Altran links up with engineering and technology body

A HIGH-TECH engineering company – which has a state-of-the-art testing facility in the West Midlands – has agreed a partnership with the leading professional body for engineering and technology.

Altran, which employs more than 400 permanent full-time staff in the UK – including at its ‘Hardware in the Loop’ (HIL) testing facility at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Business Innovation Centre in Binley – has become a corporate partner of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Altran’s HIL facility at the science park allows it to validate the software functionalities of complex electronics systems being developed by leading automotive manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover.

The new partnership with the IET will see Altran play an even greater role in UK technology and engineering.

Mike Simms, the CEO of Altran UK, said: “The UK is a priority market for Altran. We are a growing business, creating high-value, sustainable engineering jobs and we are delighted to demonstrate our long-term commitment to UK engineering by becoming a corporate partner of the IET.”

Major plaudits for WBS duo

WARWICK Business School academics Ashley Roberts and Ioanna Iordanou have garnered international plaudits for their research work.

The duo are celebrating after not only winning a prestigious award but receiving great acclaim for their presentation at Harvard University, which could lead to a new link-up with the acclaimed US establishment.

Their paper, ‘Beethoven and BAMboo’: The Impact of Arts-based Methodologies in Higher Education Management Learning’, won the best Developmental Paper in the Knowledge and Learning stream at the 27th annual British Academy of Management (BAM)conference held at Liverpool.

They then jetted to the US to present their work at the international Coaching in Leadership and Healthcare conference at Harvard Medical School, and discussed their research at a number of other universities in Boston, Massachusetts.

R3 calls for reform of insolvency procedures 

PERSONAL insolvency procedures are in need of reform to provide better protection to both creditors and debtors, a new report has said.

According to R3 Midlands chairman Richard Philpott, a partner at KPMG in Birmingham, the research highlights the vast number of individuals unable to access the most appropriate debt solution as well as the lack of creditor protection from reckless spending.  

The report, The Personal Insolvency Landscape, published locally by the Midlands branch of insolvency trade body, R3, also indicates the need for the personal insolvency regime to be ‘future-proofed’ against a possible rise in insolvencies once interest rates start to increase.

Philpott said: “With recent increases in personal insolvency and consumer debt levels, an eventual and inevitable rise in interest rates could prove significantly detrimental to our local economy. 

“Action is needed now by the Government to ensure that the personal insolvency regime can deal with any sustained rise in individuals with severe debt issues.”