Academy is dedicated to design and PLM

Birmingham City University's Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) has gained a significant new educational role in industrial product design and development.

Birmingham City University's Technology Innovation Centre has become the sole UK-based academy for PTC (Parametric Technologies Corp) - a major business software solutions provider to the US Government and international business.

The move sees TIC appointed to introduce world-leading product design programmes to the UK and beyond.

Worth GBP 11.4 million over 3 years, the agreement enables TIC to offer PTC's progressive product design and lifecycle management solutions to higher education and to business markets in Europe, for research and product development.

From 2007's influential Royal Society of Arts "Risks-to-business" debate, emerged warnings that UK's skills shortage is a major issue that "won't go away".

These concerns were re-ignited on a European scale by the EU's Commissioner for the Information Society and Media.

Luxembourg's Viviane Reding, said: "Shortfalls of qualified ICT practitioners slow down new ICT applications in the economy and draw away billions of euros of investment funds to dynamic emerging economies, where hundreds of thousands of new engineers are qualifying each year".

The vulnerability of the UK economy to such shortages has also been emphasised by the CBI.

It warns that the number of undergraduates, pursuing science, technology and engineering subjects - now converging with IT to meet industry's skill needs - must double.

With the UK needing 2.4 million such workers over the next seven years, firms are already struggling to recruit qualified staff.

PTC has been seeking to offer progressive, advanced digital product development IT solutions for both UK higher education and business markets.

Seeing TIC as the UK's leading, new-style technology faculty straddling both sectors, PTC has opened its product development software treasure chest to the university.

As PTC's Academy, TIC has been equipped to undertake a three-pronged response to the skills challenge.

The first line of attack is through the PTC Academy's "Green-by-Design" product development system.

This links product design through manufacturing processes to its life in-service and beyond, until it becomes redundant and recycled.

The Green-by-Design agenda underpins all these activities, ensuring a product's carbon footprint is minimised in its concept, basic materials, production, in-use energy- absorption and overall environmental impact.

The approach seeks to maximise materials recycling and minimise landfill requirement at the end of product life - now as important cars as cartons.

Green-by-Design relies on digital information from every product development stage, which leads to the second prong of the PTC Academy's approach.

Through advanced digital tools, PTC's technology enables a high-fidelity virtual design to be developed.

The analytical approach produces accurate product simulation and modelling - the days of physical prototypes are numbered.

The digital data generated through the product design and development process provide information that will support and sustain its efficient use throughout its life - whether two months or 20 years.

The information digitally recorded at every intricate product development stage, from design to delivery, forms the basis of the new era of "hybrid manufacturing".

This is seeing continuing product support, become as important as delivering it successfully in the first place.

It also offers manufacturers a continuing income stream from their original investment.

The third and crucial prong of the PTC Academy approach is rooted in TIC's teaching and training role.

For Green-by-Design and digitally based product-lifecycle management to work effectively, relevant ICT skills are vital.

TIC's educational qualities added to PTC's software programmes, produce a partnership of strengths which will benefit UK plc.

The skills portfolio to maximise the effectiveness of PTC's programs is just what TIC offers.

TIC's wide ranging, knowledge-based technology education and business disciplines rely on ICT to apply them effectively.

Skills are needed to create knowledge data-bases, hold them accessibly in operating systems and to devise computer networks, enabling digital information to be shared both within the organisation and with collaborators.

TIC's teaching portfolio covers all relevant ICT skills in-depth.

In contrast to many other UK institutions, TIC routinely offers not only advanced education and training, but also business solutions with applied research and development to companies of every size and type.

Birmingham City University's Vice Chancellor, and TIC Chairman, Professor David Tidmarsh, said of the agreement: "Our academy partnership with PTC is in accord with our mission to provide the highest-quality learning experience for students and our commitment to being an exemplar in working with business, the community and the professions".

"TIC's new PTC Academy offers both aspiring young technologists and mature engineers education in the world's most advanced industrial product design and development IT software".

"PTC's established teaching modules will feature both in TIC's degree courses and professional development programmes".

In signing the TIC agreement, PTC's Senior VP Global Partners and Education, John Stuart, said: "Industry tells us graduates take 8-12 years to reach an IT-competence level of value to employers".

"PTC has been involved in major UK and US schools initiatives for some years, engaging children with digital product development IT systems and in collaborative teams from age 10".

"This augments their science and technology education and underpins the quality of future graduates".

"It should help them to hit the ground running in the world of work".

"Our industrial customers such as Toyota, Airbus, Boeing and VW-Audi welcome this".

"The TIC agreement is a key UK-ingredient in creating a European higher education delivery source for PTC's technologies".

PTC's commitment to UK education began in 1999 when it granted the UK Government GBP 20 million worth of CAD software.

The subsequent "CAD in Schools" programme has seen over 9000 teachers trained and PTC software used in schools throughout the UK as part of the national curriculum.

The programme has become a worldwide benchmark for countries following the UK lead and has resulted in four million students using PTC software in both the classroom and home.

PTC's UK Education Programme Manager, Mike Brown says: "We're continuing to expand our education programme with the free introduction of PTC's Pro/Engineer for schools and students' home use".

"We're working closely with UK's Department for Children Schools and Families, the Design and Technology Association and TIC to ensure British students have the skills required to compete on the worldwide stage".

TIC's Chief Executive, Dr Barry Henley, commented: "The CBI warns that skilled ICT-related jobs will go overseas unless the number of UK graduates with worthwhile technology degrees soon doubles".

"This substantial PTC Academy investment will see TIC make a major contribution to achieving that".

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