WMG News - Latest news from WMG

WMG, at the University of Warwick, and BAE Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding for the delivery a new post-graduate programme in Cyber Security.

The programme has been developed in cooperation with WMG’s Cyber Security Centre and Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) to offer a three-year MSc in Cyber Security and Management. Both universities formally agreed to the programme during a signing ceremony at the House of Lords in London.

The extensive programme will offer ten specifically designed Cyber Security and Management modules delivered at UPNM each year of the programme. Up to a total of 72 students will study the programme over three years.

The partnership with BAE Systems also extends through to research with BAE’s Applied Intelligence.

We were very pleased to welcome to WMG, Professor Alex Halliday FRS, Head of Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences at the University of Oxford.

Professor Halliday, who is Physical Secretary and Vice President of The Royal Society, met with Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya FRS and John Leighfield, previously Chairman of Council at Warwick and currently Chair of the Governing Body of the WMG Academy for Young Engineers. They enjoyed a wide ranging discussion on the opportunities in research and education.
 
The discussion was followed by a visit to WMG’s research laboratories, including presentations on WMG's work within the areas of Nanocomposites and Energy Innovation.

The 2nd annual WMG Doctoral Research and Innovation Conference, entitled ‘Innovation through Collaboration’, is an excellent opportunity to showcase research from both academia and industry across themes in design, materials, manufacturing, systems and business transformation.

Organised by doctoral students, the conference will be held in the International Digital Laboratory on 30th June - 1st July, with an evening social event on the 30th.

Papers and poster presentations will take place across a wide variety of topics and awards will be presented in each theme.

Abstracts should be submitted online by 31st March.

On Tuesday 2nd of March, Professor Lord Bhattacharyya was pleased to welcome Alastair Campbell, former Chief Spokesman and strategist to Tony Blair, to WMG, at the University of Warwick to speak about his recently published book - Winners: And How They Succeed.

Alastair Campbell embarked on this book because he is fascinated by what it takes to win. How do sportsmen excel, entrepreneurs thrive, or individuals achieve their ambition? Is their ability to win innate? Or is the winning gene something we can all develop?

Drawing on the experience of an astonishing array of talented people - from elite athletes to top managers, from rulers of countries to rulers of global business empires - Alastair used his own skills and experience, to get to the heart of success.

British Science Week is three days longer than a normal week (13-22nd March) and Coventry school children will be making use of the 3 extra days in that “week” with a special 3D printing and engineering event led by the University of Warwick at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry on Saturday 21st of March from 10am to 4pm.

Working with Diane Burton, (Project Officer for the CAD and 3D Printing Project at WMG at the University of Warwick), the young people from Stoke Park and Cardinal Wiseman schools will be exhibiting their work using the technology of 3D printing. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to try the technology for themselves.

Alongside those 3D printed products, the University of Warwick’s Engineering students will be exhibiting a human powered submarine created for an international student submarine competition and the latest version of a rescue robot designed for an international student competition to create a robot to search disaster scenes and locate survivors

WMG was pleased to welcome Mr Ranjan Mathai, Indian High Commissioner to the UK, to visit WMG on Thursday 19th February.

Meeting with Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Mr Mathai was interested to understand the breadth of research undertaken by WMG, how the Group develops partnerships with industry and the significant economic benefits of such partnerships.

Mr Mathai also took a tour of WMG’s facilities including the new Energy Innovation Centre, as well as viewing materials and manufacturing research activity in the International Manufacturing Centre and visiting the International Institute for Nanocomposites Manufacturing.

Tom Lockhart, HR Administrative Assistant at WMG, has been recognised as a finalist in the City of Coventry Freemen’s Guild Apprentice of the Year Awards for 2014. Tom was one of six finalists who were selected for exceptional ability shown in their chosen apprenticeship and whose achievements can inspire others towards considering the opportunities available through undertaking apprenticeships.

Tom and the other finalists were invited to the Apprentice of the Year Awards dinner held in St. Mary’s Guildhall in January. Awards were presented by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Hazel Noonan and Guild Master, Colin Harris.

WMG Chairman, Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya also attended the ceremony as the invited guest speaker to mark the 10th anniversary of the awards. In his speech to the finalists and guests, he stressed the importance of encouraging apprenticeships and pointed to his own early career experience, as a graduate apprentice for Lucas Industries, to show how the lessons learned had forged his career.

Professor Carsten Maple of the Cyber Security Centre at WMG/University of Warwick has provided his analysis of the news that repeat offenders of anti-Semitism on social media could be given prevention orders:

This week an All Party Parliamentary Group has suggested that repeat offenders of anti-Semitism on social media should be given prevention orders, as can be used for those convicted of sexual offences.

It is important to recognise that this is a serious issue. The number of reported cases of anti-Semitic content has increased recently, and it is likely a small fraction of the total number of cases. Hate crimes such as this, and other crimes such as cyberstalking, can have a considerable impact on victims and the ubiquitous nature of the Internet can mean there is little escape for victims and can ensure that it pervades all aspects of life, personal and professional. It is important that the law considers the impact a crime can have on the victim.

WMG's Professor Tony McNally, Director of the International Institute for Nanocomposites Manufacturing will be delivering a plenary lecture at the 6th International Conference on Advancements in Polymeric Materials (APM2015), which is taking place at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India from 20-22 February 2015.

Professor McNally will be speaking on 'Primary and Secondary Processing of Polymer Nanocomposites'.

APM2015 will be themed around marching towards smart product design & development with multi-funtional materials. It will be an International Forum for those who wish to present their projects and innovations, with the opportunity to discuss the main aspects and the latest results in the field of polymer science and product development.The general aim of the conference is to promote international collaboration in Education and Research in polymer science and product development.

For more information, visit the APM2015 conference site >>

Crossword Cybersecurity Plc the GXG Main Quote listed company with ISIN B00BPFJXS57 is to partner with the Cyber Security Centre at WMG, University of Warwick to jointly explore commercial opportunities leveraging cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.

Professor Tim Watson, Director of the Cyber Security Centre at WMG, University of Warwick and his team have been investigating how distributed blockchain protocols underpinning many of the 530 or more cryptocurrencies in existence, including the best known one Bitcoin, can be leveraged in other ways such as enabling smart contracts. Crossword and the Cyber Security Centre have embarked on a series of workshops and research to identify commercial opportunities that will be jointly developed.