The UK Government underscored its commitment to world leading manufacturing in the UK with the announcement of the first Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC).
This announcement is a key part of the Government’s Growth Review, targeting the expansion of Britain’s manufacturing sector and positioning the UK as Europe’s leading exporter of high value goods. The Centre will be funded from a £200 million pool announced last year for a national network of six to eight Technology Innovation Centres.
The High Value Manufacturing TIC will be formed from a group of research and technology facilities from across the country. It will provide an integrated capability and embrace all forms of manufacture using metals and composites, in addition to process manufacturing technologies and bio-processing. It will draw on excellent university research to accelerate the commercialisation of new and emerging manufacturing technologies.
Partners in the High Value Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre are the WMG (University of Warwick), Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Rotherham), Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Rotherham), Manufacturing Technology Centre (Coventry), Advanced Forming Research Centre (University of Strathclyde), National Composite Centre (University of Bristol) and the Centre for Process Innovation (Wilton & Sedgefield) .
This is the first of an elite network of Technology and Innovation Centres that will be established by the Technology Strategy Board, with over £200m of Government investment overall. Other centres will be founded and announced in due course, each in technology areas of high growth potential.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“Manufacturing is vital to the country’s economic stability and our potential to achieve growth. It generates £140 billion a year, accounting for 55 per cent of total UK exports – but it has considerably greater potential. The investment in the new centre will further bridge the gap between universities and businesses, helping to commercialise the outputs of Britain's world-class research base.”
The Government also announced additional support for manufacturing ...
- An extra £7million for the Manufacturing Advisory Service to specifically focus on supply chain development - an addition to the £50m, already announced for the delivery of MAS over the next three years. The reformed MAS will be available from 1 January 2012, three months earlier than originally planned, and will build on the current expert support to aid manufacturing growth by enabling increased productivity and innovation.
- Nine new university-based Centres for Innovative Manufacturing are to be established with Government funding of £45 million through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). These will combine inventive research and business acumen to develop the sorts of innovative ideas taken forward to commercialisation through Technology and Innovation Centres.
- New Fellowships offering up to 5 years of support for researchers who have the potential to be future manufacturing research leaders in their field. The Fellowships will support academics who have recently moved from industry, or people in industry, involved in innovation, looking to move into academia.
The Technology Strategy Board was given responsibility for establishing and overseeing the network of centres and was asked to ‘fast-track’ a centre for High Value Manufacturing. Further announcements about technology and innovation centres are likely to be made in the coming weeks, with plans for the remaining centres announced progressively later in the year.
To view the full article, please click here
