Launching careers in partnership with Siemens
We're working to provide employers with the graduates they need to drive the industries of the future. Our Careers Service delivers a joint recruitment strategy with Siemens in order to increase university engagement and grow the recruitment of University of Sheffield students and graduates.
The strategic recruitment plan with the University of Sheffield has set the bench mark for how we want to work with all of our University partners. It has really allowed us be focused and co-create initiatives together
Simon Roberts
Head of Talent Acquisition, Siemens UK
Developing Skills in the Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ)
The Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ) is the global pilot of a new kind of collaboration. Sitting at the heart of the University campus it engages students with unique and stimulating opportunities to develop the skills needed in industry today.
These new technologies represent a radical shift from previous manufacturing processes. Utilising the DIZ resources, our students are working alongside Siemens to get hands on experience in Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The DIZ is the global pilot of a new kind of collaboration. Located in the iconic Diamond Building at the heart of the University campus and designed to be easily accessible and highly visible to students, it is a library, interactive e-resource, training tool and research asset combined.
Supporting the UK's industrial strategy
Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are key to the UK’s industrial strategy. But the new technologies on which they rely represent such a radical departure from previous manufacturing processes that there is a critical lack of graduates with the right skills to exploit them.
The DIZ engages students with unique and stimulating opportunities to develop their talents in data visualisation, cybersecurity and data analytics and showcase them to sector leaders.
Exploring new technologies
The emphasis is on hands-on experience, and the zone provides access to cutting-edge facilities with a team of Siemens staff permanently on hand to support and advise. DIZ also hosts the Festo cyber-physical laboratory - a fully-fledged learning system that represents the technologies underpinning smart factories and future industrial control systems.
The largest fully student-led maker space in the UK, iForge, is in the same building and Siemens has become a sponsor. The Diamond building itself is a learning tool, providing data to DIZ through its 16,000 sensors.
Other research assets in the Diamond are linked in, including a digital twin version of the Diamond Pilot Plant - high value product manufacturing equipment representing the key elements of future pharmaceutical production facilities.
The data generated allows students to optimise system performance and explore new control methodologies. Pharma companies are involved in the digital twin and students can experiment with the techniques and processes the pharma industry needs not only physically but digitally too. The plant is the only one of its kind any UK university.
These training resources are also accessible to teachers, regional businesses and underpin all undergraduate and postgraduate IoT modules across the University.
Providing a space to collaborate
Students are given the opportunity to showcase their new skills to Siemens and its partners through initiatives like the annual DIZ Live Hackathon where teams of students compete over 48 hours to build a mechanical/electrical device which showcases the data collected from the network and brought it to life.
150 students from 8 universities have participated so far. Siemens use the event to spot talent and subsequently offered 30+ placements to participants. In addition, Siemens uses the Lounge’s meeting and events spaces to bring their suppliers and customers into the space, giving students the opportunity to develop PhD projects of direct relevance to industry.
The University of Sheffield is now one of Siemens leading and higest supplier of UK graduate talent, largely thanks to the DIZ.
Siemens Digital Academy for undergraduates
The Siemens Digital Academy is a pioneering partnership between Siemens, the University of Sheffield and Newcastle University.
The academy is open to undergraduate students, equipping students with the skills and opportunity to put what they learn at university into real world use including working with DIZ and the Siemens Internet of Things.
Students experience the full industrial digitalisation with rotational summer placements across Siemens varied business units with a £3000 per year sponsorship from year two of the degree programme alongside Digital Academy community events, digital training and learning opportunities and the chance to join a digital Graduate Scheme after graduation.
I wanted to join the Digital Academy so that I could work with a world leading organisation such as Siemens to enhance my knowledge of new technologies and allow me to work with a range of other people to not only help improve Siemens as a business but also to improve the connectivity of the world we live in.
Nikhil Patel
Digital Academy Pilot Student
To be eligible for the Digital Academy Sheffield University students must be studying one of the following subjects:
- Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- Automatic Control and Systems Engineering
- Mechatronics
- Robotics Engineering
- General Engineering
- Computer Science
- Software Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
For further information on employer opportunities at the Careers Service contact: employers@sheffield.ac.uk or visit the Careers Service website.