The YUSAE team from Yeungnam University's Department of Future Automotive Engineering, winners of the gold award (first place in the internal combustion engine category) in the Formula division at the 2026 KSAE Collegiate Self-Built Car Competition. [Provided by Yeungnam University]
The YUSAE team from Yeungnam University's Department of Future Automotive Engineering, winners of the gold award (first place in the internal combustion engine category) in the Formula division at the 2026 KSAE Collegiate Self-Built Car Competition. [Provided by Yeungnam University]

Students from Yeungnam University's Department of Future Automotive Engineering won the gold award — first place in the internal combustion engine category — in the Formula division of the 2026 KSAE Collegiate Self-Built Car Competition, the university announced Friday.

Organized by the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers, the KSAE Collegiate Self-Built Car Competition is an annual event in which university students design and build their own vehicles and compete on performance and engineering.

Now in its 20th year, the competition was held in August at the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute's Vehicle Driver Safety Research Center in Yeonggwang-gun, South Jeolla Province. Fifty-five teams from 43 universities nationwide competed in the Formula division.

The YUSAE team refined the design and build quality of their vehicle, clearing every technical inspection and successfully completing all pre-competition races.

The team posted strong results across nearly all evaluation categories — static and safety assessments including a design presentation, safety inspection, tilt test and brake test, as well as dynamic events such as acceleration, skid pad, autocross and endurance racing.

The win marks the team's second gold, following a gold in the C-Formula division in 2024, further cementing YUSAE's standing in the collegiate self-built car field.

Jung Young-hoon and Kang Seok-won, professors in Yeungnam University's Department of Future Automotive Engineering who coached the team, said the award reflected the students' ability to apply their academic knowledge through teamwork, raise the quality of their vehicle and give their best throughout the competition. They added that they would continue to guide and encourage students so that the hands-on experience of building a car helps them develop the problem-solving skills and practical capabilities needed in the future automotive industry.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com