The University of Nottingham is looking to capitalise on opportunities offered by a post-Brexit future to strengthen research, teaching and innovation relationships with European partners — and solidify its position as a leading collaborator with the aviation sector in the East Midlands.
It has forged closer links with a German university and unveiled funding and aerospace partnerships that underline its status as a key player in Europe’s largest research programme, Clean Sky 2.
At the end of January, the University of Nottingham hosted a delegation from Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed, paving the way for a new level of collaboration between the two institutions.
Meanwhile, the University of Nottingham (
www.nottingham.ac.uk) has joined leading European research institutions and aerospace manufacturers in an EU project designed to explore the delivery of hybrid electric propulsion for sustainable aircraft.
Its expertise in power electronics, electrical machines and control systems will help the consortium (funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 scheme) to develop an infrastructure to test hybrid electric propulsion systems for safety and reliability.
IMOTHEP (Investigation and Maturation of Technologies for Hybrid Electric Propulsion) brings together
33 international aviation industry and research stakeholders.
Nottingham has also been provisionally awarded a share of more than £20 million in EU funding to continue to support innovation by Midlands aerospace businesses and build upon the region’s success as one of the world’s largest aerospace industry clusters.
The European Regional Development Fund award will enable the university and its partner, the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), to offer support to aerospace supply chain businesses in the Midlands.
The Aerospace Unlocking Potential (Aerospace UP) project aims to help smaller companies in supply chains to play their part in addressing challenges around investment in green technology and competition from emerging market countries and plug gaps in UK Government aerospace R&D funding, which focuses on bigger players.
In addition, the university’s continuing ability to work with Europe’s aviation leaders is underlined by the establishment of a research facility in the Campania region of Italy, which is home to the Italian National Centre for Aerospace Research (CIRA) and significant aerospace industries.
Jessica Corner, pro-vice chancellor for research and knowledge exchange at Nottingham University said: “We are ensuring that the UK remains a key player in European aerospace innovation, while new initiatives such as a research base in Italy confirm that we are committed to renewing and building research and industry partnerships across Europe.”