Global technology and industrial manufacturing company Siemens has announced a new Industry 4.0. academic teaching programme in partnership with UK universities.
Called Connected Curriculum, the aim is to bring advanced industrial tools, data and approaches into the universities’ respective apprenticeship, undergraduate and masters courses.
The program follows accelerated interest by Siemens in UK additive manufacturing. Last year, the company established a £27 million 3D printing facility in Worcester, UK, which was followed participation in opening a £24 million research facility at the University of Nottingham (UoN), built to accelerate advanced manufacturing technologies.
The MindSphere Innovation Network
At the core of Connected Curriculum is Siemens industrial software portfolio and cloud-based Internet of things (IoT) platform, the MindSphere Innovation Network (MINe) which it launched 18 months ago. MindSphere is a secure operating system which connects industrial machines and devices via IoT protocols. It allows data from multiple sources to be captured and analysed simultaneously, creating a real-time picture of the whole production process via a single interface.
Since its inception, the programme has engaged with over 50 businesses on more than 20 projects and identified a need to build the digital skills base across companies and education.
Brian Holliday, Siemens Digital Industries Managing Director, said: “Collaboration is central to delivering successful, robust and secure industrial IoT projects. Universities can be key partners in this process, often having expertise industry doesn’t such as data science, visualisation and insights into human behaviour including how people engage with technology.”
Adding, “This is why Siemens developed the MindSphere Innovation Network in partnership with several universities two years ago, which in turn has informed the Connected Curriculum we have announced this week.”
Advancing Industry 4.0 in UK higher education
The program has already secured participation from leading institutions including The University of Sheffield, Liverpool John Moores, Middlesex University, Newcastle University and Manchester Metropolitan University, along with automation technology and technical training supplier Festo.
Manchester Metropolitan will be focusing on delivery to postgraduate students, embedding the programme in six of its new Industry 4.0 masters degree courses, which will launch this September.
Commenting on Manchester’s new masters courses, Professor Andy Gibson, of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University said, “Manchester Metropolitan is focused on bridging the Industry 4.0 skills gap by equipping students with the skills for the new digital economy,”
“We are delighted to be collaborating with Siemens on the Connected Curriculum as our students and academic colleagues will benefit immensely from working with such a pioneering and transformational technology company. Our partnership will ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of the digital revolution and continue to lead the way in innovation in postgraduate education.”
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Featured image shows the MindSphere Innovation Network in action. Photo via Siemens.
