A new college launched to train the next generation of vehicle designers and engineers has celebrated its first anniversary.
The Mira Technology Institute (MTI) was created to bridge the gap between business and academia and help the 海角视频 stamp its place at the centre of the global automotive industry.
It opened last year at Horiba MIRA, the vast motor research facility on the Leicestershire/Warwickshire border which is a base for manufacturers to develop everything from driverless cars to low emission engines and super-efficient speaker systems.
The institute is led by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, in partnership with Horiba MIRA, Coventry University, the University of Leicester and Loughborough University.
It was built with £9.5 million of investment from the 海角视频 Government’s Growth Fund via the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).
In its first year it has welcomed more than 5,500 students and delegates, including more than 360 studying for accredited qualifications from Level 1 Institute of the Motor Industry certificates up to Masters’ degrees.
It has also worked with almost 200 following apprenticeships, while more than 3,000 automotive professionals have taken part in professional development activities.
Next year it will launch a degree level engineering apprenticeship.
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Marion Plant OBE is chair of the MTI operations board, and principal and chief executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College.
She recently relieved a LeicestershireLive Women in Business Lifetime Achievement Award.
She said: “We’re delighted to mark such a successful first year for the MTI and pleased that we are already delivering a sustainable supply of future specialist technicians and engineers.
“Our ambition is to be a global centre of excellence and we made some progress towards achieving that when, in June this year, we welcomed the chairman and group CEO of the HORIBA Group, Atsushi Horiba, to the MTI for HORIBA’s global strategy meeting.
“We are grateful to our partners in industry and higher education for enabling us to work together to address the issues of an ageing workforce in the context of a more rapid innovation cycle in the automotive sector than any we have seen before.
“I would like to thank the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership for its support in helping us to secure the local growth fund investment that has enabled us to deliver this fantastic facility.”
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Guests at an anniversary celebration event were treated to demonstrations of the latest technology, including autonomous vehicle software from the University of Leicester, and a chance to witness the type of robotic role-play being used to combat cyber security threats being developed at Horiba MIRA.
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They were also able to see 3D printing from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, vehicle test laboratory cars from Loughborough University and a student racing car built at Coventry University.
Guest speaker Professor Joe McGeough, who is president of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, said 21st century automotive solutions will one day take their place in history alongside the invention of radar in the 20th century and Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ in the 19th.
Unveiling a commemorative plaque, Prof McGeough spoke about the importance of industry and education working together, and how historical collaborations had harnessed the power of steam in transportation for the first time and brought the detection of night bombing raids during the Second World War.
He said: “The 海角视频 has grown and developed as a result of highly-developed skills in science, technology, engineering and maths.
“I am convinced that the same disciplines will, when nurtured by organisations like the MIRA Technology Institute, overcome the challenges now facing the automotive industry with the development of autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicle technology, and the challenges brought by electrification, cyber security and emissions.”
Also speaking at the celebration event was Declan Allen, managing director of Horiba MIRA.
He said: “Ever since the inception of the Motor Industry Research Association in 1946 we have understood the importance of nurturing skills to solve some of the most pressing problems of the modern age.
“Horiba MIRA has been working in close collaboration with North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College for several years and the development of the MTI seemed a natural next step on our journey to foster the skills of future engineers.”