Departmental news

A university programme which helped SMEs reduce energy consumption by 32% has been nominated for a national sustainability award.

WMG at The University of Warwick helped more than 50 SMEs in the West Midlands become more sustainable after the energy crisis left 60% of these critical UK manufacturers threatened with closure. The project has helped reduce the energy and fuel consumption of SMEs, which are responsible for 44% of non-household UK emissions.

WMG achieved this through its Net Zero Innovation Network which is now up for ‘Energy Efficiency Project of the Year Award’ – hosted by edie’s Net Zero Awards.

The Net Zero Innovation Network is helping to deconstruct the complexities of energy management, sustainability, and innovation for manufacturers across the UK. The network of engineers, innovation managers and industry experts offers practical tools and programmes to help SMEs overcome barriers such as lack of time, internal skills and cash-flow to invest. There is no cost for businesses involved, the only investment needed from SMEs is time.

Net Zero Innovation Network also provides access to state-of-the art equipment at the University, help companies reduce their energy consumption. The programme, built on the key themes of people, planet and profit, gets under the skin of the business to empower them to make real lasting change – upskilling staff and reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions.

The Net Zero Innovation Network designed a Manufacturing Energy Toolkit to provide provide solutions for SMEs impacted by the energy crisis. This toolkit measured and analysed energy consumption at a granular level, using WMG systems and research. The average energy saving of businesses using the toolkit was 32% and one SME reduced its energy consumption by 81%.

Other successful Net Zero Innovation Network projects included:

• Waste heat recovery simulation – assessing how to redirect heat in businesses to avoid additional energy (heating) being used.
• Process automation – using robots or software to help automate more mundane, repetitive and simple tasks, enabling other staff members to focus on more impactful projects.
• Granular material and energy monitoring – mapping out what materials and energy is currently being used, identifying ways to enhance efficiency or reduce waste
• Digitalisation – encouraging companies to utilise digital tech and systems e.g. upgrading their processes from paper to online/digital

Laura Downey, Innovation Manager at WMG, and technical lead of the programme, said: “The Net Zero Innovation Network has supported over 50 businesses and counting. As a result, the businesses we’ve partnered with have reduced their emissions whilst improving profitability, remained suppliers of choice and increased material and energy efficiency. We are honoured to have been shortlisted for the edie Net Zero Awards and look forward to supporting even more SMEs on their journey to net zero.”

Leslie Sharp, Director of Kingfisher Enamelling, who benefited from the WMG programme, said: “WMG staff provide a range of knowledge and expertise which we just did not have. Added to this, their drive and commitment to help SMEs is immeasurable.”

The winners of edie’s Net Zero awards will be announced on 15 November. Find out more about the awards here https://event.edie.net/netzeroawards/3554235

For SMEs wanting to get involved in the scheme, there was a webinar on 26 October with a guest talk from participant company Professional Polishing Services https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/mediacentre/wmgevents/nzinwebinaroct23

The Department of Economics at Warwick has been placed 29th in the world amongst university economics departments, according to 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) for economics published on 27 October 2023. This ranking places us 5th out of the UK based departments of economics, after the LSE, Oxford, Cambridge and UCL.

The 2023 GRAS contains more than 1,900 out of 5000 universities across 104 countries and regions in the world. The GRAS rankings use a range of objective academic indicators and third-party data to measure the performance of world universities by subject, including: research output, research influence, international collaboration, research quality and international academic awards.

This follows on from our success in the QS Rankings 2023 which placed us 22nd in the world for economics and econometrics.

More information about this league table can be found on the link to 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023 - Economics. And the Shanghai Ranking 2023 press release – 27 October 2023.

Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Verification and Validation at WMG, University of Warwick, comments on Cruise pausing all driverless robotaxi operations in the US to rebuild public trust.

“Safety is the number one priority when commercialising self-driving vehicles, we should never compromise safety even though this is a fast-paced technology. The industry and autonomous vehicle developers and operators need to have a thorough review of the current incidents and be more open and transparent regarding their safety assurance processes and systems.

“Safety messages and information should be communicated to the public to gradually build up societal trust and ensure that technology users and road users are well-informed about this new technology’s capabilities and limitations.

“As a world-leading research institution, WMG is working closely with international and national policymakers, regulators, and industry to improve the safety of self-driving vehicles. We encourage the ecosystem to collaborate further to gain the public’s confidence in this emerging transport technology.”

Find out more about WMG’s Verification and Validation research here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/research/cav/vandv/

PhD positions are available at the Theory and Foundations group in the Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, UK. The group works on various aspects of theoretical computer science, including:

* automata and formal languages,
* logic and games,
* algorithmic game theory,
* online and dynamic algorithms,
* sublinear and streaming algorithms,
* parameterized complexity and structural graph theory,
* string algorithms,
* parallel algorithms,
* approximation algorithms,
* combinatorial and graph algorithms,
* random structures and randomized algorithms,
* computational complexity.

The group has strong ties with the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (DIMAP), established in 2007 jointly with Warwick Mathematics Institute and Warwick Business School. Together with DIMAP, the group is one of the leading theory groups in Europe, with regular publications in top international conferences and journals in theoretical computer science.

The Department of Computer Science at Warwick offers an excellent research environment. It was ranked 4th in the latest UK research assessment in Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2021. The University of Warwick is one of the founding members of the Alan Turing Institute.

The university campus is located on the border of two counties, West Midlands and Warwickshire, is about one hour train ride from London, and 15 minutes from Birmingham International Airport.

The applicants are expected to have a strong background in discrete mathematics, algorithms, or related topics with undergraduate and/or Master's degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related disciplines. The position(s) will be fully funded, and the successful applicant(s) will be receiving a stipend at rate in line with current Research Councils UK rates.

If you are interested in this opening, please send an email to Dr Ramanujan Sridharan (r.maadapuzhi-sridharan@warwick.ac.uk) with a SINGLE .pdf file containing your CV and the names and email addresses of two references, by 24 November 2023. You are strongly encouraged to informally contact faculty members in the group you might want to work with prior to submitting your application.

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed informally during the week of 4 December - 8 December, 2023.

List of faculty members in the group:

https://warwick.ac.uk/focs/people/<https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dcs/research/focs/people/>

Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications:
https://warwick.ac.uk/dimap/<https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/dimap/>

The Dean of WMG at the University of Warwick, Professor Robin Clark, spoke at the launch of Policy Connect’s new report on manufacturing skills this week (Wednesday 25th October). WMG supported the development of the report, including holding a roundtable with West Midlands employers; Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) providers; and regional skills experts.

Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea CBE DL, launched Policy Connect’s latest report – Upskilling Industry: Manufacturing Productivity and Growth in England, alongside Minister for Enterprise and Markets, Keving Hollinrake MP; WMG Advisory Board member, Mark Pawsey MP and the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Chi Onwurah MP.

The Manufacturing Commission’s inquiry considers the implications of recent skills system reform in England on the manufacturing sector.  It concludes that labour shortages are restricting productivity across the economy, with skills gaps in the manufacturing sector costing between £7.7 and £8.3 billion annually in lost economic output.

To address this the report recommends government make several reforms to the skills system:

· Support for SMEs in the manufacturing sector to help upskill their workforce, including incentives to deliver T-Levels and host skills boot camps. 

· Greater flexibility in the use of the Apprenticeship Levy funds, including ring-fencing of unused Levy funding for investment in wider upskilling. 

· A national campaign to increase the uptake of STEM subjects by women and people of minority ethnic backgrounds. 

· Appointment of a government manufacturing ‘Champion’ to raise awareness of the manufacturing sector in schools and promote the role that the manufacturing sector is playing in combatting the climate crisis. 

 Inquiry Chair, Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, CBE, DL said: “As Chair of the Manufacturing Commission and a proud supporter of British manufacturing, I am delighted to have been involved with this inquiry, which considers the impact of skills shortages across the sector. 

“Throughout the evidence sessions that have informed this work, I have been inspired by accounts from manufacturing businesses that are using all levers available to them to upskill their workforces. The recommendations that we have made seek to help businesses, education providers, and individuals best navigate the current policy landscape and deliver the skills that the manufacturing sector so vitally needs.” 

Inquiry Vice-Chair, and WMG advisory Board member, Mark Pawsey MP added: “As a member of the Business and Trade Committee and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group, I regularly hear of the skills shortages that limit productivity within the UK’s manufacturing sector. This inquiry explores how businesses can collaborate better with education providers to deliver the skills that local communities need. This is particularly important in the West Midlands, which is home to a significant part of the UK’s automotive and future battery technology capability.” 

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, said: “The proposals in the report contain lots of good ideas on how to develop a system that really works for learners and employers, and suggests practical changes that can make a real difference to our skills system.

“The report is a call to action for all of us working in skills to encourage learners, course providers and employers to get engaged in manufacturing, give SMEs strong incentives to support skills and collaborate to improve course design, provision, and approval.

“We’ve got great examples of how skills can be transformative for businesses and students in manufacturing. Now we need to work together to make that the experience everyone has from our skills system.”

Read the full ‘Upskilling Industry’ report here: https://www.policyconnect.org.uk/research/upskilling-industry-manufacturing-productivity-and-growth-england

Prof. Scott Habershon receives a share of EPSRC funding for COSMOS - a major project to create a universal software framework for quantum dynamics simulations with UCL.

Liver hepatocytes are the front-line cells for screening new compounds for toxicity. However, hepatocytes are stored frozen in vials, not in monolayers meaning they need substantial processing to be ‘usable’ especially for high throughput screening. To solve this the Gibson and Dallman groups have collaborated, so show that immortalised and primary hepatocytes can be cryopreserved whilst attached to 96 well microplates. These can then be taken from the freezer, and simple thawed and are ready to use in under 24 hours. Post-thaw the cells show equal performance to fresh. This was achieved by careful consideration of the molecular mechanism damage during freezing, with the team using patent-pending controlled ice nucleation technology, rather than a traditional re-formulation of cryoprotectants approach. This work was in collaboration with Cryologyx, a University of Warwick Spin out, which has commercialised aspects of this technology.  
Read the paper hereLink opens in a new window.

Trafficking of proteins, lipids, and other molecules between cellular compartments is carried out by vesicular carriers. Material destined for transfer is packaged into a small trafficking vesicle at the donor compartment; the vesicle must then travel to its destination, before fusing with the target compartment to deliver the material.

Read the paper hereLink opens in a new window.

Monday 30th October 2023
17:00 - 18:30
S0.13, Social Sciences

In the second of the Sociology Seminar Series, we welcome Dr Shamim Miah who will explore the works of Ibn Khaldun (d.1406) who was a historian and philosopher and is considered to be one of the founding fathers of sociology. This event further aims to discuss the paradox of Ibn Khaldun's influences on the formative years of modern western sociology, alongside its marginality from mainstream western academia. Dr Miah proposes ways to bring Ibn Khaldun into the mainstream through the systematic application of his theory. This event will be ideal for those interested in developing sociology beyond the western canon.

Bio: Dr Shamim Miah is Senior Lecturer University of Huddersfield and author of Ibn Khaldun: Education, History and Society

Pumpkins make their appearance every Halloween, swiftly disappearing for the next year, but scientists believe we are over-looking their health benefits. Researchers at WMS are keen to share the positive impact pumpkins can have on our health and wellbeing – which range from aiding weight loss, improving skin and even reducing risk of cancer.