Departmental news

An entrepreneur whose Eureka moment came at last year’s wet and windy Grand National has reinvented the umbrella with the help of WMG at the University of Warwick.

The Rainshader protects people from the elements while watching major sporting events - crucially it doesn’t blow inside out, poke passers-by in the eye or drip on neighbours’ shoulders in crowds.

Its cut-away front, based on the design of a motor cycle helmet, lets people see the action while allowing the umbrella to sit low over the head so it doesn’t block the view of those behind.

It is specifically designed for major sporting events and other big televised gatherings, and is fully customisable in order to offer firms a significant branding opportunity.

WMG at the University of Warwick has launched a new initiative to allow 25 West Midlands firms to take on a skilled intern to help them develop new products or services.

The Project Associate scheme is part of WMG’s Innovation Programme run by the new International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI).

IIPSI’s core mission is to give West Midlands SMEs access world-leading technology to develop innovative products and services.

WMG took part in the EEF National Manufacturing Conference 2013 in London on the 5th March 2013.

The conference, which featured addresses and debates from an impressive line-up of politicians and manufacturing leaders, focused on the topic of 'The Route to Growth' and looked at the challenges faced by UK manufacturing both today and in the future.

Representatives were available across the full range of WMG's activities, including for our involvement in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, our work with SMEs at the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation and our Professional and Executive Education Programmes.

Included in the line-up of speakers were Rt. Hon. Ed Balls (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer), Rt Hon the Lord Heseltine, Jim O'Neill (Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Mgmt), Mark Adams (VP, Corporate Planning at Toyota Motors Europe) and Deirdre Fox (Director of Strategic Business Development at Tata Steel). The event was chaired by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, presenter of Channel 4 News.

Updates of the event can be viewed on Twitter #ukmfgconf

More information is available on: http://www.manufacturingconference.co.uk/ 

The SME team from WMG, at the University of Warwick, have been working with Birmingham-based Barkley Plastics for the past year in a collaboration which has led to increased turnover for Barkley Plastics of over half a million pounds and the creation of three new jobs.

The WMG team are based in The International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI), a building funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and University of Warwick that is dedicated for the use of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the West Midlands region. Their in house Innovation Programme aims to encourage SMEs in understanding how new technology, processes and ideas can be implemented to develop new products and services to benefit their business. Companies can access three areas of support: Experience Led Innovation, Polymer Innovation and Digital Innovation.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, today, told West Midlands SMES that developing an international product will assist in their export efforts. He joined a panel of well-known business specialists at an IoD breakfast event held at the University of Warwick.

The event, hosted by the IoD in association with the Guardian Small Business Network and Lloyds TSB Commercial, focussed on how the regions SMEs can access new markets and expand beyond the local region.

Researchers from WMG at the University of Warwick have helped Walsall Museum by creating a 21^st century clone of a centuries old Demon head just in time for Halloween.

Nicknamed Derek the Demon, the head is one of “The Bayard’s Colts” a curious surviving relic from Walsall’s past. He is one of seventeen clubs, which were carried behind the Mayor in ceremonial processions. They are at least 300 years old, and probably much older, but their exact age, their origins and even their name are shrouded in mystery.

A new innovation support programme aimed at helping small business growth has been launched by the SME team at WMG, University of Warwick. They have recently been awarded ERDF funding to offer two free days of innovation support to West Midlands SMEs, through a new Innovation Programme, which is designed to help SMEs transform existing products and services and launch new products and services that are market leading and able to adapt to changing market needs.

A group of schoolchildren from Coventry’s Westwood Academy have become the first members of the public to see a specially commissioned 3D Virtual Reality model of Warwickshire’s Lunt Fort.

They were invited to WMG to see how the fort would have looked during the height of use by Roman soldiers between 60 and 80AD.

Businesses to benefit from advanced digital, materials and user focussed design expertise

Over 70 SMEs from across the West Midlands attended WMG’s International Digital Lab, last week, to find out about WMG’s latest SME focussed centre – The International Institute for Product and Service Innovation. The event showcased the broad range of product and service technology and expertise that will feature in the new building when it opens in September 2012. The event was opened by Dr Mark Swift, Head of SME Programmes at WMG and featured a key note address from Professor Tim Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor for Knowledge Transfer, Business Engagement and Research at the University of Warwick. Three West Midlands based SME directors also talked about their experiences of working with the WMG SME team, including Maurice Cassidy of Barkley Plastics Ltd, Tom Parnell, of SigLead Europe Ltd and Geoff Henderson of Digital Native Academy Ltd.

WMG is looking to make a number of key academic appointments across its full range of research activities in Digital Technologies, Materials and Manufacturing and Operations and Business Management, in order to enhance and expand its capabilities in these developing areas.

The new posts cover a range of research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities, working with partners in diverse business sectors such as automotive, aerospace and defence, digital, healthcare, finance, energy and pharmaceuticals.

The Group are currently looking for world class individuals who want to make a real impact in their field. The following roles are available:

• Jaguar Land Rover Chair in Simulation of Complex Hybrid and Electric Powertrain Systems 
• Royal Academy of Engineering / TATA Steel Research Chair in Low Carbon Materials Technologies
• Professor of Innovative Manufacturing
• Professor of Cyber Security
• Associate Professor in Service Systems
• Associate / Assistant Professor in Tropical Diagnostics (in collaboration with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine)

Other key academic positions in Cyber Security, Digital Product Lifecycle Management, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles and Nanocomposites will also be announced shortly.