Find out how Coventry Very Light Rail (VLR) took a major step forward on 24 September as Coventry City Council and Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick showcased a breakthrough new track design which aims to drive down the costs associated with the installation of urban light rail.

Autonomous pods born in Coventry are now able to swarm together in a world first, thanks to research by WMG at the University of Warwick in partnership with Aurrigo and Milton Keynes council.

With the concept of driverless pods now more realistic than futuristic, the vehicles are one step closer to being put to use, as they can now help each other to drive and navigate through pedestrian areas around people.

On the 28th November 2019, Steve Berry OBE, Head of Highways Maintenance, Innovation, Resilience, Light Rail and Cableways at the UK Department of Transport will give the keynote address at the Very Light Rail Conference being held at The Slate on the University of Warwick’s campus. He will speak about the potential for Very Light Rail to transform local public transport.

The public science festival, Pint of Science, is returning to Coventry this year with experts from the Universities of Warwick and Coventry talking about their research work in a selection of pubs and venues around the city.

This year academics will be appearing at Backhaus and Co at Fargo Village, The Yard and Shopfront Theatre in the city centre and The Old Clarence in Earlsdon, between 20 and 22 May. There will also be a programme of talks at the White Horse, Leamington Spa.

Among the topics the presenters will be covering are Martians, DNA, electricity and magnetism, dyslexia, pollution, soil, cells, plastic and paramedics. They will also be tackling important issues like sexual health, the importance of sleep, and asking who’d win in a fight – the sun or a trillion lions?

Tickets are on sale now from: pintofscience.co.uk/events/coventry

Engineers and researchers at WMG, University of Warwick, are working alongside Transport Design International (TDI), based in Stratford, to develop a battery-powered, lightweight, rail-based vehicle to operate in Coventry.

The WMG team, including engineers Darren Hughes and Andrew McGordon, are using their automotive engineering and battery expertise to assist TDI with the design of the vehicle for Coventry City Council, and now have a 3D simulation of the vehicle.

WMG, at the University of Warwick, has been awarded £10 million to build a new Degree Apprenticeship Centre for the high value manufacturing sector.

The Centre, which is due to open in 2019, has received £10 million from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP).

The Centre will provide training programmes up to Level 7 (Master’s Degree level) with an initial capacity for 1,000 students on roll at any one time. The apprentices, who will be employed by companies, will undertake their academic studies at the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre, which will be on the University of Warwick campus.

The public science festival, Pint of Science, is coming to Coventry for the first time this year, with experts from the Universities of Warwick and Coventry talking about their research work in a selection of pubs and venues around the city.

● Head down to your local pub to hear talks on everything from making sunscreen to levitating diamonds
● More than 30 scientists to appear in city watering holes, as the world's largest festival of public science talks arrives in Coventry
● Coventry to join nearly 300 cities around the world taking part in this global festival from the 14 – 16 May
● Tickets on sale now at pintofscience.co.uk/events/coventry

Purity Brewing Ltd is a small brewer based on a farm between Studley and Great Alne not far from Stratford upon Avon. Sales continue to boom, which means constantly balancing the production of their beers with growing customer demand. The company turned to the SME team in WMG at the University of Warwick to help develop data systems to manage this complex operation while they get on with brewing the beer.

Young science explorers from across the region will be able to sit in a submarine, search the skies for stars and use physics and chemistry to make ice-cream at the University of Warwick’s Science Gala this month.

The free public event, which takes place on Wednesday 31 January, aims to open the doors of some of the scientific facilities at Warwick, and offer a hands-on experience for children and young people, their teachers and families, as well as anyone interested in finding out more about science and technology.

Gordon Harris from Solihull has worked in engineering for almost thirty years, and has just gained long-wished-for academic qualifications – boosting his career – after graduating with the first cohort from the Applied Engineering Programme (AEP) at WMG, University of Warwick.

Ashley Pickard from Redditch – who also graduated this week - joined JLR as a structural test fitter in 2012. When the opportunity arose to be sponsored by the company to study for a WMG degree whilst still being able to work, he jumped at it.

Get your questions about electric cars and the future of British transport answered by leading experts in academia and industry at the University of Warwick next week.

Roads in Coventry and Birmingham are set to become a world-class UK testbed for developing the next generation connected and autonomous (CAV) vehicles, thanks to a new £25m programme of investment being led by WMG at the University of Warwick.

The pioneering venture, undertaken by a consortium of research and industry partners, will make UK roads ready for CAVs by developing wireless networks, analysing how vehicles behave in real urban environments and involving the public in their evaluations.

The UK Central CAV Testbed will be based on 80 kilometres of urban roads in Coventry and Birmingham, creating a world-leading connected infrastructure and eco-system, and positioning the Midlands as a centre for cutting-edge automotive and communication technologies.

West Midlands sportswear company SafeJawz have said thanks, or rather Fangs, for the help that WMG researchers at the University of Warwick have given them in the development of their new range of self-fit mouth guards which are designed to make gum shields a desirable piece of sports equipment as opposed to a nuisance item that can hinder performance.

Engineers from WMG, at the University of Warwick, are providing advanced technology support for Stratford-Upon-Avon’s Pashley Cycles, England’s longest established bicycle manufacturer who, with Serco, who this week won the contract to supply the next generation of bicycles for the Transport for London (TfL) Cycle Hire Scheme.

Under the new contract Serco will introduce bicycles, made by Pashley in the company’s home town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, using WMG’s technical support and advice to help create cycles that are 10% lighter than the current model and that are designed to give a more manoeuvrable and comfortable riding experience.

The Education Secretary Justine Greening has announced that the University of Warwick has been awarded around a quarter of a million pounds from its new Higher Education Funding Council for England administered Degree Apprenticeships Development Fund. The university will use this to create a half million pound package to develop around 100 new degree apprenticeships each year.

The first 80 degree apprenticeships (in Civil Engineering and Social Work) will join the University of Warwick in 2018, with a further 100 new degree apprenticeships joining in 2019 and 120 in 2020. This will be in addition to around 400 apprentices in manufacturing engineering degree programmes that are already studying and working with WMG at the University of Warwick.

Plans for a very light rail service in Coventry have moved a step closer, with researchers from WMG, at the University of Warwick, unveiling early vehicle concept designs to representatives from Coventry City Council.

The project, funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and West Midlands Combined Authority Devolution Deal (which is subject to approval of the business case), is set to better connect the City. This will use a state-of-the-art rail system which will be cheaper, quieter and more environmentally friendly than anything currently available.

The continued success and growth of WMG at the University of Warwick means that we are now looking almost 200 new recruits to join our team. The search is on to find engineers, researchers, project managers, data analysts, software developers, and technicians.

To help with our search we’ll be holding a recruitment open day at our International Digital Laboratory at the University of Warwick on Saturday 16 September 2017.

On the day attendees will have the chance to tour our world-class research facilities, and staff from our various research areas will be on hand to explain what it’s really like working at WMG. There will also be the chance to join a tour of our state-of-the-art research facilities to check out the sort of projects you could work on.

WMG, at the University of Warwick hosted a visit from the leader, and deputy leader, of Coventry City Council who were keen to see for themselves the significant investment in automotive research within the City.

Cllr Duggins and Cllr Khan were given tours of the National Automotive Innovation Centre and Energy Innovation Centre, both lead by WMG, where research and development focuses on energy, batteries and autonomous vehicles.

WMG at the University of Warwick has been awarded £5.7 million by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to form a Prosperity Partnership with Jaguar Land Rover that could literally be described as ”electrifying”.

Girls in Solihull are invited to a tea party next week to celebrate Women in Engineering Day.

The event, at WMG Academy in Chelmsley Road, on Thursday 22nd June, is aimed at encouraging girls into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

One of our e-Business Management students Saknakosnak Prum (Nak) has been awarded the prestigious “Chevening Volunteering Award" for his tireless work with the local Canley community.

Nak, originally from Cambodia, who is a Chevening scholar, has been praised as a ‘great ambassador for the University.’ Despite his demanding Master’s schedule, over the past year he has also worked alongside Warwick Volunteers in the local community helping at special Easter events, Pop Up Cafés and on the creation of the Canley community garden.

In addition Nak has also volunteered at CoderDojo events with Technology Volunteers and helped out at the Wheels for All Santa Ride, approaching everything with great energy and enthusiasm.

Nak was presented with his award from the Chevening Secretariat at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London in June.

Business Secretary Greg Clark and Transport Minister John Hayes have announced a range of research funding which included a total of £4.25 million for a high energy battery research project, and an autonomous vehicle research project at WMG at the University of Warwick.

The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, visited WMG, at the University of Warwick, on Friday 20th January 2016, taking up an invitation to see for himself the work underway to complete the new £150 million National Automotive Innovation Centre on the University Campus.

Transport Minister John Hayes has announced that ZAPINAMO has been awarded £2.2m by the Department of Transport, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and InnovateUK under the Low Emissions Freight Trial to work with WMG and others to trial technology for ultra high speed rapid and movable charging technology for commercial vehicles.

WMG, at the University of Warwick, will be building on its reputation in materials research, as it is set to be a hub for the development and application of advanced lightweight metals, thanks to a £1m Growth Deal award from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP).

The award will create a local network of knowledge, equipment and skills – supporting WMG to share its expertise on steels and other advanced materials with companies in the CWLEP area.

Hayley McDermott from Coventry is celebrating passing her B-Tech Level 3 in engineering with merit yesterday. Her results have secured her an apprenticeship with Envisage Group, an international design andengineering organisation based in Coventry. Hayley is part of the first cohort to graduate from the WMG Academy that has achieved a 100% pass rate in engineering.

WMG Academy for Young Engineers is today celebrating the success of their Y13 students; their first cohort to graduate with a 100% pass rate in engineering and over a quarter of its students gaining places at Russell Group Universities.

Students have achieved great success in their academic and vocational qualifications with 55% achieving A*-C pass rate.

Chris Nix from Solihull is celebrating Level 3 results that have helped to secure him an apprenticeship with TATA Technologies. Chris is part of the first cohort of students to graduate from the Academy who have achieved a 100% pass rate in engineering.

Students from the WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Coventry have achieved great success in their academic and vocational qualifications with 55% achieving A*-C pass rate.

Whitley University of Warwick student Stephen Pithouse has received a first class degree in engineering from the University. Stephen, who attended Whitley Academy School, had not considered even going to University until a team of volunteer University of Warwick students, led by Margaret Low a Principal Teaching Fellow in WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group), visited his school to help pupils learn about computer programming for robotics.

The leader of Solihull Council and businesses are coming together for a special event, in June, to show their support for the new WMG Academy for Young Engineers opening in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull in September.

Two major investments in the automotive industry in Coventry will create world class facilities for the automotive industry in a resurgent “Motor City” Coventry, and both will be built in the year that will mark 120 years of motor manufacturing history in the City.

Xbox Kinects could be used in the future to assess the health of patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Researchers at the Institute of Digital Healthcare, WMG, University of Warwick and the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) have developed a method of using the devices. 

WMG is pleased to announce the appointment of Archie MacPherson, as the new CEO of the WMG centre High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult.

WMG, University of Warwick, which was recognised as the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK spoke for Electrical Energy storage in 2015, and it has been announced that WMG is to be a key partner in £5.4 million project to develop the next generation of battery packs for high performance, low carbon vehicles.

The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills visited WMG, University of Warwick on Thursday 10th March to formally open the new £50m Energy Innovation Centre, the largest of its kind in Europe.

A group of researchers from WMG at the University of Warwick are using poetry, story-telling and music to draw attention to the important role supply chains play in everyday life.

WMG at the University of Warwick is to play a significant role in a new £23 million interdisciplinary Research Hub designed to drive forward UK research in the Internet of Things (IoT). Ed Vaizey, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy has confirmed that the University of Warwick is one of nine leading UK universities in the PETRAS consortium which will work together over the next three years to explore critical issues in privacy, ethics, trust, reliability, acceptability, and security.

Over the course of the last year we’ve heard from staff, students and alumni in the 50@50 blog series, sharing their take on life at Warwick. Catch up on recent posts as the 50th project team look back over our anniversary year, including their best moments – and the most challenging!

Just as building work on a second WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull enters an exciting new phase; a £1.1m grant has been confirmed from Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) towards state of the art, industry standard engineering and IT equipment. The Academy building work, which began in September this year, is well underway and on schedule for completion in July 2016.

Tata Steel opened the doors on its new UK research centre on Wednesday 28th of October on the University of Warwick’s Science Park. Engineers and researchers will be working on new steel coatings, including graphene, at the company’s new advanced coatings research laboratories. The opening marks the first phase of Tata Steel’s relocation of its UK R&D work to the University of Warwick campus.