Summer School in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Photonics

The CDT in Applied Photonics, an AEngD member, is holding a Summer School in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Photonics at the University of St Andrews in Scotland from 16th to 23rd June 2018.

The summer school will feature lectures and workshops from leading photonics innovators and entrepreneurs:

• Dr. Thomas Baer, Stanford University, Executive Director, Photonics Research Centre
• Prof. Sir David Payne, University of Southampton, Director, Optoelectronics Research Centre
• Prof. Caroline Boudoux, Professor and Co-Founder, Castor Optics
• Linda Smith, President, Ceres Technology Advisors
• Dr. Sophie Hippmann, Head of Think Tank, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
• Prof. Cliff Jones, University of Leeds, Founder & Chief Scientific Advisor, Displaydata
• Dr. Chris Dorman, Vice President & General Manager, Coherent Scotland
• Dr. Andrea Lovera, Head of Solutions Division, FEMTOprint
• Prof. Martin Dawson, University of Strathclyde, Director, Fraunhofer CAP
• Dr. Thomas Neuenhahn, Head of Innovation Management, Siemens
• Matthew Wasley, Knowledge Transfer, Manager for Photonics, KTN

In addition to the lecturers and workshops there will be an opportunity for networking in informal setting with lecturers and students; mentoring to develop your ideas and commercial awareness; advice and training on how to fund your idea; exposure to potential funders and sponsors; and great social events, including a Scottish ceilidh.

A limited number of bursaries are available. Further information is available at https://www.cdtphotonics.hw.ac.uk/summer-school-2018

£50,000 prize for best city solution

A new global competition to encourage students and young people to find solutions to the issues facing the world’s rapidly expanding cities has been launched by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) to mark its 150th anniversary. It offers a prize of £50,000 for the global winner to help implement their idea. The competition is open to all but RICS is particularly interested in receiving entries from students, including postgraduate researchers, with an interest in the built environment.

With three million people moving to cities every week, the growth of the urban population is one of the biggest challenges facing society today.  This rapid expansion is putting ever more strain on urban infrastructure and services. Many city dwellers live in slums or poor quality housing; many put up with poor air quality and inadequate transport links.

Cities for our Futures

The competition, Cities for our Future, was launched in partnership with the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. The challenge calls on young people to come up with new ideas to help tackle the most pressing problems in relation to the rapid pace of urbanisation, impact of climate change on cities and resource scarcity.

The best 12 entries from around the world will be shortlisted for the global prize and receive support and advice from RICS qualified professionals, before an overall winner is announced in November 2018.

The competition asks entrants to propose solutions to specific issues affecting 24 global cities.  Each of these issues has been identified by built environment professionals working in the specific city or region. Cities selected include: Mumbai, Lagos, Beijing and Manchester.


Sean Tompkins, RICS CEO said:

“By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. A seismic change has occurred since 1900 when two-thirds of the population lived in rural communities. The world’s cities are growing all the time, creating a range of challenges that will need to be addressed if they are to become safe, clean and comfortable places to live for future generations. Throughout the Royal Institution’s 150 years, chartered surveyors have been crucial to urban development all over the globe and we are proud to be running this competition to help stimulate innovation and find practical ideas to improve our cities.”

The Cities for our Future competition is open for entries from 17th January to 31st May 2018.  Regional judging will take place in June and July 2018 with the regional winners receiving help and support from RICS professionals in their region to develop their ideas.  A global shortlist will be announced in July 2018 and an overall winner unveiled in November 2018.

STREAM alumnus Dr Ben Ward is an Institute of Water "Rising Star"

Congratulations to STREAM alumnus Dr Ben Ward for his outstanding achievement in being identified as an Institute of Water “Rising Star”.

Ben completed his STREAM EngD in Infrastructure Asset Management, sponsored by AECOM. He has since worked for AECOM as an Associate Director, before joining South West Water in April 2017 as their Drinking Water Asset Manager.

The “Rising Stars” initiative recognises eight individuals in the UK water utility sector with the potential and drive to succeed within the water industry. The programme provides a collection of unique opportunities to develop the skills needed for professional excellence within the water sector. In his message to the water industry, Ben talked about data analytics:

The water industry is evolving… It is rising to the challenge of managing aging infrastructure, meeting improved environmental/water quality standards and providing a better and more resilient service to customer – despite an affordability challenge which is putting pressure on companies to reduce customer bills.

Data analytics coupled with mobile, sensory and automated technologies is making it possible for us to better understand and manage asset performance. We have successfully proven the ability to manage nearly all aspects of performance in real-time, and in some cases, even predict or prevent events from happening. I believe therefore, that if we want to continue meeting these challenges, we need to expand the deployment of such technologies across our asset base and support technology companies in the accelerated development of their new ideas.

Industrial Fellowships for industry-based research

Do you want to pursue an EngD without leaving your job or perhaps you want to collaborate with industry on research?

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 offers industrial fellowships to individuals wishing to pursue doctoral research.

The aim of the scheme is to encourage profitable innovation and creativity in British Industry – to the mutual benefit of the Fellow and his or her sponsoring company. Projects in any science or engineering discipline will be considered.

These prestigious Fellowships are awarded to selected, exceptional graduates with the potential to make an outstanding contribution to Industry for a programme of doctoral level research. They are open to company-employed candidates or nominated Doctoral Centre / CASE candidates.

Around nine awards are made each year. The application closing date for the latest set of Fellowships is 25 January 2018 (more details here).

Vacancy for Academic Programme Manager at Centre for Applied Photonics

The Centre for Doctoral Training in Applied Photonics at Heriott-Watt University in Edinburgh has a vacancy for an Academic Programme Manager. Applications from CDT/DTC alumni would be particularly welcomed. 

Details of the vacancy are available here.

The closing date is Wednesday 4th October 2017.

Research Associate in Systems Engineering in Civil Infrastructure

The AEngD regularly publishes details of research engineer opportunities leading to an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) qualification, but we are also keen to help those who complete their EngDs to take their next career steps.

For example, former AEngD steering group chair Professor Patrick Godfrey, strongly associated with the Systems Centre at the University of Bristol, has highlighted a full-time opportunity in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London. It is seeking a Research Associate in Systems Engineering in Civil Infrastructure.

The Research Associate will carry out leading research to investigate challenges of the digital transformation of civil infrastructure from a systems engineering perspective. The post requires specialist knowledge of systems approaches (which may be in resilient, safe, secure, digital and/or socio-technical systems) and of qualitative data collection methods for research within engineering project organizations and infrastructure owners. Familiarity with qualitative data analysis is needed and with statistical analyses and programming tools is an advantage.

The closing date for applications is 15 January 2017. For informal enquiries about the post please contact Professor Jennifer Whyte, Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at j.whyte@imperial.ac.uk

Rolls-Royce holds 3rd EngD conference

Rolls-Royce held its third Engineering Doctorate Conference on 21st November at the Learning & Career Development Centre in Derby. This exhibition provided Rolls-Royce sponsored Engineering Doctorate (EngD) researchers to showcase their cutting-edge research, promoting the EngD scheme through innovation.

The Rolls-Royce EngD Network hosted this exhibition, providing a gateway to provide EngD researchers with an opportunity to communicate and collaborate with other EngD researchers across all sectors of Rolls-Royce. The Network was founded in 2012 by EngD researchers Oliver Nowers, Maria Felice and James Pettit, to promote awareness of the EngD scheme and the benefits that it has provided to Rolls-Royce.

Presentations were given by previous and current EngD researchers, ranging from a novel diamond rotary concept for grinding aerospace materials to the In-Situ Patch Repair of Thermal Barrier Coatings, revealing a high-level summary of background knowledge and ongoing research efforts that are being incorporated into their projects.

Invited keynote speakers included Frank Kirkland, Chair of Rolls-Royce Fellows and Chief Designer for Civil Aerospace, who has worked on a range of RR aerospace engines since he joined Rolls-Royce in 1981. Invited speaker Sam Turner, Chief Technical Officer of the AMRC with Boeing, who is responsible for technology strategy, capability growth and support to the AMRC departments and relationship management with major stakeholders. He had delivered high impact projects in manufacturing research and its application towards the industry.

Mark Jefferies, Chief of University Research Liaison presented insight into the effectiveness and strategic development of key academic research partnerships for Rolls-Royce. This includes the company's worldwide network of 31 University of Technology Centres engaging with hundreds of academics and researchers. Also presents the critical impact of collaborative research, developing the fundamental technology, tools and skills required by Rolls-Royce, maintaining scientific excellence.

EngD poster events were held at the Heritage Museum in addition to a variety of DTC stands, exhibiting their research with potential application to Rolls-Royce technologies. Universities including Nottingham, Bristol, Southampton, Surrey, and Birmingham have participated.

This event demonstrates the continued commitment from Rolls-Royce to invest in the next-generation of engineering challenges, and the value of the EngD programme for the transfer of skills and development from academia towards the industry.

(contributed by Lee Pardoe, EngD research engineer at Southampton University)