A student from WMG, at the University of Warwick, has been recognised for his hard work by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Ezra Cunningham, who is employed by Jaguar Land Rover, has now completed the final year of his Applied Engineering Programme degree apprenticeship at WMG.

The IET Prize is awarded annually to outstanding students who are completing a course of study which has been accredited by the IET. Prize winners are nominated by their university based on having shown distinction in their course leading to the award of a first class degree.

As part of his win, Ezra will receive a certificate and two years free student membership of the IET.

Ezra Cunningham explains: “Thanks to the help of my lecturers, peers and colleagues at work, I have broadened my understanding of engineering. I’m looking forward to using this award to progress my career and target of studying an MBA in the next two years.”

WMG Associate Professor and Ezra’s mentor, Dr Tara Schiller adds: “I think it's a great achievement to come first in a cohort but to also achieve this award from the IET is well-deserved. I wish Ezra a wonderful future and look forward to following his career.”

Sir Julian Young, IET President, said: “Our IET Prizes are a terrific means for talented engineering students to be recognised for their outstanding ability in the early stages of their engineering journey. IET Membership provides early-career professionals with the valuable opportunity to connect with a global community, grow their networks and develop their technical knowledge.

“The IET is passionate about promoting engineering excellence and our awards and prizes showcase some of the finest engineering talent. All the winners should be justifiably proud of their achievements. I wish them all the best for a long, fulfilling and successful engineering career: they are all difference makers of the future!”

To find out more information about the range of prizes and awards available to young and aspiring engineers through the IET, please visit: www.theiet.org/awards

Find out more about WMG’s Degree Apprenticeships here: Degree Apprenticeships : WMG, University of Warwick

It was an honour to welcome guests from the Malaysia-UK Higher Education Collaboration Enrichment Programme (MY-UK HECEP), a flagship programme organised by the Malaysian Government, to WMG at the University of Warwick on Friday (23 September).

MY-UK HECEP started in 2018 with the aim of strengthening partnerships between universities in Malaysia and UK. The Programme brings together policymakers, academics, researchers, and university management to exchange best practice in the internationalisation of higher education.

The universities in the programme work together on student and staff mobility, shared research, innovative curriculum development and digitalisation, doctoral training, transnational education (including Master's and PhD programmes), building industry relationships, and improving graduate employability.

The guests were met by Dr Kogi Balakrishnan, WMG’s Director of Client and Business Development (East Asia); before being introduced to Dr Ben Silverstone who explained more about WMG’s research capabilities and education programmes including the WMG Skills Centre.

They were then shown the 3xD Simulator, the world's first immersive, simulated environment for smart and connected vehicles, before enjoying a guided tour of both the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre and the Energy Innovation Centre - where they heard more about WMG’s world leading battery research.

Alia Alias, Education Attache, High Commission of Malaysia, London said: “It was indeed an insightful tour and active engagement we had during the visit. The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia is looking forward to strengthening the bridge between academics and industry with the model that WMG has established. The Malaysian university representatives have briefly discussed future collaboration, especially on research collaboration and staff attachment to integrate possible collaboration improvements that lead to innovation. Many thanks to WMG for hosting us and Dr Kogi for coordinating this fantastic visit and partnership.”

Dr Kogi Balakrishnan said: “High level strategic visits between academics, policy makers and technocrats focussed on exchange of innovative ideas and best practises between the UK and Malaysian institutions is an embodiment of the close bilateral educational and research ties between both our countries.”

WMG, at the University of Warwick, is committed to supporting a variety of undergraduate student projects with connections to industry partners.

Each student project is supported and supervised by WMG Precision Engineer Dave Cooper, who has a background working for Honda Racing, and Lead Engineer Malcolm Swain, who specialises in electric vehicle battery technology.

The projects also engage with WMG PhD students; academics; technicians and industry sponsors. Students gain valuable practical and project management skills by being assigned an area of responsibility, from engineering and technical lead to marketing and sales support.

The student-led projects help to develop time and management skills; teamwork; and give practical hands-on experience.

While WMG provides some seed funding, it is the responsibility of the students to secure sponsors and funding, learning valuable networking, negotiation, sales and partnership skills along the way.

2022 student project teams

The Warwick Racing team entered the IMeche Formula Student Concept Class event at Silverstone to assess their new concept for an in-house built chassis. The judges, including an engineer from Mercedes F1 chassis team, were very positive about its ease of manufacture, lightweight, functionality, recyclability and cost saving design. The team is now developing the chassis based on the judges’ feedback to test its feasibility in the next electric racing car.

The Warwick Racing Business team was awarded second place for its business presentation out of 51 top global universities. The event follows a similar format to Dragon's Den, with the students developing a business idea, plan and model for producing the electric racing car to sell. This is an extremely challenging event and the team have high hopes to win first place next year.

In the Warwick Moto team, student technical lead Nesta Ferguson, was awarded the Best Dissertation Project Award, by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, and recognised as a runner-up in the Engineering Undergraduate Innovation Award category. The Team’s research outputs were also accepted for publication by the flagship ICALEO conference and then promoted to the Journal of Laser Applications. Aneesh Jois, who also played a leading role in the Warwick Moto team, won Institution Best Student on the Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s degree for academic achievement. Aneesh highlighted how invaluable his Warwick Moto project experience has been in learning how to design components for use in the real world and enabling him to achieve higher grades in application-based engineering modules.

The Warwick Robotics team worked with Dr Rachel Edwards, in the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick, to develop two wall climbing robots which perform Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) on steel structures such as storage tanks and wind turbine towers. The twin robots work in tandem carrying an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT), one with the receiver and one with the transmitter. To achieve the best results quickly the two robots must climb the structures with the transmitter and receiver aligned with each other at various distances apart. The students designed, built and tested a system that did this automatically in real-time using high resolution cameras and fiducial markers achieving +/-0.45degree accuracy. This will revolutionise industrial applications of NDT where this was considered not viable in the past.

Lee-Rose Jordan, Project Manager at WMG, University of Warwick explained: “These projects are a great example of how students can develop valuable hands-on engineering knowledge and skills, standing them in good stead as they embark on their chosen careers in some of the most esteemed companies in the world. This year, for example, some of our students have gone on to work at Delta Cosworth, Williams Advanced Engineering, McLaren Applied, Triumph, Alpine F1 and Mercedes.”

Find out more about the student projects here: Student Led Projects (warwick.ac.uk)

The Warwick Submarine team, which consists of seven 4th year engineering students at the University of Warwick, has successfully completed the European International Submarine Races (eISR-22) in Gosport.

The student team raced their human powered submarine, against other science and marine engineering students from across the world. The submarine, named Godiva picked up two awards – the ‘Winner Day 5’ and a new award for best ‘Communication.’

The team was able to complete the whole slalom course at the Ocean Basin, and record a very respectable time of three minutes and 56 seconds. This is the first time that Godiva has achieved this since its very first entry at ISR in the USA in 2014. This impressive progress led to Godiva receiving the ‘Winner Day 5’ recognition.

The ‘Communication’ prize was judged by a group of school children who attended the races and met with the competitors. The children felt that the Warwick Sub team were the best at explaining the complexities of the project and notably without ‘talking-down’ to them.

The Warwick Submarine Academic Supervisor at WMG, University of Warwick, Professor Ian Tuersley, said: “The students were a real credit to the University, and their performance as practical engineers was very impressive”.

“The competition invariably involves a great deal of on-the-spot problem solving. Every single member of our team contributed handsomely to this effort by identifying the issues, generating innovative solutions, and then implementing them with only the barest of workshop resources to hand.”

In preparation for the competition, the students had access to cutting-edge engineering research and facilities at WMG at the University of Warwick, as well as funding from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and help from sponsors.

Professor David Greenwood, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, at WMG, University of Warwick, explained: “Well done to this year’s team on their achievements at e-ISR-22. We are now beginning the planning process for next year’s competition, and are looking forward to supporting a new group of students as they look to design and manufacture a new hull from composite materials. With the help of our team, they will gain indispensable hands-on practical engineering skills, at our world leading facilities.”

After arriving back from eISR-22 there was more good news for the team, as they were announced as winners of the inaugural Warwick Award for Public and Community Engagement (WAPCE), by the Warwick Institute for Engagement (WIE).

Professor Tuersley added: “It’s another fantastic achievement and provides further evidence of the team’s commitment to outreach and engagement activities.”

Find out more about the University’s student projects here.

Staff from WMG, at the University of Warwick, were proud to support the EY Foundation’s Beyond Your Limits employability programme, helping care-experienced young people with their future careers.

The new partnership between Warwick, led by the University’s Social Inclusion Group, and the EY Foundation has been made possible with funding through a UKRI Higher Education Innovation Fund.

Beyond Your Limits aims to develop key skills that are essential for helping young people reach their true potential as they take their first steps into a career, apprenticeship, or further education. A total of eight young people enrolled on the 2021/22 programme with the University of Warwick.

Part of the programme required the young people to take part in a workplace experience, so the Social Inclusion Group worked to align the young people with departments that would support their career aspirations and interests.

The Beyond Your Limits programme has been specifically designed for care-experienced young people in education, aged 16-19. On the programme they receive paid employability training, work experience placements, a personal development grant, a business mentor and progression coach.

Three of the eight students were allocated to a WMG Research Fellow, Dr Craig Carnegie, who acted as a business host, providing five and a half days of structured work experience, facility tours and opportunities to network within WMG.

Craig explained: “I created tailored individual programmes for the students; taking into account their personal interests of aerospace, manufacturing and photography. They completed the various tasks on campus during the Easter and May school holidays. This project gave them the opportunity to experience real world research and engineering, at a time when they are choosing their paths to take for their future careers.

“It was a very rewarding experience, and although the placements have now finished, I’m still available for contact if they need support with job applications, helping them to improve their employability and professional networks. They were a remarkable group of young people, and I am looking forward to seeing what they go on to achieve in the future.”

Professor Margaret Low, WMG’s Director of Outreach and Widening Participation, explained: “Craig’s contribution to this project will have made a marked impact on these young people. It is so important that universities provide role models and support to the people who will make up the workforce of the future to ensure that science and engineering roles are accessible to people from all backgrounds. Thanks to Craig’s efforts with the EY Foundation WMG has been able to further support widening participation in higher education.

“We hope to be able to work with the EY Foundation and Warwick’s Social Inclusion Group again in the future."

Read more WMG Outreach news here: Public engagement and Outreach (warwick.ac.uk)

Professor Gill Cooke has been appointed as the new Pro-Dean (Education) at WMG, University of Warwick, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience from both academia and industry.

Professor Cooke joins WMG from the School of Engineering, where she was Head of Teaching for almost six years. Prior to that she spent many years in various teaching and management roles at Coventry University including Associate Dean.

Gill left school at 16 to embark on an Engineering Technician Apprenticeship at Dunlop Aviation in Coventry. After completing her apprenticeship Gill qualified as a Quality Engineer working at Dunlop Aviation, Alvis Aerospace, and Jones and Shipman.

At WMG, Gill will develop and oversee the department’s strong education portfolio from undergraduate degrees and degree apprenticeships; to postgraduate degrees; overseas programmes; and professional education courses at the WMG Skills Centre, focusing on both the quality of the provision and the student experience.

Professor Cooke comments: “I’m incredibly passionate about apprenticeships and developing skills. I firmly believe that companies need diverse workforces that represent an inclusive society.

“Industrial demand for new skills and emerging talent is high. Companies are constantly looking to develop solutions to the complex challenges facing society, the economy and the environment. Now more than ever, bridging the gap between academia and industry is crucial in providing a student educational experience that meets industry needs.

“WMG’s approach to bridging this gap resonates strongly with me, and I’m really excited to be joining the team.”

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG comments: “Gill’s appointment is an important step forward for WMG’s Education work. Her student centred and creative approach to learning and teaching will help guide the department as it seeks to enable learners from a diverse range of contexts to realise their aspirations. Gill is also passionate about the development of her colleagues and I am sure they will all benefit from her leadership.”

Find out more about WMG’s education programmes here: Education (warwick.ac.uk)

On Friday (27th May), Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, at the University of Warwick, was pleased to welcome representatives from the Zambian Government.

A total of five delegates led by the Minister of Education, Hon. Douglas Siakalima, enjoyed a tour of WMG’s world-class research and education facilities. Mr Siakalima was joined by Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Joel Kamoko; Director at the National Science Centre at the Ministry of Education, Dr Benson Banda; Director at the British Council Zambia, David Pardoe; and Acting Zambian High Commissioner to the UK, Patricia Chanda.

The tour began in the International Manufacturing Centre (IMC) where the guests had a chance to see student engineering projects, before Professor Paul Jennings, Pro-Dean (Research) introduced WMG’s 3xD Simulator for Intelligent Vehicles – the world's first immersive, simulated environment for smart and connected vehicles.

The delegation was then given a guided tour of the Degree Apprenticeship Centre, by Professor Robin Clark. The new Centre helps to bridge the skills gap by providing apprentices with the opportunity to study on degree programmes to develop the skills needed by advanced engineering and manufacturing companies.

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, said: “It was an honour to meet Mr Siakalima and his colleagues, and to demonstrate how we are helping to drive technology, engineering and manufacturing forward through impactful research and innovative approaches to education.

“The ability of an organisation to equip its workforce with relevant skills will largely determine how well it responds to rapidly evolving requirements. By welcoming the Zambian Government, we were able to share best practices around skills provisions with a view to maximising societal, economic and environmental opportunity for future generations.”

Finally, the delegation visited the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) where Chief Engineer, Mark Amor-Segan demonstrated the facilities used to research, develop and test the latest technologies at the forefront of energy storage including electric vehicles. Professor James Marco, Head of the Energy Directorate, and Professor Daniel Branch (Co-Academic Director, Africa in the International Relations and Strategy Group at Warwick) also joined the tour and subsequent discussion.

Labour Shadow Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP visited the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre at the University of Warwick today (Thursday 10^th February) to mark National Apprenticeship Week 2022.

Following a visit to the motorsport and advanced engineering group Prodrive earlier in the morning, where she met WMG degree apprentice Abi Holloway from the Applied Engineering Programme, Bridget Phillipson then visited the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre with Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick and Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG and Director of Education.

The Shadow Education Secretary met with apprentices and staff for a tour of the Centre, including workshop demonstrations and live seminars before meeting local employers including Aston Martin, JLR, Royal Mail Group and Allett, as well as the Federation of Small Businesses.

Bridget Phillipson MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:

“It was a pleasure to visit the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre to mark National Apprenticeship Week, and to see how businesses and education providers are working together to equip young people with the skills our country needs to prosper.

“Labour is committed to working with educators and employers to ensure young people leave education ready for work and ready for life.

“As our national skills needs develop and change, I want young people and older workers wanting to reskill to be able to access high quality, local training programmes which lead to good jobs in all parts of the UK.”

The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership funded WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre offers a bespoke learning environment with open spaces for collaborative and individual work, technology-enabled seminar rooms and a purpose-built laboratory for mechanical, electrical and thermal experiments.

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick said:

“It was a pleasure to welcome Bridget Phillipson MP to the University to share our approach to combining quality Higher Education and work-based learning. We have a responsibility to provide students with the environment they need to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to succeed while supporting business growth through their work. The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre is a flagship example of how this can be achieved when strategic investment is combined with industrial and academic collaboration.”

The visit also comes just a few weeks after the launch of the WMG Skills Centre, including seven new courses in technologies such as energy systems, intelligent vehicles, and digital manufacturing to meet current and future industry needs.

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG and Director of Education said:

“We were delighted to welcome the Labour Shadow Education Secretary to our WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre during National Apprenticeship Week. The visit was a great opportunity to highlight the achievements of our apprentices and to discuss future opportunities in work-based education with a panel of influential local industry partners.”

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, added:

“It’s great that Bridget Phillipson MP was able to meet our incredible apprentices and industry partners. She heard from them that, with the Green Industrial Revolution and the road to Net Zero leading to emerging skills needs in areas like automation, electrification and robotics, it is vital UK businesses invest in their people to encourage new-skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling.”

· With increased pressure on businesses to be flexible, resilient, increase efficiency and to meet sustainability goals there is an unprecedented need for new skills in the workforce.

· In order to thrive during periods of change WMG has launched the Skills Centre, offering an ever changing and growing range of courses to meet current and future industry and business needs.

· The Centre is launching with seven new courses in innovative technologies ranging from energy systems, intelligent vehicles, digital and manufacturing.

The WMG Skills Centre launched today, the 17th January. The Centre provides the opportunity for businesses to respond to challenges through a range of innovative short courses which will equip workforces with the latest technical skills.

Over the last five years businesses and organisations across the UK have faced many challenges, from Brexit to Covid, with the next milestone being the urgent requirement to respond to the need to achieve Net Zero. The WMG Skills Centre will support businesses enabling them to survive and thrive through these and future challenges.

A Government white paper released in 2021 ‘Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth’, saw the then Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson CBE MP stating that we (the UK) do not have enough technicians, engineers or health and social care professionals. Redressing this will be critical to improving our productivity and international competitiveness.

WMG, at the University of Warwick, is a leader for bridging the gap between academia and industry, driving innovation in science, technology, engineering and skills. The WMG Skills Centre is launching with courses covering Digital Manufacturing, Energy Systems, Intelligent Vehicles and Manufacturing. Over the course of 2022 further courses will be added to support the ever-changing skills needs of business and industry.

All of the courses range from half-day workshops to five-day courses providing short, sharp, interventions to support skills growth. The first courses to be launched are Data-Driven Smart Manufacturing, Demystifying Digital Twins, Electric Drivetrain School, Intelligent Connected Automated Mobility (ICAM) School, Industry 4.0 Integration and Implementation, Manufacturing Awareness and Battery School.

Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG, University of Warwick comments:
“WMG has worked tirelessly over the last 40 years to bridge the gap between research and industry, preparing our students from our academies, degree apprenticeships and post-graduate courses to be equipped with the skills to improve Britain’s workforce.

“I am therefore delighted to see that we can continue to help businesses improve their skills, by offering courses at the new WMG Skills Centre, so that everyone can access the knowledge they need to succeed, and help our industry partners, region and country to create a digital and sustainable economy of the future.”

Dr Benjamin Silverstone, Associate Professor, Head of WMG Skills Centre adds:

“Change for business has never been more rapid and the need to adapt and evolve to meet current and future needs is critical to ensure survival. The courses offered by the WMG Skills Centre build on our strong history of delivering skills innovation to industry and will up-skill, re-skill and new-skill workforces across the country to ensure that they are resilient and able to thrive. “

Although the WMG Skills Centre is new, it has been created based on the success of courses that have previously been run by WMG, such as The Battery School. Dr Graham Hoare, President of Global Operations at Britishvolt who attended the course in 2021 said:

“I have worked in the powertrain divisions of blue-chip car companies such as Ford, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover in the past. The course here at WMG effectively allows people like me, who have got good mechanical experience, to really understand and appreciate battery technology and enable us to lead teams of battery scientists in the future. The two days on the Battery School course were fundamental to my understanding about battery technology and really equipped me to be able to jump into this important world very efficiently.

“Batteries are at the heart of this industrial transformation, so being here, at WMG and learning and seeing with my own eyes how that can be applied really was transformational. I feel so much more equipped for the challenge ahead.”

You can find out more about the new WMG Skills Centre by visiting: WMG Skills Centre

ENDS

17 JANUARY 2022

NOTES TO EDITORS

High-res images available at:

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/january_2022/wmg_skills_centre_1.jpg
Caption: People on a course at WMG
Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/january_2022/wmg_skills_centre_2.jpg
Caption: People on a course at WMG
Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/january_2022/wmg_skills_centre_3.jpg
Caption: People on a course at WMG
Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

https://youtu.be/4_i1UJbwQGs
Caption: Video: WMG Skills Centre - a solution for national skills gaps | Message by Margot James
Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of Warwick
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk