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Official Opening of the WMG Academy for Young Engineers

Mr Ratan Tata GBE, Chairman of Tata Trusts and Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons has officially opened the WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Coventry. Hosted by Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG, and Mr John Leighfield CBE, Chairman of the WMG Academy Trust, Mr Tata officially opened the Academy in front of an audience of over 300.

The WMG Academy, which opened its doors to over 230 students in September 2014, is already a huge success. Within a month of opening, a team of students triumphed at the Coventry City Council Debating Competition and won a trip to the House of Lords.The Academy has promised, from its inception, to blend business and education, to prepare students for the world of work and offers a unique curriculum which teaches engineering and business skills alongside standard qualifications.

Opening the WMG Academy Mr Tata said:

I am delighted to officially open the WMG Academy for Young Engineers. It is vital that we encourage young people not only to become involved in engineering, but also to prepare them for the world of work. We take our role as business partner with the WMG Academy very seriously and are proud to have been involved from the very beginning with this important project.

It is clear, by talking with the teachers and students here, that you have created a unique environment where the students are treated as they would be in business, working independently or as part of a team, responsible for their projects and encouraged to think beyond the scope of the a standard curriculum. What an exciting and invigorating place to learn!”

Principal of the WMG Academy, Kate Tague said:

We were delighted to host Mr Tata today and have him officially open our Academy. From the very start we have integrated business and education here and who better to officially open our building than Mr Tata, a major global force in the manufacturing, engineering and technology. For our students, meeting our business partners, especially someone as renowned as Mr Tata, is a hugely important experience and very inspirational.

Tata, and JLR, have been involved with the WMG Academy from the very beginning and have played a huge role, alongside our other business partners in shaping the Academy, not just in terms of the physical building we have but also in terms of the curriculum and the projects which form the core of the work our students undertake here.

It’s been a hugely exciting and busy year for us, from having the building finished and open through to welcoming our very first intake of students. I’m very happy to announce that we are already over-subscribed for Year 12 intake next year, which is wonderful news.”

As well as Tata Motors, the WMG Academy business partners include: Jaguar Land Rover, National Grid, Prodrive, the Autins Group, Squires Gear and Engineering Ltd, Dassault Systemes, Bosch, SCC, Controls & Data Services, Oleo International, Sarginsons, WMG and the University of Warwick. The WMG Academy is also supported by the EEF (the manufacturers organisation) WMMC (The West Midlands Manufacturing Consortium) and the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

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(Principal of the WMG Academy Mrs Kate Tague, Mr Ratan Tata and Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG)

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