University of Huddersfield and TWI launch strategic R&D partnership
A mutual aspiration to generate engineering and artificial intelligence-driven solutions that deliver real-world, industrial impact has led to the formation of two new Innovation Centres by first-time partners the University of Huddersfield and TWI Ltd - the Precision Engineering Innovation Centre and the Applied Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre.
Professors Tim Thornton, Parik Goswami, Simon Parkinson and Andrew Longstaff, representatives from the University of Huddersfield, and Warren Bath, James Kern and Chris Milligan from TWI Limited marked the establishment of the two Innovation Centres with a contract signing ceremony on 16 December at the University’s campus.
The University of Huddersfield has a long-standing reputation for producing high quality, international research output with excellent impact, recognising the importance of looking beyond academia to address global challenges and make a real difference. With around 20,000 students, the University achieved Gold rating in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in 2023. Its staff ranked in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees and hold teaching qualifications in 2022. Its apprenticeship provision has also been graded by Ofsted as Outstanding.
TWI is a global research and technology organisation with a demonstrable track record of engineering innovation going back some 75+ years, backed by world leading expertise and service delivery in fields including welding and joining, manufacturing, advanced coatings and materials, asset integrity management and advanced non-destructive testing (NDT). It also works to foster collaborative research and development (R&D) by supporting consortia of likeminded SMEs, larger companies and TWI Industrial Members, universities and other RTOs to identify and apply for suitable grant funding to enable new technology projects.
The purpose of the new Innovation Centres is to create research and technology capability, and develop technical-future research strategy, in their respective areas of interest. Each Centre’s research plan will be supported by the securing of grant funding from public sources such as Horizon Europe and UK Research & Innovation. This will enable them to generate a portfolio of collaborative projects aligned with their research areas, providing long term sustainability as well as access to new skills.
James Kern (TWI Research & Innovation Operations Section Manager), Prof Andrew Longstaff, Prof Parik Goswami (Director of RIKE), Warren Bath (TWI – Associate Director), Prof Tim Thornton, Chris Milligan (TWI - Research & Innovation Operations Section Manager), Prof Simon ParkinsonTwo new innovation centres
The Precision Engineering Innovation Centre will focus on machine tool technologies, the design and control of manufacturing machines, dimensional metrology (the calibration and use of measuring equipment to quantify the physical size and shape of objects) and surface metrology (the examination and measurement of the topography of a surface at different length scales and spatial frequencies), and precision manufacturing at different scales.
The Applied Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre will target the development of new technologies in relation to autonomous systems, planning and decision making, machine learning (ML), visualisation and the application of artificial intelligence (AI).
Professor Parik Goswami, Director of Research, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Huddersfield said, “It is truly inspiring to witness how these two centres merge the expertise from the University and TWI to create practical solutions and make a significant impact. These centres will serve as hubs where fundamental and applied research converge, offering stakeholders a competitive advantage in precision engineering and applied AI. This blend of unique expertise and perspectives will foster innovation and facilitate knowledge transfer.”
Speaking on behalf of TWI about the new partnership, Chris Milligan, Section Manager, Research & Innovation Operations, said, “We are excited for the joint research and development (R&D) opportunities that lie ahead in the fields of precision engineering and applied AI, through the formation of these new Innovation Centres with the University of Huddersfield. As well as delivering solutions with positive impact for industry and society, their activities will also contribute to the provision of new capabilities and insights for TWI Industrial Members.”