Departmental news

The MSc in International Trade, Strategy, Operations (ITSO) course, at WMG, the University of Warwick, is collaborating with a series of key industrial partners to launch a new company-based dissertation for its students.

The new dissertation option was presented to students, at a special launch event, by WMG’s ITSO Course Director, Dr Di Li. At the event, Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy at WMG, Alok Choudhary spoke about the company-based dissertation projects with Supply Chain in Practice (SCiP) members. The students also heard from Assistant CEO at Rexville Solutions, Ms Shu Jia, on behalf of the industrial collaborative companies, who shared more details about current projects available this year.

The company-based projects are collaborative dissertations which allow students to work on real-life challenges facing industry. It provides another option for students when selecting their dissertation, and in turn helps to develop key skills and employment capabilities, whilst helping organisations to resolve their challenges via systematic research.

Ms Shu Jia, the CEO Assistant of Rexville Solutions, explains: “The company-based project is a great opportunity for our company to cooperate with WMG, and the talented students there, to employ the innovative methodologies for solving our practical problems. We are also very happy, and proud to provide opportunities and real data to the students to support their successes in academic studies and further careers.”

ITSO Master’s student Yawen Zheng comments: “I think the company-based project is a great opportunity for me as it enables me to engage in practical problem solutions in a real company, which must be a competitive experience when finding a job.”

ITSO student course representative, Danara Aldabergenova, says: “The launch event was very useful for postgraduates to clarify their dissertation projects. The company-based MSc project is an additional option for writing a dissertation, which differs from the conventional project. With the company-based MSc project, we will be able to understand the workflow and try ourselves in the real work area.”

Find out more about WMG’s International Trade, Strategy and Operations Master’s Programme here: MSc International Trade, Strategy and Operations | University of Warwick

If you represent a company who is interested in finding out more on company-based MSc projects, please email WMG’s Assistant Professor and ITSO Course Director, Dr Di Li, here: d.li@warwick.ac.uk.

Robin Clifton, a founding member of the History department, has recently passed away. Bernard Capp and Bill Dusinberre remember his time in the Department.

The Global Network On Sustainability In Space (GNOSIS) is a network funded by UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council, aiming to promote, coordinate, and develop collaboration across the academic, defence, industrial, and political sectors to understand and solve problems relating to the sustainable use of space.

From November 30 – December 1, the Centre for Space Domain AwarenessLink opens in a new window hosted the GNOSIS Annual Conference 2022, “Space Sustainability for the Next Decade (and Beyond)”, co-sponsored by CGI and Astroscale.

Read more about the conference, hear from the organising committee as well as sponsors and attendees.

Dr Rebecca Nealon and Dr Farzana Meru from our Astronomy and Astrophysics group have been working with our outreach officer, Ally Caldecote to develop a new coding program for students aged 7-11. The aim of the program is to improve coding literacy and to inspire children to consider coding (and more broadly STEM) in their future, as well as empower teachers and parents to support children in their coding journey.

As a Stephen Hawking Fellowship holder, Rebecca has an outreach component which started the development of the new program. The program which is being run as a pilot with a local school involves 6 lessons, each of which contains a bit of Physics, some 'unplugged' coding exercises and self-led coding exercises. Named 'Coding with Sophie', the children use coding to help Sophie the Astronaut solve a bunch of problems to collect her rocket parts, build and launch the rocket, avoid asteroids, find the aliens, draw smoke patterns and fall into the black hole.

The team are aiming to offer this programme within more local primary schools, and eventually to send out the resources for teachers to run in the classes themselves. Rebecca tells us, "A major part of this program is to encourage more children to pursue coding and to engage them with physics problems. In our pilot study we have found that students enjoy this balance and really like applying the physics they have learnt in a coding framework."

The six week pilot program has just finished with capacity for school visits building from March 2023.

For more information, please contact Dr Rebecca NealonLink opens in a new window or Dr Farzana MeruLink opens in a new window.

· Nine bursaries awarded through Lord Bhattacharyya Engineering Education Programme to increase number of engineers from underrepresented groups

· Awardees formally announced at a celebration event on Thursday 8 December at the University of Warwick.

- Nine bursaries awarded through the Lord Bhattacharyya Engineering Education Programme to increase the number of engineers from under represented groups.

Nine outstanding engineering students from the West Midlands have each been awarded a prestigious £15,000 bursary by the Royal Academy of Engineering to support their studies.

The bursaries, each worth £5000 a year for three years, have been awarded to students from underrepresented groups across the region who are progressing from A Levels or technical engineering qualifications to degree-level engineering courses in the 2022/23 academic year.

This year saw the highest number of applications submitted for the programme since its launch in March 2020. Following a competitive application process consisting of a written application and a panel interview, the nine awardees are:

· Aboulashif Riyaj Ahamed, studying aeronautical engineering at De Montfort University

· Casey Kuda Burke, studying civil engineering at the University of Salford

· Gurmandar Singh Loha, studying aerospace engineering at Coventry University

· Faith-Brian Mbahwum, studying mechanical engineering at Aston University

· Louie O’Sullivan, studying mechanical engineering at Birmingham City University

· Poya Sahak, studying aircraft maintenance engineering at Solihull College & University Centre

· Gopikrishna Santhuruban, studying aerospace engineering at Brunel University

· Dylendra Sooryamuyah, studying Meng Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bath

· Rahul Verma, studying electrical/electronic engineering at the University of Leeds

These substantial bursaries form part of the wider Lord Bhattacharyya Engineering Education Programme, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering in close partnership with WMG founded at the University of Warwick in 1980 by the late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya Kt CBE FREng FRS. The programme is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The awardees were announced at a celebration event for the Lord Bhattacharyya Engineering Education Programme on Thursday 8 December at the University of Warwick.

The programme provides a comprehensive support package to a network of secondary schools and FE colleges across the West Midlands, with the aim of upskilling teachers and inspiring young people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), before supporting their progression into further and higher education and into engineering careers. The event on 8 December will be the first time since the programme’s launch that schools and colleges participating in the programme have been able to meet together in person to showcase their achievements over the past two academic years. The new cohort of bursary students will be able to meet previous awardees, as well as share their success with former teachers and inspire newer students attending on the day. They will also have a valuable chance to meet representatives from locally based engineering companies that are supporting the programme and learn more about future employment opportunities.

Dr Rhys Morgan, Director of Engineering and Education at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “I am so impressed with these latest bursary winners. The engineering profession needs the creativity and innovation of a more diverse workforce and engineering businesses in the West Midlands know this as well as any in the UK. I am delighted that the Royal Academy of Engineering is helping to forge vital links between local companies and the talent they need now and in the future in order to thrive and to contribute to a vibrant regional economy and national prosperity.”

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, University of Warwick, said: “Engineering is such an exciting sector and very much in need of talented individuals. Now in its third year, the bursary scheme continues Professor Lord Bhattacharyya’s legacy in education, expanding the commitment to making engineering accessible for all. I would like to extend my congratulations to the winners of this year’s bursary and wish them well in their studies.”

Applications for the fourth round of Lord Bhattacharyya Higher Education Bursaries will open in March 2023, for students enrolling at university in September 2023.

Notes for editors

1. More information about the nine awardees can be found here.

2. The Lord Bhattacharyya HE Bursary Scheme helps students at sixth forms, colleges and academies across the West Midlands prepare for degree-level engineering education. The funding available provides students from low-income households or under-represented communities with a pathway to higher education and therefore encourages the pursuit of careers in the sector. The Scheme not only drives diversity and inclusion throughout the engineering sector, but also ensures that talented students are equipped with the resources needed to develop the latest engineering skills required to access degree-level programmes and ultimately thrive in a fast-paced sector with lots of opportunities.

3. WMG, University of Warwick, is a world leading research and education group, transforming organisations and driving innovation through a unique combination of collaborative research and development, and pioneering education programmes.
As an international role model for successful partnerships between academia and the private and public sectors, WMG develops advancements nationally and globally, in applied science, technology and engineering, to deliver real impact to economic growth, society and the environment.
WMG’s education programmes focus on lifelong learning of the brightest talent, from the WMG Academies for Young Engineers, degree apprenticeships, undergraduate and postgraduate, through to professional programmes.
An academic department of the University of Warwick, and a centre for the HVM Catapult, WMG was founded by the late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya in 1980 to help reinvigorate UK manufacturing and improve competitiveness through innovation and skills development.

A seasonal message from our Head of Department...

We are approaching the end of the first term for this academic year. With the festive season upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a relaxing break over the holiday period, spending time with family and friends (where possible).

We hope that 2023 will be a great year for all, bringing health, happiness and prosperity to you and your families.

A number of festive events are happening on campus, for details of activities please visit the University's Christmas at Warwick webpageLink opens in a new window.

Department Closure Dates

The department will be closed over the festive holiday from 5pm on Thursday 22nd December 2022 to Tuesday January 3rd 2023.

Best Wishes,

Professor Ben Lockwood

Head of Department - Economics

When a school decides to exclude a child, it can be a very challenging and uncertain time, not only for the child or young person, but also for their parents and carers.

To help support families through the process, Warwickshire County Council have been working in partnership with The University of Warwick, Bailey Wright and Co Solicitors and Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice to create a resource families can use to better understand the law and their rights.

New research co-authored by Dr Nikhil DattaLink opens in a new window of Warwick Economics, CAGE and the LSE hit the headlines last week with its key finding that leaving the European Union has added an average of £210 to Britain’s household food bills over the two years to the end of 2021 – a cost felt more deeply by lower-income households, which spend a greater share of their income on food than the better-off.

In total, the researchers estimate that Brexit has cost UK consumers £5.8 billion.

The study - Non-tariff barriers and consumer prices: Evidence from BrexitLink opens in a new window - published by the Centre for Economic PerformanceLink opens in a new window at the LSE, finds that food prices have increased by six per cent and calculates that for the poorest households, this results in a Brexit-induced rise in the overall cost of living of 1.1 per cent - 52 per cent more than the 0.7 per cent rise felt in the top 10 per cent of households.

The authors also explain the factors driving the price increases.

Although the 2021 Trade and Cooperation Agreement ensures that trade between the UK and the EU remains tariff-free, so called ‘non-tariff barriers” such as import and expert checks, rules of origin requirements and sanitary and phytosanitary measures for trade in animals and plants all add time and cost to imports and exports.

Between 50 per cent and 88 per cent of these costs have been passed on to consumers.

Commenting on the analysis, Dr Nikhil Datta Link opens in a new windowsaid: “The policy implications are stark: non-tariff barriers are an important impediment to trade that should be a first-order concern, at least on par with tariffs, for policymakers interested in low consumer prices.

“We calculate that Brexit caused a loss of £210 for the average household, or £5.84 billion overall, when looking at its impact on the food market alone. Since poorer households spend a larger fraction of their income on food, they are hit harder.”

Read the full discussion paper here:

Non-tariff barriers and consumer prices: Evidence from BrexitLink opens in a new window.

Read the coverage:-

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/01/brexit-added-nearly-6bn-to-uk-food-bills-in-two-years-research-finds

https://www.independent.co.uk/business/brexit-checks-added-ps210-to-household-food-bills-research-finds-b2236594.html

The GibsonGroup have a large interest in mimicking the function of ice binding proteins (IBPs) using polymers, which have huge biotechnological, biomedical and industrial potential. The team have previously made progress in mimicking ‘antifreeze’ proteins, but the search for a polymer which can nucleate ice has been elusive. Ice nucleating proteins (INPs) are very large, and truncated versions are far less active, and the native proteins are immobilised in membranes making their study challenging. In this latest work, the team report (what they believe) is the first polymeric ice nucleator. To achieve this they took an ice binding polymer and used synthetic polymer chemistry to make a ‘brush shaped’ polymer to introduce rigidity and very high molecular weight (100’s of kDAs). This new tool is the first synthetically accessible ‘organic’ probe for ice nucleation.
Read the paper hereLink opens in a new window.

Congratulations to our final year PhD student, Thomas Killestein who is an author on a paper titled 'The Birth of a Relativistic Jet Following the Disruption of a Star by a Cosmological Black HoleLink opens in a new window' which has been published in Nature Astronomy.

Thomas tells us "The object itself is a black hole feeding on a star, and at peak was around 20 trillion times more luminous than that of our Sun, in an extreme example of astrophysics. the black hole is shredding a star similar to our own Sun, which forms a disc of material around the black hole, before ejecting material in jets at almost the speed of light, in one of the most energetic events ever seen."

The research has been undertaken by a global team, who conducted analysis of this newly discovered object across the electromagnetic spectrum. Thomas' focus was helping with ground-based infrared observations, remotely observing from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) New Technology Telescope (NTT) as part of the ePESSTO+ collaboration.

"While there are many theories as to what powers these energetic events, the vast energies of the jets seen in this system don't fit neatly into our understanding of the phenomena, so the puzzle continues. It's been amazing to be part of the research into this example of extreme astrophysics."