- Six industry-academia partnerships from across the UK shortlisted for the annual Bhattacharyya Award including solutions for tsunami resilience, sustainable aviation, industrial decarbonisation, and cybersecurity
- Winning partnership to be announced at awards ceremony on 29 September 2022
- Applications for Bhattacharyya Award 2023 open until 16 December 2022
The Royal Academy of Engineering and WMG at the University of Warwick have shortlisted six exceptional industry-academia partnerships from across the UK for the second annual Bhattacharyya Award.
The Bhattacharyya Award and a cash prize of £25,000 will be presented to the team who best demonstrate how industry and universities can work together. The winning partnership will be announced on 29 September 2022.
The Bhattacharyya Award is a tribute to Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KT CBE FREng FRS, the Regius Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Warwick and founder of WMG who advocated for greater collaboration between industry and universities. Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the annual Bhattacharyya Award is open to UK universities and colleges that have demonstrated a sustained, strategic industrial partnership that has benefitted society and is deserving of national recognition. Industry-academia partnerships from any academic discipline are eligible for the Bhattacharyya Award.
This year’s shortlist spotlights partnerships that address some of the most pressing challenges in the UK and globally, including coastal resilience against tsunamis, low carbon electricity supply, cybersecurity, sustainable aviation, and support for rail and steel industries.
The full shortlist of finalists is as follows:
- University of Birmingham and Rolls-Royce: Advanced Metallic Alloys
Dating back to 1989, this collaboration has enabled transformative advances in engine efficiencies - directly addressing environmental concerns, while also saving billions of pounds over 30 years of large fleet activity. The partnership is at the heart of activities to develop and deliver the new engine technologies required to achieve or better the ACARE Flightpath 2050 targets of 75% reduction in CO2 emissions and 90% reduction in NOx. - University of Cambridge and Arm: Digital Security by Design
Improving computer security is a vital challenge. This partnership has developed pioneering new cybersecurity technology – CHERI (Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions) – through work on redesigning the hardware we use for computer memory, redefining how software gains access to it, and redesigning the architecture between the two. The technology has been adopted by the UK government’s Digital Security by Design programme and throughout 2022, it is rolling out an industrial demonstrator of it – the Arm Morello processor and evaluation board – to companies and academia for testing. - Imperial College London and Transport Strategy Centre: Optimising Transport Systems
The Centre’s focus on urban transport systems has become increasingly important as the world attempts to tackle the challenges of climate change and transport-related air pollution. Its work has provided over £1.5 billion worth of benefits to the public transport industry over the last 15 years. The Centre’s research and collaboration has benefitted 125 major transport providers in the UK and globally – influencing funding policy, improving cost efficiency, service quality, and safety, and helping transport operators respond to Covid-19. - University of Manchester and National Grid: Impacts to Electricity Networks
This collaborative partnership that spans over 19 years has delivered significant CO2 reductions, increased productivity, stimulated large investment in new jobs and engineering activity in the UK, and will facilitate the safe transfer of cleaner and affordable energy in a Net Zero future electricity network. Knowledge generated in the overhead line research alone has provided cost savings of approximately £11 million to the UK energy network and helped to develop many key projects including the T-Pylon in Somerset that delivers power to six million homes. - Swansea University and Steel Strategic Alliance: Sustainable Steelmaking
This partnership aims to help the UK to become a leader in sustainable steelmaking, with a focus on decarbonising the whole manufacturing supply chain. Some of its major projects include the creation of the Materials and Manufacturing Academy, that provides industry-led postgraduate training, the Steel and Metals Institute, providing advanced steel testing, and the SUSTAIN Future Manufacturing Research Hub, that develops carbon-neutral steel supply chains and sustainable solutions for transport, energy and buildings. - University College London, HR Wallingford and Arup: Advanced Tsunami Engineering
This collaboration began following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which killed more than 250,000 people and caused widespread destruction. The partnership led to the creation of a new tsunami simulator, unique worldwide for its ability to recreate realistic representations of tsunamis. The partnership’s work has improved knowledge of tsunami interaction with coastal environments, developed emergency evacuation protocols and provided tsunami assessments in the UK, including for the Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant project in North Wales, as well as internationally.
View videos of the shortlisted partnerships
Professor Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS, former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Chair of the judging panel for the Bhattacharyya Award, said: “All six shortlisted partnerships are excellent examples of industry-academia collaboration, with timely and innovative responses to some of the most challenging issues facing society today. It is a privilege to showcase these successful collaborations and we hope that doing so fosters even greater connection between industry and academia in the UK.”
Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG, University of Warwick, said: “It’s great to see the extremely high quality of industry-academia partnerships shortlisted for the second annual Bhattacharyya Award. As a celebration of Lord Bhattacharyya’s legacy, the Award continues to highlight how building symmetry between academia and industry is so vital for meeting the needs of society, and adapting to global challenges. We look forward to seeing which collaboration is selected as the overall winner.”
The winner of the Bhattacharyya Award will be announced on Thursday 29 September 2022, at an event showcasing the shortlisted partnerships at the University of Warwick. Those wishing to attend the Bhattacharyya Award ceremony can register via the Academy’s website.
Applications for Bhattacharyya Award 2023 are now open until 16 December 2022 and can be submitted via the Academy’s online grant system.
Notes for Editors
- WMG, University of Warwick, is a world leading research and education group, transforming organisations and driving innovation through a unique combination of collaborative research and development, and pioneering education programmes.
As an international role model for successful partnerships between academia and the private and public sectors, WMG develops advancements nationally and globally, in applied science, technology and engineering, to deliver real impact to economic growth, society and the environment.
WMG’s education programmes focus on lifelong learning of the brightest talent, from the WMG Academies for Young Engineers, degree apprenticeships, undergraduate and postgraduate, through to professional programmes.
An academic department of the University of Warwick, and a centre for the HVM Catapult, WMG was founded by the late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya in 1980 to help reinvigorate UK manufacturing and improve competitiveness through innovation and skills development. - The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.
In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.
Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.
For media enquiries please contact: Chris Urquhart at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0725; email: [email protected]