WMG presented with Royal Warrant for its research work
WARWICK Manufacturing Group has received a Royal Warrant signed by the Queen, officially conferring her recognition on the body.
The Royal Warrant confers the title of the Regius Professor of Manufacturing (Engineering).
Minister for the Constitution, Chris Skidmore, presented WMG, at the University of Warwick, with the warrant.
The title of Regius Professorship is a rare and prestigious award given by the Queen to recognise exceptionally high quality research at an institution.
The University of Warwick was one of 12 universities honoured to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday commemorations. Previous to this, only 14 had been granted since the reign of Queen Victoria. It is believed that the first Regius Professorship was conferred to Aberdeen University in 1497 by King James IV.
After presenting the warrant, the Minister was given a tour of the world-class facilities which have helped WMG secure the prestigious title.
He also met Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, chairman of WMG and the department to which the Regius Professorship has been awarded, to hear more about their collaborative research and development, and education programmes.
Mr Skidmore said: “The UK has some of the best universities in the world and I feel very privileged to be able to recognise them with such a prestigious award. The manufacturing research at the University of Warwick is an exemplar and means that our country can remain innovative and agile in the global market for generations to come.”
Lord Bhattacharyya said: “Having founded WMG in 1980 to invigorate UK manufacturing, it is a wonderful honour to be bestowed upon the group. This is recognition to every member of staff, over the last 35 years, who has contributed to our success.”
In the past, Regius Professorships were created when a university chair was founded or endowed by a Royal patron. Previously, they were limited to a handful of the ancient universities of the UK, namely Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Trinity College, Dublin.
Announced in the government’s Productivity Plan in July, the new Regius Professorships celebrate the increasingly important role of academic research in driving growth and improving productivity over the past 90 years.
