Email News March 2014
Welcome to the March 2014 Email Newsletter from Marine South East
If you would like to submit an article for consideration please email the text and a suitable image or logo to sj@mseuk.org
Posted 2014-02-20 16:19:09
Boost for Solent's maritime and marine engineering industry announced by Michael Fallon MP
The Minister for Portsmouth, Michael Fallon, has announced a project to attract more investment in the maritime and marine engineering industry.
Ministers, industry and local leaders have commissioned the University of Southampton to research the strengths and opportunities including investment ready sites, research and development assets, skills and technologies that have a competitive edge.
The report will be ready in the spring and will be used to promote the industry to investors, particularly those from overseas.
The Department for Business, UK Trade and Investment, the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership and the British Marine Federation will oversee the work. The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is a key partner due to the region’s strengths in marine and maritime engineering.
Much of the focus will be on the region, but the study will be UK-wide and there will be an opportunity for other interested LEPs to be involved.
Posted 2014-02-20 17:10:43
Marine South East supports Telespazio VEGA UK in developing new uses of space technology in the Arctic
Telespazio VEGA UK, a subsidiary of Telespazio (Finmeccanica/Thales), along with an international consortium will be developing and trialling new and improved situational awareness services tailored for the Arctic region through a European Space Agency Integrated Application Promotion.
The fundamental advantage to the solution will be the integration of Earth Observation, Global Navigation, Telecommunications and Satellite Automatic Identification Systems together.
Telespazio VEGA UK will develop a range of value-added services and layers of geo-information that can be customized to the needs of specific operators. The service will include the primarily space radar and AIS (Automatic Identification System) / VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) based maritime shipping, oil slick and ice monitoring services which can be provided 24/7 by e-GEOS (Asi/Telespazio), and in particular already integrated satellite AIS services available from consortium Canadian member Exact Earth.
AnsuR, a Norwegian company, will provide the low bandwidth high fidelity image transfer system currently operational in land crisis management applications with the United Nation. Extensive user requirement workshops will be carried out to deliver a sustainable service to oil and gas, commercial shipping, fishing and tourism organisations operating in this remote, hazardous and rapidly changing environment. Maritime expertise and access to the market through Marine South East and additional maritime data layers are provided by Stevenson Astrosat and HR Wallingford.
Activities in the Arctic region are set to increase significantly in coming years, with investment potentially reaching $100Bn or more within 10 years with global involvement in the changing environment through oil extraction, mining, increased tourism and shipping routes this solution aims to reduce commercial operational problems, improve management and policing in the area and in monitoring to manage and reduce risk of environmental and human tragedy.
This solution presents a viable Arctic Integrated Situational Awareness Service building upon existing operational or semi-operational services provided by consortium members, and adding additional features believed to be of value to the user community that will help to differentiate and ensure the success of the service.
Telespazio VEGA UK, is part of Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales 67/33 joint venture, that is one of the world's leading operators in satellite services with activities range from the design and development of space systems to the management of launch services, from in-orbit satellite control to Earth observation, from integrated communications, satellite navigation and localisation services to scientific programmes.
For more information please go to:
http://artes-apps.esa.int/projects/arctic-iap
Posted 2014-03-02 10:41:06
University Technical Colleges - the new approach to filling the UK skills gap
University Technical Colleges are a new style of school, open to pupils from 14-18, with an emphasis on providing a rounded, technical education. The concept is the brainchild of Lord Baker, former Education Secretary and founder of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which drives the initiative.
The development of UTCs is in direct response to repeated demands from industry for an increased number of well-educated and high status technicians and engineers. There are some serious skills gaps in the UK and the latest Employer Skill Survey from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills underlines this. It found that more than one in five vacancies (22 per cent) across the country are hard to fill due to skill shortages in the available labour pool.
UTCs focus on STEM subjects and are helping to fill some of these shortages. The Baker Dearing Trust is investigating the possibility of a UTC in Southampton and Portsmouth.
UTCs are sponsored by a university sponsor and industry sponsors (on a non financial basis) which ensures that the skills being taught meet the needs of the local employers, as well as ensuring that the level of education being provided is as high as it can possibly be.
Each UTC has two specialisms reflecting the economic needs of the local area and these are offered in partnership with employers.
There are now 17 UTCs open and by 2016 a total of 50 will be in operation. Across the country young people are already learning the skills industry desperately needs.
Engineering students at Royal Greenwich UTC are working with Transport for London and Network Rail to understand how to build the railways of the future; young motor racing engineers learn their craft with the help of McClaren at the Silverstone UTC; and construction students at Bucks UTC are personally mentored by the CEO of Taylor Wimpey.
The results from the first UTC, JCB Academy in Staffordshire, suggest that they are set to be hugely successful. As well as an 88% pass rate in GCSE maths and outstanding results in the engineering diploma, every single leaver went on to further or higher education, apprenticeship or employment. There were no NEETs, itself a remarkable achievement.
UTCs are creating new models for working with employers to ensure that young people are ready to step confidently into the world of work.
For more information please contact Nick Barnes nbarnes@utcolleges.org or call 07850 533563 or visit the website: http://www.utcolleges.org
Posted 2014-02-20 16:56:11
Record numbers attend Offshore Wind Farm meet the buyer event
E.ON Climate & Renewables hosted a very successful major Meet-the-Buyer event for their Rampion offshore wind farm on 26th February 2014, organised and promoted by Marine South East.
More than 250 people attended at the AMEX stadium in Brighton, coming mainly from local companies in Sussex and the wider South East, to meet with E.ON's lead managers responsible for procurement across the whole project.
Jonathan Williams from Marine South East presented results from their work on supply chain development, supported by E.ON and local authorities across East and West Sussex, highlighting the major opportunities for local companies in the construction and operational phases of the wind farm.
All the presentations will be available shortly from the supply chain web portal at http://www.sussexwindenergy.org.uk.
Several support programmes were also presented to help firms prepare for bidding successfully into the Rampion procurement, including the GROW:offshore programme. Links to this and other support services will be posted shortly as Marine South East builds on the strong business interest generated by this Meet-the-Buyer event.
Posted 2014-02-27 17:36:34
Hampshire companies take advantage of global buyers at Seawork
Seawork, the international commercial marine exhibition and conference will be taking place 10th - 12th June 2014 at ABP Port of Southampton. The organisers have announced that over 120 Hampshire businesses have signed up to exhibit at the show which is expected to attract 7,000+ trade visitors from around the maritime world.
In total, over 500 companies from 46 countries will participate in Seawork, which now spans three exhibition halls and 300 metres of quayside; over 60 vessels will berth on pontoons which are constructed specially for the event.
Local companies can display their wares in a number of special pavilions and features, ranging from the Innovations Showcase, Ship Repair & Ship Building Pavilion to the Dive Tank and Renewable Energy features.
The concurrent, on-site, three-day Seawork 2014 conference will feature a full programme of free-to-attend expert and topical papers, including those on the UK's Ministry of Defence purchasing strategy, the realities of implementing the Maritime & Coastguard Agency's workboat Brown Code and the latest issues affecting the offshore renewable energy industry and its suppliers - increasingly relevant to the local area as plans to develop the Navitus Bay offshore wind farm progress.
For more information about Seawork please visit:
http://www.seawork.com
Posted 2014-02-25 17:44:23
£10 million boost for SME energy innovation
The Department for Energy and Climate Change has announced that British entrepreneurs are set to benefit from a share of £10 million to help bring new and innovative energy efficient products to market.
Small and medium size enterprises within the energy efficiency, building technologies, power generation and energy storage sectors are invited to bid for funding of up to £2 million under the Government's Energy Entrepreneurs Fund.
Support will be given to state of the art technologies that could bring down the cost of consumer bills and reduce carbon emissions, such as ground source heat pumps, and energy from waste technologies.
In addition to funding, the winning companies will also receive advice from commercial experts on how to attract investment to bring their products to the market.
Applications are assessed by engineering and technical experts across government and industry, as well as a commercial panel of low carbon investment professionals. Bids are judged against a range of criteria including the ability to cut the cost of existing technologies, future carbon savings and commercial viability.
This is the third phase of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. In the first phase, which was launched in September 2012, 31 companies were awarded grants of a total value of £16 million. The second phase, launched in June 2013, resulted in 20 companies receiving grant offers totalling £9 million.
Full details of how to apply for the funding can be found by following the link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-entrepreneurs-fund-phase-3-documents
Marine South East has been a successful recipient of Energy Entrepreneurs Funding through its SAMED project which is looking to validate a novel anchoring technology for marine structures using helical screw piles.
A critical element of this technology is that the subsea tooling for installation of screw piles could avoid the need for large, expensive installation vessels. To achieve this, the project brings together a consortia of subsea installation specialists and a leading helical screw pile provider, under the leadership of project coordinator Marine South East.
Posted 2014-02-24 12:41:18
Seavision Go4SET Scheme appealing to companies and organisations to support local schools
For nearly 30 years, the Engineering Development Trust; a national not-for-profit organisation, has striven to encourage young people into careers in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths. It is the largest provider of STEM educational activities for UK youth.
EDT currently has a number of schools that are registered to take part in the Seavision Go4SET Scheme and is appealing to businesses and organisations in the marine and maritime sectors to support one (or more) of these local schools by either providing financial or mentoring support.
Go4SET http://www.etrust.org.uk/go4set.cfm works with pupils just as they are about to choose their options for GCSE and the support given by business helps guide them towards their future career. This is achieved by staff from your company mentoring the young people aged 12-13 as they undertake an environmentally themed maritime project.
In addition to helping the students, companies and staff working with the EDT will experience the following benefits:
* Assist with creating more scientists and engineers (needed by UK plc)
* Develop their own staff, current and future
* Aid their CSR
* Develop their outreach activities
* Raise their profile in the local community
* Create partnerships with local schools
* "Educate" the teachers about industry
* Potentially benefit financially from project solutions
* Cost effective solutions to the above
If your company is willing to assist the Engineering Development Trust in supporting these young people then please contact:
Nicola Brotherton
EDT Co-ordinator
Tel: 01403 701 924/ 07905 175 162
Email: nicola.brotherton@etrust.org.uk
http://www.etrust.org.uk/go4set.cfm
Posted 2014-02-28 09:08:18
12 teams from six countries to race human powered submarines in Gosport
Twelve teams of university students from six countries will be meeting 7th-11th July 2014 to take part in the 2nd biennial European International Submarine Races at QinetiQ’s Ocean Basin in Gosport; the biggest covered water space in Europe.
The week-long event,is a unique sporting and engineering challenge. It tests the students' engineering skills, for every human powered submarine taking part is designed and built by the university concerned with vital amendments and adjustments and even re-building taking place during the week. It also tests their sporting prowess and stamina, for the teams race against the clock with the pilot wearing SCUBA gear and pedalling underwater around a demanding slalom course in the tank measuring 122m x 61m and 5.5m deep.
Teams competing for the 2014 awards are: École Polytechnique de Montréal, École de Technologie Supérieure and University of British Columbia all from Canada; Rhine Waal University of Applied Sciences from Germany; University of Delft from the Netherlands; University of Auckland from New Zealand; University of Michigan and University of Washington from the USA; and four teams from the UK with University of Bath, University of Plymouth, University of Southampton, and University of Warwick.
The eISR is organised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology in partnership with QinetiQ; and the eminent judging panel is headed by Vice Admiral Sir Robert Hill, KBE, FIMarEST.
On Wednesday 9th July, the eISR plays host to a Graduate Fair and series of Master Classes, which are open to all, with a stimulating range of speakers including Huw James, the adventurer, astronomer and outdoors enthusiast, who will wrap up the day.
The day offers attendees - racers and visitors alike - the opportunity to hear about the challenges that flow through the in-and out-trays of working marine engineers. The Fair and Master Classes run alongside the Races, and will consist of a series of presentations by sponsoring companies, who will also have recruiters available to speak to young engineers.
Participants in the Master Classes will also be welcome to visit the races. The eISR Underwater Technology Master Classes and Graduate Fair are open to anyone with an interest in marine engineering, but those that will benefit most from the opportunities are third and final year engineering students, as well as recent graduates of engineering programmes - the full programme of Master Classes will be available at http://www.subrace.eu by Spring 2014.
In addition, the IMarEST is running a Stanley Grey Lecture providing an overview on the use of AUVs for monitoring and observation in the Submarine Museum on the evening of Tuesday 8th July to be given by Dr Gwyn Griffiths, Principal and founder of Autonomous Analytics. His experience with autonomous marine vehicles stretches back to 1989 when he began his involvement with the Autosub programme.
Full information on all aspects of the eISR including rules, layout of the course and visitor registration can be found at http://www.subrace.eu
