WMG Research Fellow, Sid-Ali Amamra, has been selected to present his work at the prestigious STEM for BRITAIN event on Wednesday 13^th March.

The event takes place at Westminster with around 100 MPs in attendance to hear more about the current science, engineering and mathematics research by early-stage and early-career researchers in the UK.

Sid-Ali works within WMG’s Intelligent Vehicles research team focusing on the advanced energy management systems for electrical networks and power systems integrating plug-in electric vehicle with Li-ion battery technologies.

Sid-Ali’s poster on research about the Vehicle-To-Grid (V2G) technology supervision using internet of things (IoT) will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind. He was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.

Sid-Ali explains: “I feel happy to present WMG at this event. It is a fantastic opportunity for me to communicate my research to an interesting audience and to present the high impact of my project for helping government to reach the net-zero emissions UK’s target in near future.

“It gives me a chance to go to Parliament and be in the company of MPs, policymakers and key figures, as well as others researchers from around the country. At STEM for BRITAIN, I want to explain the promising results of using V2G technology to help achieve the UK’s zero emission target.”

Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said:

“This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.

“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”

Sid-Ali’s research has been entered into the engineering session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £2,000, while silver and bronze receive £1,250 and £750 respectively.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Biology, The Physiological Society and the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, with financial support from the Clay Mathematics Institute, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, WMG, Society of Chemical Industry, the Nutrition Society, Institute of Biomedical Science, the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research and the Comino Foundation.

WMG is proud to be sponsoring the Engineering section for the third year.

Find out more about STEM for Britain here.

On 11 July, our Dr Antony Allen and students from Richard Crosse Primary School in Staffordshire went to Rockingham Speedway to compete in the Greenpower Formula Goblin event. We first met the children from class five back in January when they won a competition ran by the Advanced Propulsion Centre to become one of eight schools presented with a Greenpower Goblin kit car. Each winning school was then partnered with an APC Spoke, in this case WMG as the Energy Spoke, who provide financial support and mentoring throughout the electric vehicle build along with driver training ahead of race day.

On race day the team competed in six Slaloms, six Sprints and one Grandprix event. They picked up a fantastic four awards: IET Formula Goblin Participation Award; Rockingham Goblins 2018 Slalom: 3^rd place; Rockingham Goblins 2018 Best Presented Team; and Rockingham Goblins 2018 Spirit of Greenpower Award.

The Spirit of Greenpower was awarded in recognition of the way the school have embraced the Greenpower project this year, involving the whole school in the car bodywork design, entering individual and group portfolios of their work, their weekly video-diaries on YouTube, their twitter account, and articles in the village magazine and local district newspaper.

Maria Farrington, a parent of one of the students said ‘I just wish to express my thanks to Dr Allen and the School, for supporting the Rockingham Raceway Project. It was a pleasure to accompany the children today and feel that they also should be congratulated on their behaviour away from school. It was a thoroughly enjoyable outing and an experience the children will remember for a long while’.

Check out the video on their YouTube channel.

Yesterday we, along with our colleagues from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) welcomed a group of 9 to 11 year olds from Richard Crosse Primary School in Staffordshire.

The students enjoyed a tour of the APC showcase and our engineering hall where they were introduced to the Warwick Racing student team and shown our state-of-the-art 3xD Simulator. They also took part in a number of activities throughout the day, including a steering wheel CAD design session and paper rocket making and launching.

We first met the children, from class five, back in January when they won a competition run by the APC to become one of eight schools presented with a Greenpower Goblin kit car. Each winning school was then partnered with an APC Spoke, in this case WMG as the APC Energy Spoke, who provide financial support and mentoring throughout the electric vehicle build along with driver training ahead of the race.

Construction of their go-kart kit car is now almost complete. The next stage of the project is for the children to race against other teams at Rockingham Speedway in July. We’ll keep you updated on how their race day goes.

Formula Goblin has been set up with help from the Greenpower Education Trust to address the skills gap that is growing in the UK automotive industry by engaging students in engineering at a young age. It is designed to engage students with maths, science and design technology in a fun way, promoting equality regardless of economic background and gender.

The initiative is supported by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, the APC and the APC Spoke Community, made up of six of the UK’s leading universities each focussing on R&D of key technology areas in the automotive industry.

Notes to editors:

The APC is a £1 billion, 10-year programme to position the UK as a global centre of excellence for low carbon powertrain development and production.

The APC Spokes form a national network to support industry with specialist academic, technological and commercial expertise. The Spokes are designed to provide access to the best expertise and facilities the UK has to offer in key strategic technologies for the automotive industry.

Each of the Spokes is hosted by an organisation with recognised expertise in those key technologies, but the fundamental role of the Spoke is to coordinate a community of common interest. WMG at the University of Warwick is the Electrical Energy Storage Spoke.

The full list of school/Spoke partnerships are:

Advanced Propulsion Centre – Stoke Primary School

• DETC (Loughborough London University) – Curwen Primary School
• Loughborough University – Fairfield Primary Academy
• Newcastle University – Bournmoor Primary School
• Newcastle University – Kings Priory School
• Newcastle University – Northburn Primary School
• Nottingham University – Abbey Road Primary School
• WMG – The Richard Crosse C of E Primary School

WMG at the University of Warwick will be lending a hand to budding young engineers from The Richard Crosse C of E Primary School in Kings Bromley, Staffordshire, in their quest to build and race their very own electric kit car.

Class five at Richard Crosse won a competition run by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to become one of eight schools presented with a Greenpower Goblin kit car.

Each winning school is partnered with an APC Spoke - in this case WMG, who will offer guidance and support to the students.

The children, aged 9-11, have been given an electric kit car to design, build and race - guided by their teachers and WMG mentors. Once complete, the children will compete against each other in a regional Greenpower IET Formula Goblin race in summer 2018.

Formula Goblin has been set up with help from the Greenpower Education Trust to address the skills gap that is growing in the UK automotive industry by engaging students in engineering at a young age. It is designed to engage students with maths, science and design technology in a fun way, promoting equality regardless of economic background and gender.

We’ve joined forces with our friends at Warwick Engineering Society to offer free places to sixth form pupils at the ‘Colony: The Future of Living Spaces’ conference, on Wednesday 8^th November.

The conference, run by students from Warwick’s School of Engineering, is specifically aimed at sixth form pupils who are interested in pursuing a career in engineering or science.

The event will share interesting ideas and projects that scientists are currently working on taking you on an exhilarating journey starting underground, towards the surface, and beyond the clouds!

A profile of Florence Hopper, the Young Women’s Trust ‘Exceptional Apprentice’ 2017 award winner (sponsored by WMG).

1. What advice would you offer to other young women starting out in their careers?

Network. Talk to, and get to know, as many people in the organisation as you can. It always helps to have friendly faces around the office, that way when you have a query you know people who can point you in the right direction. Take every opportunity that arises to grow your network, get involved in projects, or help with the company’s charity team.

Be proactive. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. Instead ask them to show you how to do something, or ask if there’s anything you can help with. Often people are busy and perhaps don’t realise you have the time or capacity to help. By getting involved you learn more about the business and increase your knowledge, as well as demonstrating that you are willing to help.

Be persistent. Success can rarely be achieved without a great deal of hard work, and if it feels like you’re struggling it doesn’t mean that you are failing. Every set back is an opportunity to learn. It’s important to stay positive and keep working hard, even if it’s tough. The hard work will pay off.

And finally, be the best version of yourself that you can. Make the most of every opportunity that comes your way – you never know where it could take you.

WMG was delighted to welcome today, Professor Sir Mark Walport FRS, the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, accompanied by Dr Rupert Lewis, Director of the Government Office for Science.

Sir Mark had the opportunity to discuss science, engineering and wealth creation innovations from WMG and how WMG works side-by-side with industry to enable the creation and delivery of innovative new products, processes and services. After meeting with Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, he undertook a tour of WMG’s world-class research facilities, including the International Manufacturing Centre and the Energy Innovation Centre.

Last night (Tuesday 21^st February), we were honoured to join Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra and other esteemed guests, at the inaugural Young Women’s Trust awards ceremony. 

The Young Women’s Trust, is a charity supporting women aged 16 to 30 on low or no pay. The ceremony was held to recognise three amazing young women who have overcome barriers to success to make substantial progress in their lives.

In contrast to traditional awards, these awards sponsored by WMG, Venn Group and Clarion Housing Group, celebrate women starting out, rather than those at the top of their professions, to highlight how difficult it can be to get a foot in the door. Young Women’s Trust offers direct services to support young women into work and campaigns for fair financial futures.

Margaret Low, Principal Teaching Fellow at WMG, has been selected by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) for a National Teaching Fellowship.

Margaret was recognised by the HEA for her individual excellence, raising the profile of excellence and developing excellence in teaching.

Margaret is an inspirational educator with 30 years’ experience in the HE sector. She teaches on both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. She is also our Widening Participation Officer, coordinating activities across the department and collaborating with other colleagues within the University.

A National Teaching Fellowship is the HEA’s most prestigious individual award for excellence in teaching in higher education.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG said "I am delighted that Margaret has had her dedication to teaching recognised by the HEA. Her contribution to WMG has had a significant impact on the students she has taught and the department as a whole."

Warwick received three Fellowships (the most that any institution can be awarded) which makes it the only institution to achieve this distinction in 2016.