teaching aid.

Ford Technical Trainer Don Rubie has been spending time with the 5 litre convertible Mustang at UCOL, running diesel and petrol performance courses for technicians. These courses are aimed at those transitioning to senior level technicians.

The prototype Ford Mustang is a pre-production model which has been used for marketing, giving customers a glimpse at what Ford has planned for future models. Don explains “Because they are pre-production they aren’t actually allowed to be sold so that’s why we are fortunate enough to have them donated as training vehicles. They are based here to support our training curriculum.”

Because the vehicle is not allowed to be sold, Ford have to safely store the vehicle. By having the Mustang at UCOL there is easy access for both parties and the vehicle can serve its new purpose of teaching.

Don believes that not only does the Mustang bring a level of excitement and intrigue to classes but students will benefit because “it exposes them to much more modern technology than they would normally see on demonstration units.”

UCOL Executive Dean of Engineering & Applied Technologies Danny Reilly sees the addition of the Mustang as a boost to teachers and students “teaching staff can keep up with technology and industry standards as well as producing highly skilled graduates. UCOL automotive graduates are increasingly sought after because of the experience they are exposed to during their programme.”

The partnership between UCOL and Ford has been running for many years and the addition of the Ford Mustang to UCOL marks another milestone in the relationship. Danny says “Pro-active stakeholders are important to UCOL and relationships such as this add value to both the student and Lecturer experience”.

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