WMG launches £25,000 scheme to boost skills
WMG at the University of Warwick has launched a new initiative to allow 25 West Midlands firms to take on a skilled intern to help them develop new products or services.
The Project Associate scheme is part of WMG’s Innovation Programme run by the new International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI).
IIPSI’s intention is to give West Midlands SMEs access world-leading technology to develop innovative products and services.
The Project Associate scheme will offer 25 SMEs in the region £1,000 each towards the cost of taking on a new person to work on a dedicated project during this summer.
It is aimed at SMEs that are already considering taking on new people or have a particular innovation requirement to take forward.
Dr Mark Swift, head of SME programmes at WMG, said: “Many of the companies we are working with in the West Midlands are eager to progress with new product and service ideas, however haven’t necessarily got the time nor the specialist new skills to move forward.
“We have developed a fund to support businesses to get access to talented individuals who can help them deliver specific product and service development projects.”
A number of SMEs have already benefitted from new resources through the WMG scheme in a diverse range of projects such as mobile app development and telematic systems.
One company, Caption Data Limited (CDL) based in Worcester, took on PhD graduate Dr Sook-Voon Yap to undertake research into humidity sensors over an eight-week project.
Dr Yap already had a PhD related to sensor technology so was able to test the entire range of CDL’s humidity sensors, including some new products yet to be released, over a range of criteria in the WMG environmental chamber.
This provided CDL with a database to validate new sensor products and to assess performance of their sensors in relation to other industry-standard devices.
Another firm, Simpact, a Warwickshire consultancy specialising in computer-aided design and engineering, worked with WMG to access a full-time project associate to develop a testing methodology for sustainable materials, especially composites.
