EDT MATTER - Manufacturing Advances Through Training Engineering Researchers

过去十年，英国制造业投资不足，使这一重要经济支柱暴露在外。经合组织的统计数据在将英国与自新千年开始以来各行业都有所增长的竞争对手进行比较时鲜明地表明了这一点-英国拥有-低技术公司比例最大-制造业雇员比例最低-作为GDP函数的研发支出最低-与生产力相比，工资成本最高。最近的经济危机凸显了英国对金融服务业的过度依赖。法国和德国等拥有更大规模和不断增长的制造业基地的国家，都比英国更快地从全球衰退中走出来。在支持制造业的这一差距已被EPSRC谁作出规定，以刺激新的IMRC和博士学位培训中心，可以通过与大学的科学基地密切合作，支持英国制造业的认可。物质是斯旺西专门针对高科技先进制造业的一项新举措，并利用了斯旺西大学博士学位中心的大量经验。物质将在斯旺西工程学院提供的跨所有三个研究中心-计算，材料和纳米技术的多学科研究环境中运行。它将由一个经验丰富的研究人员小组领导，他们代表各中心的广泛专门知识。自1992年成立以来，斯旺西一直是EngD概念的先驱。屡获殊荣的研究和培训合作伙伴关系继续与两个高度集中的博士培训合作伙伴关系，为钢铁行业在威尔士和结构金属系统的燃气轮机。斯旺西也是ERDF资助项目ASTUTE的牵头组织，以支持威尔士的先进可持续制造技术，并开展博士后研究和从学术界到工业界的广泛知识转移活动。制造业在HEFCW资助的项目中也有很大的特色，该项目旨在建立由斯旺西大学领导的威尔士航空航天研究组织ArROW。后者是为了建立研究能力，但它缺乏资金的博士生的关键因素，更广泛地从事工业。在分析技术路线图文件从包装和航空航天工业，以及提供给制造业的支持组合，斯旺西大学已经确定了关键的差距和机会，与供应链在包装，汽车和航空航天，特别是现有资金覆盖的欧盟融合领域以外的领域。在这些技术集群中，有关键的交叉主题、精益原则、可持续性和附加值。支持方面的差距将通过建立一个先进的制造中心来填补，该中心将培训至少26名工程博士研究工程师，为已经到位的培训计划增值，为威尔士融合地区服务。MATTER将专注于提高产品和流程的知识价值，以通过创新增加价值，减少英国大部分行业的商品元素。关注的一个关键领域为物质将改善流程，以尽量减少浪费和提高质量。在斯旺西大学现有的基础设施将支持物质最大限度地提高学生的数量可以接受培训。斯旺西将贡献56%的费用沿着提供培训费用和行政支持从他们广泛的基础设施建设围绕几个大规模的项目，如带，ASTUTE和箭。工业界还将在实物支助和现金方面作出相当大的额外贡献。从行业和斯旺西大学的物质的综合贡献将提供约2从EPSRC要求每1。

Underinvestment in Manufacturing in the UK over the past decade has left this vital pillar of the economy exposed. OECD statistics show this starkly when comparing the UK to competitors whose sectors have grown since the start of the new millennium - the UK has- The largest proportion of low technology companies - The lowest proportion of employees in manufacturing- The lowest R & D spend as a function of GDP- The highest wage costs when compared to productivity.The recent economic crisis has highlighted the UK's over dependence on the financial services sector. Countries such as France and Germany with larger and growing manufacturing bases both emerged from the global recession more rapidly than the UK. This gap in support for the manufacturing sector has been recognised by EPSRC who made provisions to stimulate new IMRCs and doctorate training centres which can support UK manufacturing through close collaboration with the science base at universities.MATTER is a new initiative at Swansea specifically targeted at high technology advanced manufacturing and exploits the considerable experience of running industry facing doctorate centres at Swansea University. MATTER will be run in the multidisciplinary research environment provided in the School of Engineering at Swansea spanning all three research centres - computational, materials and nanotechnology. It will be led by a team of highly experienced researchers representing a wide range of expertise across the centres. Swansea has been a pioneer of the EngD concept since its inception in 1992. The award winning research and training partnerships continue with two highly focused doctoral training partnerships for the steel industry in Wales and for structural metallic systems for gas turbines. Swansea is also the lead organisation on the ERDF funded project ASTUTE to support Advanced Sustainable Manufacturing Technologies in Wales with postdoctoral research and extensive knowledge transfer activities from academia to industry. Manufacturing also strongly features in the HEFCW funded project to establish ArROW, an Aerospace Research Organisation Wales, which is led by Swansea University. The latter is to build research capacity, but it lacks funds for the critical element of doctoral students to more extensively engage with industry.In analysing technical roadmapping documents from the packaging and the aerospace industries, and the portfolio of support offered to manufacturing industries, Swansea University has identified key gaps and opportunities to work with the supply chains in Packaging, Automotive and Aerospace specifically outside of the EU convergence areas covered by existing funding. Within these technology clusters are key cross cutting themes, lean principles, sustainability, and value added. The gap in support will be filled through the generation of an advanced manufacturing centre that will train a minimum of 26 engineering doctorate research engineers, adding value to the training schemes already in place to service the Welsh convergence regions. MATTER will concentrate on increasing the intellectual value of the products and processes in order to add value through innovation, decreasing the commodity element of much of the UK sector. A key area of focus for MATTER will be improving processes to minimise waste and to improve quality.The existing infrastructure at Swansea University will underpin MATTER maximising the number of students that can be trained. Swansea will contribute 56% of the fees along with the provision of training costs and administration support from within their extensive infrastructure build up around several large scale projects, such as STRIP, ASTUTE and ArROW. Industry will also make a considerable additional contribution both in terms of in kind support and cash. The combined contribution from industry and Swansea University to MATTER will provide approximately 2 for every 1 requested from EPSRC.