Perspectives Issue 2 / December 2016

New partnership launched with Omani and UK universities Six dual programmes are being established with a newly-formed university in Oman to build capacity in technology and management as the country’s economy diversifies. The masters’ programmes will be delivered by Cranfield colleagues working alongside local academics at the new Muscat University from September 2017. The 10-year project will gradually build expertise within Muscat University as well as equipping professional learners in the region with the postgraduate skills suited to Oman’s ambitions in infrastructure development, logistics and wider commerce. Research collaborations with Muscat colleagues are also anticipated. The new university approached us because of our expertise in air transport, supply chain logistics, energy systems, finance and entrepreneurship. Aston University are our partners on this project and will be delivering undergraduate education at the university. To minimise the number of trips that people have to make, and to ensure the most effective use of people’s time when in Oman, the two universities will look to share responsibilities for academic support and quality assurance (e.g. supporting exam boards). Professor Simon Pollard, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, was our representative as the international partnership was launched earlier this year in Oman. This is part of our postgraduate partnership with Aston launched in 2015 which aims to create distinctive higher education opportunities in the business, management and engineering sectors. The collaboration includes offering Aston’s students and graduates an Alumni bursary of up to 20% on a wide range of specialist Masters’ degrees, matching the arrangements for Aston students who continue onto postgraduate study at Aston. There is also a flourishing collaboration on research opportunities, and plans for shared access to specialist research assets. In addition, Aston has offered access to its Masters in Education for Cranfield staff holding a Cranfield PG Cert or PG CAP, and the first successful applicant from Cranfield starts the Aston MEd this month. Like ourselves, Aston also has strong links with business with particular expertise in entrepreneurship and enterprise, working with small and medium- sized enterprises, and aiding small business growth. It has a strong focus on employability and social mobility and has been a leading university for graduate employment success for more than 25 years.

Are we a metal 3D part record breaker? Our MSc students have designed and manufactured what could be the biggest metal 3D part ever made in one piece. The huge double-sided spar was made from aerospace-grade aluminium, using the University’s own WAAM (Wire + Arc Additive Manufacture) process, and is six metres long and a whopping 300kgs. It was produced to test the capabilities of our new twin-robot 10m 3D printer which is already being upgraded for the production of titanium parts, making it suitable for the aerospace sector among others. Additive manufacture, perhaps better known as 3D printing, produces metal parts quicker, cheaper and more efficiently. In comparison to traditional manufacturing techniques which rely on removing material through cutting or drilling, the new metal will have the flexibility to be produced with any shape. This means there will be more opportunity for unique metal designs, less waste and increased value for money. Professor Stewart Williams, who heads our additive manufacturing rolling programme of activities known as WAAMMat, said: “Hundreds of millions of pounds are spent on medium to large-scale components by the aerospace industry each year. There is great potential for significant cost savings in terms of reduction in waste and increases in production efficiency if we can transform the way these parts are manufactured.”

Our Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Peter said: “As two internationally-acclaimed universities with a shared focus on the needs of business and government, it’s an excellent opportunity for us to play to our strengths on a range of complementary activities.”

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Could we let a robot take the strain instead? A lot of behind-the-scenes maintenance work on our railways requires a high level of attention to detail, in often dangerous conditions.

Professor Simon Pollard (right) signs the international partnership agreement in Oman.

Forging new relationships in 2016 We are a global university which has developed strong relationships with industrial and academic organisations from around the world. Expanding our links in academia and business allows us to collaborate with leading institutions that have similar research interests to make ground-breaking developments in the future of technology and management. • Beihang University in Beijing to broaden our previous collaborations to include research into the future of air transport systems. This was as part of the University’s delegation to China and Singapore in September. • Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Nanyang Polytechnic , both in Singapore, as part of our delegation to Asia. We have shared interests with NTU in clean energy and environment, engineering, and nanotechnology, and both host Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres (UTCs). We will collaborate in manufacturing and development and staff/student exchanges with Nanyang Polytechnic. • Universidad Aeronáutica en Querétaro (UNAQ) in Mexico, which was signed at the Farnborough Airshow in July. UNAQ is a specialist aerospace university, supported by the Government of the State of Queretaro and the Federal Government of Mexico. It is focused on training professionals and researchers for the aeronautical sector and, in particular, supporting the growing aerospace industrial capability in the state. We have continued to forge new relationships in 2016 with the signing of further memoranda of understanding (MOUs).

The University overcame some other high-calibre proposals earlier this year to be one of the ‘blue-sky ideas’ chosen to reduce rolling stock maintenance times and costs while increasing reliability. We were one of four winning projects selected to share £250,000 by industry safety and standards organisation RSSB into the feasibility of using robots and autonomous systems to undertake ‘dangerous, difficult, dirty and dull’ rolling stock maintenance tasks. This was under the Application of Robotics & Autonomous Systems to Rolling Stock Maintenance competition, facilitated by the Rail Research UK Association. Professor Tetsuo Tomiyama from our Manufacturing Informatics Centre is Cranfield’s lead on the ‘cab front cleaning robot’ project together with Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The project also involves industry partners Bombardier Transportation, Chiltern Railways and Shadow Robot Company. A robot prototype is being developed to demonstrate the ability of adapting to the cab front surface; it needs to apply the right force to clean, covering the whole cab front and avoiding obstacles such as wipers and handles.

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