March 2021

News 0 8 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk March 2021 Analog Devices, Inc. has collaborated with the University of Limerick (UL) and other prominent companies, including economic infrastructure technology leader Stripe, to launch a world-leading computer science programme called Immersive Software Engineering (ISE). Given increased demand for developer talent globally and rapid growth of the internet economy, ISE is designed to revolutionise the way computer science is taught, creating industry experienced software professionals to drive greater business impact. As part of the research start-up aspect of this UL initiative, ADI will fund experimental development and research with the aim of developing new software processes and services. “ADI is committed to increasing the impact of software advancements across industries and we are uniquely positioned to do this as the bridge between the physical and digital worlds,” said Vincent Roche, President and CEO of ADI. “We understand the vital need for programmes such as ISE in training software engineers of the future.” Through the ISE programme, students will be able to take advantage of the resources offered at ADI Catalyst, a hands-on, incubator-like R&D facility in Limerick, Ireland, focused on forming new communities, creating living labs and developing breakthrough technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and sustainable applications. ADI Catalyst serves as a collaboration centre that uses a true partnership approach to help customers resolve the challenges they face at an accelerated pace. It provides a unique setting for customers and research organisations to interact with ADI and solve problems together in a single collaborative environment. Limerick is also home to Analog Devices’ European Research and Development Centre, which has a long- standing reputation for developing cutting- edge technology. John Collison, Co-Founder and President of Stripe, said: “Software engineers enjoy incredible careers solving some of the world’s most important problems in the fastest growing industries, yet we have nowhere near enough of them. Immersive Software Engineering seeks to provide a great path for more secondary students (especially young women) into technology.” Collaboration to leverage software technology for the transformation of engineering education The UK government is refreshing the national industrial strategy that will put science and technological advancements at the forefront of growth. In addition, the refreshed strategy is touted to focus more on levelling up regional economies, increasing innovation and adoption of technologies more widely. Stephen Phipson, MAKE UK, chief executive explains further for Smart Machines & Factories. Generally, it is agreed that the industrial strategy does need a refresh but equally so we should not make a habit out of changing long-term strategies every 3-4 years for a sector that commonly plans 10 years ahead. Nevertheless, the UK manufacturing industry is changing. This is partly down to the recent shock from the pandemic with many businesses seeing the benefits of digitisation sooner. Historically, smaller companies have struggled to adopt simple technological solutions to increase their productivity but now many are doing so at an alarming rate. Initiatives such as Made Smarter has shown this is possible but more needs to be done if manufacturing is to reach its potential. Small firms need to realise that digitisation is not just for big businesses. The industrial strategy can play a pivotal role in supporting this. The UK is a great innovator and the industrial strategy needs to create conditions for business that enables them to go beyond adopting simple digital techniques such as video conferencing and wirelessly monitoring machines. There must be a shift in mind-set amongst UK businesses to look at deeper technologies, such as carbon capture, quantum programming and active supply-chain data capture. All this needs to be incorporated into a long-term, viable strategy that prioritises achieving net-zero targets. And on top it must be able to do so at scale by fabricating conditions that enables start-ups to become scale-ups. A prime example of an industry that is embracing carbon reducing techniques is the automotive sector – which includes the introduction of electric vehicles. However, long-term, this sector is looking beyond electric vehicles and are considering alternative (or complementary) techniques to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint. This could be anything from hydrogen fuel to redesigning vehicles themselves so that they are lighter and take less energy to go from point A to point B. Of course, the automotive industry will be making these investment plans that stretch over decades, and as such a national industrial strategy must be designed with a similar timescale in mind. The manufacturing sector is not one that is able to operate using short-term strategies. An industrial strategy that prioritises technology and carbon neutrality will face a mountain of challenges. Especially as it is likely to result in the displacement of obsolete jobs. However, as previous industrial revolutions have shown us, technological advancements always returns a net-positive creation of jobs and the real question is how we retrain those in obsolete roles for the jobs of tomorrow. By MAKE UK chief executive, Stephen Phipson MAKE uk - the manufacturers’ organisation monthly news comment