Departmental news

Ollie Monye, who is currently studying on our 3-year LLB degree, represented Team GB 7s in Hamburg, Germany for Leg 2 of Rugby Europe 2023. They placed 4th in the competition playing against Belgium, Lithuania, France, Germany and Ireland.

Pablo Brereton Rodrigo, a School of Engineering student at the University of Warwick, has won the Logistics Research Network Undergraduate Dissertation of the Year Award 2023, from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).

Pablo has recently completed his degree in Engineering Business Management. This undergraduate degree, although part of the School of Engineering, is led by the education team at WMG, University of Warwick.

Pablo’s dissertation entitled “Integrating supply chains in a turbulent, complex and uncertain era” was nominated by Professor Rob Thornton, Director of Undergraduate Programmes, at WMG. Pablo will be presented with his certificate and prize money at the Logistics Research Network Conference (LRN 2023) dinner and awards ceremony on the 7th September 2023 at Herriot-Watt University.

Professor Thornton explained: “Pablo’s dissertation was nominated for this award, for both academic excellence and the challenging topics addressed, which are highly relevant to today’s turbulent supply chains.”

Pablo said: “In discussing topics such as supply chain integration, I explored the challenging and turbulent landscape in today’s business environment and applied it to modern-day supply chains to reach the conclusion that forward-looking firms will leverage supply chain integration through self-contained, cross-functional and digitalised many-to-many structures.

“Directly applying skills learned during my placement year in supply chains, this project has further developed my personal growth and competencies relevant to the field. As such, I am immensely grateful to my university tutor, Alexa Kirkaldy, and all my friends and family for the continued support throughout the project.”

Pablo’s research was supervised by Alexa Kirkaldy, Associate Professor and Director of Academic Integrity at WMG who said: “Pablo defined his project idea and objectives after a year in industry and was excited to delve into the topic of supply chain integration, reaching depth and breadth usually expected at Master’s level. In addition Pablo was a delight to supervise and I wish him well in his career within the semiconductor industry.”

Professor Georgia Kremmyda, Head of Teaching and Deputy Head of School of Engineering said: “On behalf of the School of Engineering and the Education team, I would like to warmly congratulate you for your amazing achievement. The award strongly highlights your effort, commitment and dedication to your studies. You should take time to celebrate what you have accomplished.”

Professor David Towers, Head of School at the School of Engineering added: “This is quite an achievement and definitely something to capture on your CV!”

To find out more please visit: WMG - The University of Warwick

We are delighted to announce that one of our recent graduates has been awarded The University’s Outstanding Student Contribution Award (OSCA) for 2023.

Congratulations to all Physics students graduating on Wednesday 26 July. Whatever next chapter awaits you, be sure to keep in touch with Warwick and our ever-growing community of alumni.

Read our latest Annual Report 2022/23

Researchers from the Systems and Security theme, Department of Computer Science have created a new spin-out company, SEEV Technologies Ltd, to build end-to-end (E2E) verifiable e-voting systems for future elections. An E2E verifiable voting system allows every voter to verify that their vote is properly cast-as-intended, recorded-as-cast and tallied-as-recorded while preserving the voter's privacy. SEEV (self-enforcing e-voting) is a new paradigm of E2E voting technology that enables voters to fully verify the tallying integrity of an election without needing any trustworthy tallying authority, hence the system is "self-enforcing".

This joint spin-out from the University of Warwick and Newcastle University is built on an ERC-funded starting grant ("Self-Enforcing E-Voting System: Trustworthy Election in Presence of Corrupt Authorities", No. 306994, PI: Professor Feng Hao) initially hosted at Newcastle University and later transferred to the University of Warwick. The company is co-founded by Professor Feng Hao and Dr Siamak Shandahshti (co-inventors), and led by Dr Stewart Hefferman (CEO). SEEV has been prototyped and successfully tested in several trials in the past, supported by an ERC Proof of Concept grant (No. 677124), a Royal Society International collaboration award (CA\R1\180226), and an Innovate UK Cybersecurity Academic Startup Accelerator Programme (CASAP). SEEV Technologies Ltd has received seed funding from Oxford-based Global Initiative to build SEEV systems for real-world elections.

A University of Warwick press release is here.

The Global Network on Sustainability in Space, GNOSIS, founded by and based at Warwick, supports the global scientific community to apply their knowledge to achieving sustainability in space. In the four years since the launch of GNOSIS it has grown to be a diverse global network of over 650 members from academia, the space sector and government, who work together to address the impact of debris and space weather on the rapidly growing spacecraft population.

Space sustainability leaders from across the globe, including the Chair of GNOSIS Katherine Courtney, were gathered in London on 28^th June for a series of events hosted by the UK government and King Charles III.

Read more.

Edgaras Purauskas, Technician in the Department of Computer Science received the Warwick Technician Commitment Award for Outstanding Achievement. Edgaras was one of two recipients of these inaugural awards, which received over 40 nominations campus wide. Edgaras had a number of nominations for his "consistently exceptional work" and his "deep understanding of computer systems, software, and hardware". Many congratulations Edgaras and thank you for your extraordinary efforts!

The University of Warwick's commitment to widening participation and fostering inclusivity took centre stage during a week-long programme aimed at inspiring 30 students from local schools to pursue careers in engineering. The initiative was organised by WMG at the University of Warwick and the University's Widening Participation Team which wanted to support under-represented students that might lack confidence or support when they consider a future in engineering.

Throughout the programme, participants gained valuable insights into various engineering pathways and learnt more about research and careers at WMG alongside partners like Tata Motors. WMG research and teaching staff mentored the students, providing them with a taste of what studying engineering involves through an engineering project.

Laboratory and workshop tours, facilitated by WMG apprentices and Tata Motors, gave participants firsthand exposure to the dynamic environment of an engineering workplace. The event culminated in a showcase where the students presented their projects, highlighting both their engineering skills and the knowledge they gained during the week.

The project was also supported by student ambassadors from across the University; Drishti, David, Ana, Brij, Sheerah, Diya, Michelle, Gabe and Chinmay, giving the young visitors to our campus an experience of what studying in Higher Education is like. The Widening Participation team also gave a session providing information, advice and guidance on how they might enter university study. Throughout the week, young people therefore had experiences and interactions all the way from undergraduate level through the University hierarchy to the Dean of WMG.

One participating student said: "Visiting the National Automotive Innovation Centre with Tata Motors has opened my eyes to what engineering is really like, and I would like to learn more about degree apprenticeships with the University of Warwick.”

Another said: "I would describe this programme to a friend as an unmissable and eventful opportunity which I would heavily recommend as it has boosted my skills and given me a greater insight into careers, apprenticeships and university as a whole which has inspired me to want to go to university.”

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG said: “There is a clear pathway from this point to being professional engineers. There may be many routes – whether through an apprenticeship or through a taught degree programme – but the skills and experience needed for all those routes are the same: perseverance, determination, initiative, and curiosity. Having a product on display at this showcase also demonstrates plainly those qualities in the people who have made them.”

Dr Phil Jemmett, Widening Participation Coordinator at WMG said: "This work experience model has been in our minds since 2019 and this is the first time we've been able to run it at full scale. Students have been working with our engineers on group projects all week and have gone on a journey through engineering and rapidly prototyping equipment.

“Each challenge links to WMG research and to challenges in the real world that could help make our planet's future more sustainable. With the skills we have seen in these students this week I have no doubt that our STEM industry is in safe hands in the future. They have been amazing."

The University of Warwick's initiative reflects its dedication to providing equal opportunities in engineering education. By empowering less privileged local students and challenging misconceptions about the field, they are nurturing a diverse talent pool that will shape the future of engineering.

Find out more about WMG's Outreach programme here

Ends

Notes to editors

For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact:

Bron Mills, Bron.mills@warwick.ac.uk, +447824 540 720

Tom Orton, Research Development Engineer in the Department of Physics received the Warwick Technician Commitment Award for Outstanding Achievement. Tom was one of two recipients of these inaugural awards, which received over 40 nominations campus wide. Tom had a number of nominations for his “exceptional ability as an outstanding technician” and his job “providing a sustainable, environmentally friendly and financially valuable resource” through the liquid helium recovery system. Many congratulations Tom and thank you for your extraordinary efforts!

The Warwick Technician Commitment Award for Outstanding Achievement celebrates the fantastic work our technical staff do across research, teaching and within our infrastructure, without which Warwick would not operate. Any member of staff or student to nominate a technical member of staff for achievements big or small, or to celebrate work that is unsung but still immensely important. Nominations are always open, with quarterly panels and award presentations.

Find out more about the Warwick Technician Commitment Award for Outstanding Achievement.