Questions about MEng Motorsports Engineering at Oxford Brookes

Hi everyone!
I'm a prospective international student for MEng Motorsports Eng and I have a few questions regarding the academic experience, the employability, and the faculty structure of this course.
A bit of information about me (skip if you want a TL;DR):
- I'm currently a 3rd and final year BSc Comp Sci student at Uni of Manchester. CS was kind of my safe option over engineering, but its not where my heart and passion lies. i think pretty much since i could form a structured thought i've been absolutely obsessed with cars and racing and am a complete petrolhead. After realising I could never become an F1 driver, I found my second dream of working in F1 or similar high level motorsport leagues and competitions. However, I never did very well in the sciences for most of my school years and thus deterred away from engineering and towards something like CS where tech is a secondary interest of mine (that has slowly died over the past few years). In my final year of school something finally clicked in my head and physics and chem instantly became my favourite subjects and studying for them never ever felt like a chore but a genuine pleasure, thats when I realised i actually wanted to do engineering but at this point it was too late for me to change my plans from CS and i shelved my engineering dreams for a while, until now.
- That being said, I am familiar with international student life in the UK and during my time at Manchester I've applied for many, many, many, tech roles. I was supposed to be on a placement year but I couldn't secure a position anywhere and got fast tracked straight into final year. At one point I did get very close to an IT role with AMG HPP but that also slipped away sadly. I know the UK job market is brutal, even more so for international students especially with the recent tightening of visa and immigration laws from the home office because I've lived through it. I am now 6 months away from graduation with no idea what I'm gonna do afterwards, and am considering really pursuing my dream through OB's Motorsports MEng program, albeit I'm scared that a visa is gonna cut me short right at the end.
Back to my questions.
So for my questions:
1.How is standardised assessment generally done?
1.1 I know it will vary module to module, but on the overall are there semester tests/mid terms?
1.2 Are said semester tests/midterms/exams generally like written exams where you have to actually show your working and calculate stuff or is it all multiple choice?
1.3 Do modules generally have a good availability of past papers with model/guide answers that can be used to prepare for tests and exams (This is an important one because in Manchester there are nearly 0 past papers or model answers, and 90% of exams are ridiculous MCQ only papers where its university policy to not publish past MCQ papers or solutions so it feels almost impossible to effectively prepare for assessments)
2. What's the success rate of Motorsports Eng placements?
2.1 Across home and international students alike?
2.2 Even if its not with an F1 team, but is it possible to still find placement elsewhere like with component manufacturers, other motorsports areas like Formula E/Formula Feeder series/Endurance, as well as with general automotive employers like BMW, Mercedes, JLR, VW etc?
2.3 Does MEng boost your placement chances over BEng?
3. Is Formula Student and OBR an integrated part of the course?
3.1 In my reading I've seen that the best chances of getting into F1 are participating in FS, and OBR is the strongest team to work with. I've also read that you build industry connections through FS, and working in OBR gets you those connections, and having good connections in industry is a better chance at a job then having a good CV.
3.2 However, at Manchester, for example, joining the FS team is sort of like a job application where you have to participate in interviews and activities and have your performance assessed before you are offered a team spot. Not to say that Manchester's process is necessarily bad, but in the YouTube video linked on the OB Motorsports Eng web page, the lady specifically mentions that you work in the OBR FS team from day 1.
3.3 So how exactly does it all tie together?
4. I quote this directly from the OB web page for Motorsports Eng: "Our work placement programme has been commended by professional bodies as a model of excellence. We have placement opportunities with local, national and international Engineering companies. We provide support and guidance in applying for placements."
5. How true or untrue is this statement? Does OB actually provide more exclusive/personal opportunities, or is it the same standard opportunities available nationwide to any engineering student at any university that you have to apply and compete for?
6. On the Motorsports Eng webpage, when describing the 3rd/4th year they say its an optional work placement year but compulsory for sandwich year students. Does this mean if I apply to and start my studies as a sandwich year student I must complete a placement to progress my studies, otherwise I am kicked out of the program? What happens if I can't find a placement?
7. Specific question for the Group Design Project module in the MEng 4th/5th year: I quote from the OB website: "In this module, you’ll collaborate closely with research, industrial, or commercial partners for real-world project experience."
7.1 What potential research, industrial, and commercial partners are they referring to?
8. What are graduate prospects like?
8.1 Especially if you don't complete a placement?
8.2 Outside of Motorsport, is it still a recognised degree that can be used to secure roles in typical engineering applications?
9. How good is OB's career support in helping find and preparing for placements and grad jobs?
9.1 What I mean by this is Manchester has a career's service which is somewhat useful but not very specific. E.g. I want to apply for a job, booked a CV review with a career support member, and the member just gives me general advice like "Remember to use action verbs and quantify your achievements" instead of more specific and tailored advice relevant to that specific job like "This company and this job favours these skills, make sure to highlight X, Y, Z on your application". Especially in the fact that the Motorsports industry is highly unique compared to other more typical industries and I would assume the job application process will benefit from strong, directed, specific career guidance.
10. I've heard and read that motorsport teams directly recruit students from OB Motorsport Eng, and compared to a non OB student, there is far less typical job application fluff with this direct recruitment. Is this true?
11. How many students are on average in the Motorsports Eng cohort?
12. I've read that a lot of the lecturers and tutors are former F1 engineers themselves, is this true?
13. I've read that there are projects and assessments done as part of the program, onsite in F1 factories and in collaboration with F1 teams. Is this true?
14. Lastly, and quite importantly, UK universities on average are restructuring and cost cutting for various reasons right now. This often leads to big teaching staff lay offs and closure of degree programs. I've read this is also the case for some courses at OB. How secure is the Motorsports Eng program. Is it well funded and does it risk being 'axed' in anyway to cost cut? I've read that on one OB course a staff member told students, "please bear with me I'm not an expert on this topic". Do teaching staff for Motorsports Eng say similar things?
I think that covers most of my questions. I know this is a long post but if you are a current/former student from OB Motorsports Eng (or are an OB student that can put me in contact with a Motorsports Eng student) and have any insights on the above I'd really really appreciate hearing your input.
Thank you so much for your time everyone

Some of these questions are best answered by the university.
I am not a former student but a Maths teacher with students who have gone to this uni for this course. I have also visited the facilities when they were at Wheatley - now there are brand new ones opened a year ago.
This course was the first to be offered in the UK and was designed with F1 input. Each year graduates are targeted by F1 teams and each module share a lot of content with Mech eng but with an F1 spin.
If you start on a placement course you can switch to non-placement but there is a lot of support to get a placement - you are in the 'golden triangle' with many F1 teams very close by.
It's a brilliant course and all the students I know have got jobs in F1 after completing it.

Thank you so much for the input I really appreciate it! Haha yes I will be asking the same questions to the Uni, but I’m just trying to get as much information as I can. Cheers!

No problem. Some of the lecturers have worked in F1 and I'm hoping to get an invite to the new Headington facilities soon!
The website invites questions: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/motorsport-engineering-beng-or-meng

Just out of curiosity if you don’t mind sharing, how do you get invited? Is it from your former students who are now studying there, do you have connections with the faculty, or is it some other means?

Hi everyone!
I'm a prospective international student for MEng Motorsports Eng and I have a few questions regarding the academic experience, the employability, and the faculty structure of this course.
A bit of information about me (skip if you want a TL;DR):
- I'm currently a 3rd and final year BSc Comp Sci student at Uni of Manchester. CS was kind of my safe option over engineering, but its not where my heart and passion lies. i think pretty much since i could form a structured thought i've been absolutely obsessed with cars and racing and am a complete petrolhead. After realising I could never become an F1 driver, I found my second dream of working in F1 or similar high level motorsport leagues and competitions. However, I never did very well in the sciences for most of my school years and thus deterred away from engineering and towards something like CS where tech is a secondary interest of mine (that has slowly died over the past few years). In my final year of school something finally clicked in my head and physics and chem instantly became my favourite subjects and studying for them never ever felt like a chore but a genuine pleasure, thats when I realised i actually wanted to do engineering but at this point it was too late for me to change my plans from CS and i shelved my engineering dreams for a while, until now.
- That being said, I am familiar with international student life in the UK and during my time at Manchester I've applied for many, many, many, tech roles. I was supposed to be on a placement year but I couldn't secure a position anywhere and got fast tracked straight into final year. At one point I did get very close to an IT role with AMG HPP but that also slipped away sadly. I know the UK job market is brutal, even more so for international students especially with the recent tightening of visa and immigration laws from the home office because I've lived through it. I am now 6 months away from graduation with no idea what I'm gonna do afterwards, and am considering really pursuing my dream through OB's Motorsports MEng program, albeit I'm scared that a visa is gonna cut me short right at the end.
Back to my questions.
So for my questions:
1.How is standardised assessment generally done?
1.1 I know it will vary module to module, but on the overall are there semester tests/mid terms?
1.2 Are said semester tests/midterms/exams generally like written exams where you have to actually show your working and calculate stuff or is it all multiple choice?
1.3 Do modules generally have a good availability of past papers with model/guide answers that can be used to prepare for tests and exams (This is an important one because in Manchester there are nearly 0 past papers or model answers, and 90% of exams are ridiculous MCQ only papers where its university policy to not publish past MCQ papers or solutions so it feels almost impossible to effectively prepare for assessments)
2. What's the success rate of Motorsports Eng placements?
2.1 Across home and international students alike?
2.2 Even if its not with an F1 team, but is it possible to still find placement elsewhere like with component manufacturers, other motorsports areas like Formula E/Formula Feeder series/Endurance, as well as with general automotive employers like BMW, Mercedes, JLR, VW etc?
2.3 Does MEng boost your placement chances over BEng?
3. Is Formula Student and OBR an integrated part of the course?
3.1 In my reading I've seen that the best chances of getting into F1 are participating in FS, and OBR is the strongest team to work with. I've also read that you build industry connections through FS, and working in OBR gets you those connections, and having good connections in industry is a better chance at a job then having a good CV.
3.2 However, at Manchester, for example, joining the FS team is sort of like a job application where you have to participate in interviews and activities and have your performance assessed before you are offered a team spot. Not to say that Manchester's process is necessarily bad, but in the YouTube video linked on the OB Motorsports Eng web page, the lady specifically mentions that you work in the OBR FS team from day 1.
3.3 So how exactly does it all tie together?
4. I quote this directly from the OB web page for Motorsports Eng: "Our work placement programme has been commended by professional bodies as a model of excellence. We have placement opportunities with local, national and international Engineering companies. We provide support and guidance in applying for placements."
5. How true or untrue is this statement? Does OB actually provide more exclusive/personal opportunities, or is it the same standard opportunities available nationwide to any engineering student at any university that you have to apply and compete for?
6. On the Motorsports Eng webpage, when describing the 3rd/4th year they say its an optional work placement year but compulsory for sandwich year students. Does this mean if I apply to and start my studies as a sandwich year student I must complete a placement to progress my studies, otherwise I am kicked out of the program? What happens if I can't find a placement?
7. Specific question for the Group Design Project module in the MEng 4th/5th year: I quote from the OB website: "In this module, you’ll collaborate closely with research, industrial, or commercial partners for real-world project experience."
7.1 What potential research, industrial, and commercial partners are they referring to?
8. What are graduate prospects like?
8.1 Especially if you don't complete a placement?
8.2 Outside of Motorsport, is it still a recognised degree that can be used to secure roles in typical engineering applications?
9. How good is OB's career support in helping find and preparing for placements and grad jobs?
9.1 What I mean by this is Manchester has a career's service which is somewhat useful but not very specific. E.g. I want to apply for a job, booked a CV review with a career support member, and the member just gives me general advice like "Remember to use action verbs and quantify your achievements" instead of more specific and tailored advice relevant to that specific job like "This company and this job favours these skills, make sure to highlight X, Y, Z on your application". Especially in the fact that the Motorsports industry is highly unique compared to other more typical industries and I would assume the job application process will benefit from strong, directed, specific career guidance.
10. I've heard and read that motorsport teams directly recruit students from OB Motorsport Eng, and compared to a non OB student, there is far less typical job application fluff with this direct recruitment. Is this true?
11. How many students are on average in the Motorsports Eng cohort?
12. I've read that a lot of the lecturers and tutors are former F1 engineers themselves, is this true?
13. I've read that there are projects and assessments done as part of the program, onsite in F1 factories and in collaboration with F1 teams. Is this true?
14. Lastly, and quite importantly, UK universities on average are restructuring and cost cutting for various reasons right now. This often leads to big teaching staff lay offs and closure of degree programs. I've read this is also the case for some courses at OB. How secure is the Motorsports Eng program. Is it well funded and does it risk being 'axed' in anyway to cost cut? I've read that on one OB course a staff member told students, "please bear with me I'm not an expert on this topic". Do teaching staff for Motorsports Eng say similar things?
I think that covers most of my questions. I know this is a long post but if you are a current/former student from OB Motorsports Eng (or are an OB student that can put me in contact with a Motorsports Eng student) and have any insights on the above I'd really really appreciate hearing your input.
Thank you so much for your time everyone