A global competition igniting 3000 students across 3 continents
Imagine 3000+ students from 38 different countries coming together in regional hubs around the world to design, build and race the energy efficient vehicles of the future.
How do you ensure that across three continents, students can come together and experience a fun, safe challenge, which feels consistent and on-brand wherever they are in the world?
Find out how we did it…
We really love working with the team (Emota) because they have such a proactive way of working. They’re always good at communicating with us upfront and there’s a real sense of transparency with them…They embody Shell’s standards of safety and they really get the care that we want to provide for the students in the whole experience.
Donna Vecino, Global Delivery Lead, Shell Eco-marathon
The challenge.
Shell Eco-marathon is one of the world-leading student engineering challenges. In 2024, thousands gathered at racetracks in Indianapolis (USA), Lombok (Indonesia), and Nogaro (France), to build and race energy efficient vehicles. This event is all about pushing the boundaries of what is technically possible and creating the energy leaders of the future.
Our role was to ensure that 3000+ young people could come together in the different regions in an innovative, fun and safe environment to do their best work and make memories. Our partnership with Shell has grown over the past few years, and we now look after Production, Logistics, and Health and Safety for all three regional events.
The biggest challenge was to create a consistent experience for students, wherever they are in the world, taking into account regional laws, health and safety regulations and cultural differences. We also wanted to create a festival feel, so that students would remember this experience long after they had left.
The solution.
Three world-class events across three continents.
The infrastructure for each site was extensive, as we created space for students to work, relax, sleep and shower. In France, we constructed a 140-meter long tent where teams could work on their vehicles and prepare for the race, while our campsite had to accommodate up to 1000 students. Our team was onsite in France for three weeks, including overseeing the safe building and dismantling of the entire event site.
In France and Indonesia, we worked on the creative for everything from signage to event maps and branding. In 2023, we were delighted to help Shell apply their new Shell Eco-marathon brand visual expression and much of this was designed with longevity in mind, allowing us to reuse many items in 2024.
Our in-house health and safety team were on-site to complete more than 1500 staff inductions, and sourced medical assistance to be on hand throughout the production build and live event. We also managed the event control system and worked with a team of around 20 security professionals. Our logistics team took care of the details – building and managing a dedicated event registration website; providing onsite lunches for 1200+ each day in Indonesia; collating 4000+ items of merchandise; or arranging the daily site transport for the students in Indonesia.
Our attention to detail at all stages of the experiences meant that students could enjoy this once in a lifetime experience.
‘Everyone works very closely as a team (within Emota) and you can tell that the relationships everyone has.. are very strong and solid. You don’t have multiple channels to go through…it makes us really excited to see the students come on-site and see their faces light up as well!
Tatiana Naghdi, Project Manager, Shell Eco-marathon Europe & Africa
The results.
An epic event series
3000 students from 38 countries. 3 events on 3 continents. 1589 health and safety inductions delivered.
The feedback from the students and clients was amazing, and 91% of students said they would return next year.
Building responsibly – sustainability as standard
Sustainability is always at the forefront of this global program of events. We were delighted to reuse 123 print items at the Europe and Africa event due to conscious efforts in the design work done in 2023. This approach saved 300+ kg of CO2. 60% of the campsite lighting was solar or battery powered, while in the paddocks’ tent, we used LED lights instead of halogen, to reduce energy consumption. Most of our indoor signage was also made from cardboard or wood pulp.
It was an incredible week, and I feel proud to have been able to work with you all and your teams. Thank you for going above and beyond, and always being willing to jump in where needed. Please extend my thanks and appreciation to all your teams – truly a dream team on this one!
Donna Vecino, Global Delivery Lead, Shell Eco-marathon
