£1.2m to university-led partnership to grow the region’s battery manufacturing and innovation workforce
University College Birmingham will lead the way in a regional partnership delivering a new project aimed at re-skilling, upskilling and growing new skills in battery manufacturing and innovation.
Following a successful bid for over £1.2m in funding from the Innovate UK Faraday Battery Challenge, the Digital Enhanced Battery Ubiquitous Training-West Midlands (DEBUT-WM) project brings together regional experts from universities, local government and industry to deliver the pioneering level 2 and level 3 training programme.
University College Birmingham, WMG at the University of Warwick, Cranfield University and RAVMAC will jointly deliver the project with the support of project partners including Jaguar Land Rover, which starts in October 2023 and runs over 18 months.
Rosa Wells, executive dean of the School of Engineering, Digital & Sustainable Construction at University College Birmingham and project lead, said: “This project is vital in supporting our region as well as contributing towards the wider net zero ambitions. As a University that develops and delivers education from level 1 through to level 7 (postgraduate) we are in a unique position to lead this project, providing a sustainable training model that meets the needs of learners, employers, wider industry and our region”
Mark McNally, technical director at RAVMAC, said: “This project builds on established leading regional technical expertise and capabilities, and the use of our digital learning environments will be core to the design of the training programme, enabling learners to navigate the whole battery manufacturing process in a safe and structured manner.”
DEBUT-WM has established the Battery Training Advisory Group (BTAG) to input into the ongoing development, delivery and future of the programme. The project support partnership are: University College Birmingham, WMG, Cranfield University, RAVMAC LTD, Jaguar Land Rover, Microsoft, Manufacturing Technology Centre, Delta Cosworth, West Midlands Combined Authority and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology.
