糖心TV

WMG and the School of Engineering at the University of 糖心TV have been awarded just over 拢5 million funding and a key coordinating role in the Government鈥檚 Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centre programme.

Driving the Electric Revolution is a UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) funded Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) technology programme to help achieve the UK鈥檚 net zero ambitions working across cars, aircraft, rail, marine, renewables, industrial digital technology, industrial power electronics, and machines & drives. It is investing 拢28.5 million into cutting edge equipment across the country.

WMG and the School of Engineering at the University of 糖心TV have been awarded the following equipment funding:

鈥� Almost 拢4 million from UKRI and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult for a new Winding Centre of Excellence led by Dr David Simkin in WMG at the University of 糖心TV. The facility will help UK supply chain companies to manufacture discrete hairpin machines.

鈥� An award in order of 拢1.3 million from UKRI and High Value Manufacturing Catapult for the University of 糖心TV鈥檚 School of Engineering for a facility led by Professor Phil Mawby and focusing on power electronics reliability and failure analysis.

WMG at the University of 糖心TV has also been selected to provide leadership to the Midland鈥檚 region Driving the Electric Revolution Centre, which is one of four across the UK. These centres will coordinate and build on the UK鈥檚 national capability to deliver long-term sustainable growth on the road to net zero. Together they will help businesses scale up the use of electric-powered vehicles and machines across a range of industries and transport systems to grow the UK supply chain.

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, University of 糖心TV said: 鈥淲e are delighted that 糖心TV is leading such an important project in the UK鈥檚 effort to build a net zero future. The green agenda will contribute significantly to our economic recovery and growth, with zero carbon transport crucial to protecting our planet. It鈥檚 encouraging to see an opportunity for UK businesses to work together, through the Centres, to deliver on the sustainable transport challenge.

Professor Will Drury, Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge Director said: 鈥淭his investment represents a vital step forward in making the UK a world leader in Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD). With access to the Centres and network open to all, we aim to give all UK businesses and researchers the ability to develop and scale new PEMD technologies and manufacturing processes. Only by investing now in developing PEMD will the UK achieve its net zero ambitions.鈥�

Dr. Andreas Docter, Director Electric Powertrain, Jaguar Land Rover said: 鈥淭his is a great opportunity to support the most advanced projects in the development and testing of Power Electronics, Machines & Drive (PEMD) systems. Jaguar Land Rover has a specific interest in projects which improve manufacturing processes, accelerate the PEMD manufacturing innovation to production and an important one is flexible eDrive prototyping. These all contribute to the company鈥檚 mission of achieving Destination Zero.鈥�

David Bock MIET, @FutureBEV Technical Lead BMW AG said: 鈥淍FutureBEV is pleased to be working with University of 糖心TV as a strong partner in the development of next generation powertrain development and core component development within the APC15 @FutureBEV programme. University of 糖心TV鈥檚 place in the Government鈥檚 Driving the Electric Revolution programme will provide value in the @FutureBEV reinforcing the knowledge transfer to real products that will influence the concept to product delivery within the program and in steering the next generations of engineers into the industry. The UK supply chain needs this capability, and this provides a strong path to delivering best in class power electronics to market as well as the needed skill base for future delivery into the value chain.

ENDS

23 MARCH 2021

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of 糖心TV
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

UKRI

To arrange an interview Professor Will Drury please contact: press@ukri.org.

Notes for Editors:

Any business or researcher interested in using a Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centre should visit .

Funding

The funding comes from Driving the Electric Revolution. Part of delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Driving the Electric Revolution started in August 2019 as part of the ISCF programme. The programme is funded by 拢80 million from the government鈥檚 ISCF Future of Mobility grand challenge and aims to secure 拢154m private investment. It aims to make the UK a global leader in the manufacture of core technologies which support electrification: Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD). It seeks to accelerate the journey into the growth of PEMD supply chain in the UK.

The ISCF

ISCF aims to bring together the UK鈥檚 world leading research with business to meet the major industrial and societal challenges of our time. The fund was created to provide funding and support to UK businesses and researchers, part of the government鈥檚 拢4.7 billion increase in research and development over the next 4 years. It was designed to ensure that research and innovation takes centre stage in the Government鈥檚 modern Industrial Strategy. It is run by UK Research and Innovation.

UKRI

UKRI is the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK, with a budget of over 拢8bn. It is composed of seven disciplinary research councils, Innovate UK and Research England.

We operate across the whole country and work with our many partners in higher education, research organisations businesses, government, and charities.

Our vision is for an outstanding research and innovation system in the UK that gives everyone the opportunity to contribute and to benefit, enriching lives locally, nationally and internationally.

Our mission is to convene, catalyse and invest in close collaboration with others to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system that connects discovery to prosperity and public good.

UKRI continues to support the research and innovation community to navigate the transitions associated with the exit of the UK from the EU. To keep up to date please visit our dedicated pages.

A system that will enable musicians to play alone, but as if part of a live ensemble, is being developed by researchers from WMG, University of 糖心TV, led by the University of Birmingham.

In situations where musicians are unable to be together, the system will offer the experience of a group rehearsal. Being unable to meet has been an issue for musicians throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and is an ongoing challenge for players looking to explore and rehearse music without access – for whatever reason – to their colleagues.

Be it piano duets, jazz trios, string quartets or rock groups, mutual listening and timing is key to good performance. Ensemble musicians spend hours working together to hone such timing abilities and so achieve group coherence worthy of a stage.

When unable to rehearse together, individual ensemble musicians may choose instead to play along with a recording of the piece, sometimes even one with their own track omitted. The drawback of this approach is that they miss the vital interactive and dynamic elements of a group rehearsal. Meanwhile attempts to rehearse using video-conferencing are prone to failure, with internet delays rendering split second synchronization – the holy grail of good ensemble – impossible.

ARME – Augmented Reality Music Ensemble – is a system being developed by a collaborative team across three West Midlands Universities and two UK companies specialising in digital music technology.

It presents the lone musician playing a real instrument with a group of virtual colleagues based on audio-visual recordings of professional players. Crucially, each virtual player is timing-sensitive, meaning that their musical timing is individually modulated in real time using mathematical models. Such sensitivity allows for the virtual players to synchronise 鈥榣ive鈥� with each other and with the real player, so mimicking the experience of an actual rehearsal.

Starting out with small groups of classical string players, in duos, trios, and quartets, the team hopes to create a model that can then be broadened out to other ensembles and genres, leading to a versatile, interactive rehearsal tool to be used when traditional ensemble rehearsals are not accessible.

The 拢1.2M project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, is a joint project involving researchers at Birmingham City University, University of 糖心TV, and led by the University of Birmingham (UoB).

Supporting the project, the UK digital music industry is represented by two commercial partners involved in musical training and digital technology: PartPlay and Semantic Audio.

Dr Mark Elliott, from WMG at the University of 糖心TV comments: 鈥淭his is a great example of how the collaborative expertise across three West Midlands Universities and industrial partners will be used to combine state-of-the art immersive and audio technologies with mathematical models of human movement to develop research into realistic musician avatars.鈥�

Dr Maria Witek, a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Music (UoB), explains: 鈥淏y studying how ensemble musicians adapt their timing to achieve a rhythmically cohesive and musically expressive performance, we can develop a novel system allowing a real musician to play with responsive and adaptive virtual players.鈥�

Dr Massimiliano Di Luca, principal investigator and senior lecturer in the School of Psychology (UoB) highlights the opportunity for inclusivity and accessibility that the system offers: 鈥淲e will be able to provide musical training opportunities when travel and social rehearsals are not feasible. This will be useful in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and for musicians who might – perhaps for geographical, financial or societal reasons – be unable to make rehearsals happen.鈥�

ENDS

23 MARCH 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of 糖心TV
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

Researchers at WMG are part of a unique four-way partnership with , and , focusing on developing specialist electric motorcycle technology and innovative integrated solutions.

Phase 2 of Project TE-1, a landmark four phase collaboration in British design and engineering, is now complete with the exciting reveal of the innovative advanced electric powertrain and battery, and the very first styling sketches for the final prototype.

Including innovation in battery and powertrain design, initial test performance results that far exceed the current benchmarks and industry targets and development in efficiency and range technology, Project TE-1 is well on track to fully deliver on the partnership鈥檚 objectives to enhance the credibility and profile of British industry and design, and provide substantial input into future electric motorcycle strategy from Triumph.

Nick Bloor, Triumph CEO said: 鈥淭he completion of Phase 2, and the promising results achieved to date, provide an exciting glimpse of the potential electric future and showcase the talent and innovation of this unique British collaboration. Without doubt the outcome of this project will play a significant part in our future efforts to meet our customer鈥檚 ambition and desire to reduce their environmental impact and for more sustainable transportation.

鈥淭his important project will provide one of the foundations for our future electric motorcycle strategy, which is ultimately focussed on delivering what riders want from their Triumph; the perfect balance of performance, handling and real world usability, with genuine Triumph character.鈥�

Truong Quang Dinh, WMG鈥檚 Assistant Professor of Energy Management and Control Systems explained: 鈥淥ur creation of initial computer-based simulation models at the start of Phase 1 has been instrumental in ensuring that the component selection was appropriate to achieve the performance targets defined by the partners for the TE-1 Prototype. We have continued with this work across Phase 2 of the project, refining the models to a much more complex level to allow us and the partners to imitate further components on the bike such as braking, throttle, lighting and other systems and mimic real-world riding to provide development opportunities before components were fully designed. Additionally we have created a physical rig wired with all of the control units, in order to implement a design validation test programme to ensure the function of each section was within the allowable range.鈥�

Truong Quang Dinh explains more here:

WMG has also been providing guidance to Triumph relating to future legislation, charging infrastructure and recycling strategies.

Project TE-1, a two year project, is supported and co-funded by the UK Government鈥檚 Department for 糖心TV, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), via Innovate UK.

Read more about the Project here: 

Read more about WMG鈥檚 energy research here: Energy (warwick.ac.uk)

There has been a remarkable surge in cyber-security crime experienced during the global COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular significance between governmental policy announcements and cyber-crime campaigns. A consortium of researchers, including WMG, University of 糖心TV report that some days as many as 3 to 4 new cyber-attacks were being reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a new normal for billions of people around the world, with people working from home, ordering shopping and socialising online as shops and businesses were closed. However, with an increased amount of people being online, an increase in cyber-attacks has also been found.

Researchers from WMG, University of 糖心TV, Abertay University, University of Kent, University of Oxford and University of Strathclyde worked in collaboration in the study,  published in the journal Computers & Security.

By using the UK as a case study, the paper reveals the explicit connection between governmental policy announcements and cyber-crime campaigns. Although this is a pattern that鈥檚 been suspected for a while, this is the first analysis from 100s of cases around the world which makes this connection clear.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019 there have been reports of scams impersonating public authorities such as the World Health Organisation, and organisations such as supermarkets and airlines targeting support platforms such as PPE and offering COVID-19 cures. They often target the public, who are now socialising and spending more time online in general, as well as the increased population of people who are working from home.

Such scams can be sent by text or e-mail, and in most cases a URL pointed to a fake institutional website which requests debit/credit card details.

In order to support ongoing research, the researchers have proposed a novel timeline of 43 cyber-attacks related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This timeline and the subsequent analysis can assist in understanding those attacks and how they are crafted, and as a result, to better prepare to confront them if ever seen again.

They found that from the point that the first case was announced in China (8/12/19) the first reported cyber-attack was 14 days later. From this point onwards the timeframe between events and cyber-attacks reduced dramatically.

The cyber –attacks were categorised, and it was found:

鈥� 86% involved phishing and/or smishing

鈥� 65% involved malware,

鈥� 34% involved financial fraud

鈥� 15% involved extortion

鈥� 13% involved pharming

鈥� 5% involved hacking

鈥� 5% involved denial of service

Dr Harjinder Lallie, from WMG, University of 糖心TV comments:

鈥淭he analysis presented in this paper has highlighted a common modus-operandi of many cyber-attacks during the coronavirus period.

鈥淢any of the cyber-attacks begin with a phishing campaign which directs victims to download a file or access a URL. The file or the URL act as the carrier of malware which, when installed, acts as the vehicle for financial fraud. The analysis has also shown that to increase the likelihood of success, the phishing campaign leverages media and governmental announcements. In fact some days we recorded as many as 3-4 new scams.鈥�

Dr Xavier Bellekens from the University of Strathclyde, said: 鈥淥ver the last year we have seen a surge in cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructures, governments, organisations and end-users, influenced by governmental announcements. These have ranged from targeted attacks to selling counterfeited respirators to hospitals, denying of essential services through ransomware, selling fake online Covid-19 testing equipment as well as more recently, generating fake Covid travel tests.

鈥淭hese techniques, while common, had never been observed in relation to an event of this magnitude, making this study unique.鈥�

Dr Lynsay Shepherd of Abertay鈥檚 Division of Cybersecurity said:

鈥淐ybercrime is a highly sophisticated and organised activity and it did not come as a surprise to anyone in the cybersecurity industry that these individuals and groups used the Covid-19 pandemic as a vehicle to launch attacks.

鈥淚t is unlikely there will ever be a time when we can eradicate cybercrime. Therefore we must continue to educate everyone from as early a stage as possible, train our graduates to understand the mindset of cybercriminals as we do at Abertay, and to continue to invest in research, development, innovation and infrastructure.鈥�

Dr Jason Nurse from the Institute of Cyber Security for Society (iCSS) at the University of Kent said:

鈥淐ovid-19 has had a substantial negative impact on society, and this impact, as we show in our new research, has also meant a notable increase in cybercrime globally.

鈥淭here are several significant novel findings emerging from our analysis, but the one I found most salient was the targeted use of threats, scare tactics and fake incentives within attacks. Cybercriminals clearly understood that many people would be anxious, worried, distracted and away from their support networks (personal or work-related), and sought to exploit this as much as possible. I hope our research can provide a pathway for future work into faster reaction to these cyberattacks, and also increase society鈥檚 awareness of their prevalence.鈥�

Dr Arnau Erola, from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford adds:

鈥淐ybercriminals take any opportunity to their advantage. By getting insights on their modus operandi, polices to tackle cybercrime can become more effective. This is not only deterring cybercriminals from their unlawful activities but also educating the society about improper and unethical actions.鈥�

ENDS

22 MARCH 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

Full list of researchers include:

Dr Harjinder Lallie (University of 糖心TV)

Dr. Lynsay Shepherd (Abertay University)

Dr. Jason R.C. Nurse (University of Kent)

Dr. Arnau Erola (University of Oxford)

Dr. Gregory Epiphaniou (University of 糖心TV)

Professor Carsten Maple (University of 糖心TV)

Dr. Xavier Bellekens (University of Strathclyde)

High-res images available at:

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march_2021/scam_1.jpg

Caption: An example of a scam pointing a fake institution

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march_2021/scam_2.png

Caption: A timeline of scams worldwide between December 2019 and 31st March 2020

Paper available to view at:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Alice Scott

Media Relations Manager – Science

University of 糖心TV

Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

WMG鈥檚 Associate Professor, Dr Mark Elliott, has been accepted as a Fellow of the prestigious (IMA).

Fellows require senior professional standing based on demonstrable achievement and competence in the development or application of mathematics.

Dr Elliott explains: "Mathematics has underpinned all the disciplines I have worked in during my research career, covering engineering, experimental psychology and most recently, digital health. So, it is great to join this important institution as a Fellow."

Dr Elliott is based in WMG鈥檚 Institute of Digital Healthcare (IDH), with his core research focusing on human movement analytics. His research uses data science approaches to monitor, measure and model movement in a range of different contexts. His current research focusses on developing movement related technologies and data analysis methods in the areas of osteoarthritis, physiotherapy and physical activity.

Read more about Dr Elliott鈥檚 research here: WMG :: Our People :: Profile (warwick.ac.uk)

WMG Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy, Jan Godsell, has been ranked 54th in the 鈥楾op 100 Women in Supply Chain鈥� report.

The list collated by Supply Chain Digital, in association with IBM, recognises exceptional female figures who are driving global innovation across the world.

Professor Godsell comments: 鈥淭his last year, and the challenges of COVID, has highlighted the importance of supply chains. They are critical to life and the economy, but have often been overlooked. It is great to recognise the achievements of 100 women, leading the way in the use of digital technology in supply chains.鈥�

Professor Godsell, who joined WMG in 2013, is highly influential within the engineering and manufacturing sectors. She is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the IMechE. She has advised government and industry on supply chain strategy, and its relationship to industrial and business strategy, and is currently a member of the Department for 糖心TV Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) supply chain resilience advisory group. She is also a member of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) advisory groups for Manufacturing Made Smarter and Driving the Electric Revolution.

In addition, earlier this week Professor Godsell also began a new role as Co-Director of the Manufacturing Made Smarter Network+.

Read more about Professor Godsell鈥檚 career here: Jan Godsell (warwick.ac.uk)

You can see the official Top 100 Women in Supply Chain report here:

路 Flash sintering is a ceramic processing technique which uses electric current to intensively heat the ceramic sample internally rather than using only external furnace heating. The process can lower ceramic processing temperatures and durations significantly, enabling ceramics to be co-processed with metals or other materials, and reducing energy use.

路 However, the process can result in low quality ceramics due to weaknesses caused by inhomogeneities in the microstructure.

路 The origins of these inhomogeneities caused by thermal gradients in the material during flash sintering have been studied by researchers based at WMG, University of 糖心TV and academic and industrial collaborators, and routes to mitigate the effects of these gradients are outlined.

路 Adopting these modified flash sintering routes will enable the wider use of flash sintering in ceramic processing, enabling lower energy production of many useful ceramic products including solid-state batteries.

Densifying ceramics using flash sintering reduces energy use and may be used to improve the viability of manufacturing complex ceramic structures such as those required for solid state batteries by lowering the temperatures and shortening the duration of the heat treatment.

Working in collaboration with academic and industrial partners, researchers from WMG, University of 糖心TV have published a review of the state of the art of flash sintering focusing on the formation of inhomogeneous regions within the ceramics which currently limit the scale-up potential of flash sintering. The review finds that thermal gradients are responsible for microstructural inhomogeneities and suggests of routes to eliminate or reduce these effects.

The reduction of energy use in the ceramic manufacturing industry is a key step in meeting global emissions reduction targets, as conventional processes require long firing treatments at very high temperatures. Several low-energy processes have been developed over the past decade, with flash sintering emerging as a particularly promising route for densification of materials for use in applications including solid state batteries, thermal barrier coatings, and ceramic joints.

In the paper, published as part of a special issue of the MRS Bulletin, Gareth Jones and Dr Claire Dancer from WMG, University of 糖心TV worked with collaborators from the University of Trento, Wuhan University of Technology, Normandie Universit茅, and Lucideon Ltd to review the origins of microstructural variations in different regions of ceramic materials undergoing flash sintering.

Differences in microstructural development originate from thermal gradients within the material during processing, and these can be reduced by careful thermal management during the flash sintering process. These include:

路 Altering the method for applying electrodes

路 Improving thermal homogeneity through insulation

路 Tailoring the frequency of the AC current

路 Developing contactless methods for applying the electric current - which are currently limited to consolidation of thermal barrier coatings.

The findings of this review provide a roadmap for further research on thermal management in flash sintering, which will accelerate the development of the process for industrial implementation.

Dr Claire Dancer, leader of the Ceramics Group within the Materials and Sustainability Directorate at WMG, University of 糖心TV comments:

鈥淟owering ceramic processing temperatures by using techniques such as flash sintering is an essential step for manufacturing complex multi-material structures such as those needed for solid-state batteries, and for lowering overall energy use in the ceramic industry.

鈥淗owever, the process must produce robust homogenous ceramic materials to be of widespread use. Our paper explains why flash sintering can result in inhomogeneous properties in ceramics and suggests a number of routes to mitigate these effects.鈥�

ENDS

9 MARCH 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

The work has been funded by an EPSRC New Investigator Award, a PhD studentship from ERDF and Lucideon, the Royal Society, and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

High-res images available at:

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march_2021/figure1.png
Caption: Causes and Effects of thermal and microstructural gradients in flash sintered ceramics.
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march_2021/figure2.png
Caption: Microstructural development changes with different sintering approaches. Flash sintering produces fine microstructures with very high density with lower energy use than conventional approaches.
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march_2021/figure3_png.png
Caption: Simulation of heat distribution during flash sintering.
Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

Paper available to view at:

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of 糖心TV
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

Today (Monday 8th March), WMG will be celebrating and supporting the 鈥楥hoose to Challenge鈥� initiative.

Staff from across the department have pledged their support which has been used to create this short animation:

WMG Executive Chair, Margot James, has also been sharing her personal thoughts about those who have inspired her, and explains why she is passionate about supporting change for other females. You can hear more from Margot in this short video:

The Day is also a perfect opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the WMG Women in STEM, including Bethany Haynes, Connie Qian and Freeha Azmat. You can read their inspiring stories and more about how they鈥檝e been smashing stereotypes on the: Athena SWAN (warwick.ac.uk) pages.

Between 5-14 March, WMG will be supporting - a ten-day celebration of science, technology, maths and engineering. The theme for this year鈥檚 event is 鈥業nnovating the Future.鈥�

WMG has a programme of activities that will showcase the work of its scientists and engineers. You can see more here: WMG - The University of 糖心TV

MozFest

On 8th March, Professor Margaret Low, WMG鈥檚 Director of Outreach and Widening Participation, will be taking part, virtually, in MozFest. The Mozilla Festival, affectionately known as MozFest, is hosted by the Mozilla Foundation, with themed 鈥榮paces鈥� akin to mini-festivals.

Professor Low will join other experts to present 鈥淓xploring Coding, Stitching Culture,鈥� through a series of tutorials and workshops in the Global Culture and Heritage Space. Participants will have the opportunity to create designs with Turtlestitch coding. The designs will them be exhibited in the Mozfest gallery.

Turtlestitch is freely available software that enables the generation and stitching of patterns using a digital embroidery machine. WMG has a series of free tutorials and lesson plans for Turtlestitch available online.

You can register for MozFest here:

WMG Talks Science

On Friday 12th March, WMG鈥檚 Outreach Project Officer, Dr Phil Jemmett will be hosting a live 鈥榃MG Talks鈥� event aimed at Year 9 and 10 pupils.

The youngsters will have the chance to hear from four WMG scientists – Amar Gohil, Ben Hunt, Katerina Gonos and Kevin Couling, who will share their expertise on driverless vehicles, transport electrification, battery chemistry and 3D printing, respectively.

Dr Phil Jemmett explains: 鈥淏ritish Science Week takes cutting-edge, awe-inspiring work, usually hidden in university buildings, and shares it with the people who will end up using that technology.

鈥淔uturistic concepts belong in the classroom because those students will be the people who end up designing, making, and improving the technology we are talking about today. Our Outreach activity links the school curriculum to our leading research.

鈥淎mar is teaching cars to drive themselves to make transport accessible and safe; Katerina and Ben are making it possible to generate and store energy in a 'green' way, and Kevin is 3D printing body parts for surgeons to train on. These topics will have huge impacts on all of us and they need future STEM experts to turn these concepts into real products. The next leader in STEM is probably in school somewhere right now - could it be you?鈥�

To find out more or to register a place for your child visit: /fac/sci/wmg/about/outreach/opportunities/wmgtalks

Manufacturers must unlock supply chain visibility to rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic, WMG and Blue Yonder are warning.

The pandemic has disrupted supply and demand in many ways, from factory and border closures to swings in consumer needs, and those without supply chain visibility have been struggling to adapt and keep up. Digital supply chain technologies perform a vital role across all stages of manufacturing, from sourcing materials and quality control to warehouses and shipping. Now the industry is being warned any talk of 鈥榖uilding back stronger鈥� won鈥檛 come to fruition if manufacturers don鈥檛 have the visibility over demand and supply that digital supply chains can bring.

The warning comes as a result of WMG research conducted in with almost 250 manufacturing companies revealing that lack of visibility and workforce issues are creating the biggest supply chain bottlenecks:

• 47% cited lack of visibility of capacity at suppliers and 37% cited lack of visibility of demand from customers as major supply chain constraints.
• More than half (55%) used inventory as the major buffer against disruption. This ties up cash and can leave organisations exposed if demand falls.
• Less than a third (32%) used visibility in their supply network to react to disruption. This is potentially a more effective strategy in the longer term.

To help manufacturers assess their supply chain needs, WMG at the University of 糖心TV and Blue Yonder worked together to design a . The digital readiness tool gives manufacturers the ability to assess their current supply chain to see where they are now and where they need to be. Manufacturers can also enquire about a further consultation to understand what they need to do to get to their goal and survive in the post COVID-19 world.Professor Jan Godsell, WMG, University of 糖心TV

Professor Jan Godsell, from WMG, University of 糖心TV, comments: 鈥淎s we continue to deal with the disruptions of COVID-19, demand and supply visibility has never been more critical. It enables manufacturers to better plan their manufacturing operations, to minimise costly inventory buffers. We hope that the supply chain digital readiness tool can assist manufacturers with identifying opportunities to use digitisation to help their businesses to survive and thrive amidst the challenges of COVID-19. We are also offering manufacturers further advice.鈥�

Alan Duncan, Senior Director of Manufacturing Strategy at Blue Yonder, adds: 鈥淭hey say 鈥榯he wise man built his house on the rock,鈥� and when they鈥檙e rebuilding after COVID-19, manufacturers must put resilient digital supply chains at the centre of operations. Manufacturers have been investing more in the move to digital supply chains in recent years, but it鈥檚 crucial that their plans are pushed through to fruition. A digital supply chain will give them the end-to-end visibility, resilience and agility required to emerge from pandemic disruption in the strongest manner possible.鈥�

ENDS

4 MARCH 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

The data comes from a WMG survey of 248 manufacturers in September 2020.

High-res images available at:

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/january2019/jangodsell250.jpg

Caption: Professor Jan Godsell, WMG, University of 糖心TV

Credit: WMG, University of 糖心TV

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott

Media Relations Manager – Science

University of 糖心TV

Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221

E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk