Siemens Technology Day

- Boosting collaboration with industry

To further develop the University’s partnership with global engineering company Siemens, colleagues from both organisations recently came together to explore new areas of potential collaboration.

The ‘Siemens Technology Day’ was hosted by Research and Innovation Services (R&IS) and drew together more than 50 delegates from across the University as well as from the main Siemens plc business sectors. The aim of the day was to bring together the company’s areas of business (energy, industry, infrastructure and healthcare) with University academics in related disciplines to showcase our research expertise as well as provide an opportunity to make new contacts. Siemens representatives also undertook tours around the many world-leading, pilot-scale facilities at the University, e.g. The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, the Mercury Centre and the MRI unit at the Royal Hallamshire hospital.

Professor Mike Hounslow, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Engineering says; “With such a broad range of expertise and facilities here at the University, we are the ideal partner for a global company such as Siemens, this event provided the company with the opportunity to gain insight into new areas of collaboration, meet colleagues and initiate further research collaborations.”

The University has worked closely with Siemens for more than ten years and was awarded UK ‘Principal Partner’ status by the company in 2012. One example of the University’s long-standing partnership with Siemens is the Sheffield Siemens Wind Power Centre (S2WP). This dedicated research centre was established in 2009 and is located within the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering’s Electrical Machines and Drives Group to undertake research into technologies that are vital to future developments in electrical power engineering.

Paul Beasley, Head of Strategic Development for Siemens, says; “This Technology Day proved rewarding and timely for us to investigate how our business units can engage strategically with the many different research areas at the University.”

As well as discussing new areas of research that can be explored, the event included discussions around interactions with the University’s students, e.g. for projects and placements with Siemens, as well as the recruitment of University graduates.

Jon Stewart, Director of Siemens Metals Technologies and lead sponsor for the partnership, says: “We value our longstanding collaborations with Universities as they not only drive research and innovation but also develop the future generations of graduates and potential employees for companies like ours.”

R&IS will be following up on the various collaboration opportunities with Siemens generated by the ‘Technology Day’, a format which it is hoped can be repeated with other strategic University partners in the future.

View more images from the Siemens Technology Day.