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Industry leaders come on board as NMiTE adds engineering expertise

NMiTE – New Model in Technology and Engineering

NMiTE (New Model in Technology and Engineering) the project to create the engineering university of the future, has announced three new appointments to its Board of Trustees; Martin Hitchin, Rowena Innocent and Richard Lindsay-Davies which will come into effect on 1 July 2019.

Commenting on the appointments, Chairman Dame Fiona Kendrick said: “The addition of these three industry leaders, all with strong engineering backgrounds, will be great support for delivering our vision for the world’s most distinctive and innovative engineering curriculum. Each will reinforce the role of employer leadership of this project, as well as contribute a range of individual commercial experiences. These appointments bring our Board to nine, giving us additional breadth and diversity as we move towards university status.”

- Martin Hitchin is the CEO of REHAU, a leading systems and service provider for polymer-based solutions in construction, automotive and industry, and founder members of NMiTE. Martin is currently a Council Member of the EuPC (professional representative body of plastics converters in Europe) and of the British Plastics Federation. Martin said: “The whole project represents a unique opportunity for engineering teaching in the UK. As an employer of engineering graduates at REHAU we have always been painfully aware how difficult it is to find the right candidate and how long the on-boarding process takes. I believe that my engineering background, commercial experience and exposure to many different engineering fields and companies will help drive this project forward.”

- Rowena Innocent has been Vice President of Research and Development of Malvern Panalytical since January 2017. Malvern Panalytical is a leading provider of scientific instrumentation for materials analysis. Rowena said: I’m delighted and excited to join the growing NMiTE family. Engineering is changing rapidly and we urgently need to develop engineers that can drive the high tech industry in the UK. The lack of gender balance in further education and subsequently industry is leaving a rich talent pool untapped. Having worked in engineering, leading product development teams for over 25 years, I am really looking forward to helping NMiTE rebalance and re-energise engineering in the UK. For my role I offer a strong voice of industry with insights into developing technology trends and, of course, as a woman in engineering I have first-hand experience of the challenges and opportunities a career in engineering offers.”

- Richard Lindsay-Davies is CEO of Digital TV Group, the organisation which defines the core requirements of every television sold in the UK market and has been central to the development and collaborative implementation of digital television in the UK for more than 25 years. Richard said: “Engineering underpins every part of our society and economy, from our health through to our security and our entertainment, but the world is changing fast and we are facing a huge engineering skills gap. NMiTE’s innovative approach will help ensure that Britain retains its global position in this critical area, with engineering graduates that are not only ready for the world of work, but also representative of broader society. Its approach resonates strongly with my own experience, whilst training and throughout my career. Learning and personal confidence cannot be divorced from practical application and a first-hand understanding of industry. I am looking forward to supporting an institution dedicated to unlocking both engineering excellence and professional and personal competencies.”

NMiTE CEO Elena Rodriguez-Falcon said: “Our objective is to revolutionise engineering education by combining the most successful ways to learn from around the world into a new, bold and inspiring approach. Learning is centred around students solving practical engineering challenges, including their commercial aspects too, so it is great that our growing board increasingly reflects this. It is particularly rewarding that we have been able to increase this breadth by welcoming leaders from local, national and international businesses.”

The NMiTE Board already comprises Dame Fiona Kendrick, former Chair and Chief Executive of Nestlé UK & Ireland; Professor Sir Eric Thomas, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Bristol; Jon Gorringe, former Finance Director at the University of Edinburgh; Karen Usher, Founder and Chairman of HR Consultancy, TPO Inc; Ian Falconer, Senior Consultant at Pinsent Masons; and Peter Scott, Director of the Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Warwick.

Media contact details:

Jo Williams, Associate Director Rochester PR Group

DD: 020 3948 4382

M: 07825 686 930

E: jo.williams@rochesterprgroup.com

Notes to editors:

NMiTE, which was inaugurated on 19 October 2018, is being created to help solve the problem of Britain’s estimated annual shortfall of at least 22,000 engineering graduates* with a radical new approach and a curriculum that combines the best innovations from leading universities around the world.

NMiTE will initially open its doors to a Pioneer Cohort of 50 undergraduates, rising to 190 by the end of 2020 subject to Validation. The students will be based at a purpose-built city centre campus in Hereford from where NMiTE will deliver the world’s most distinctive and innovative engineering curriculum. With a focus on learning by doing, it intends to be educating more than 5,000 engineering students by 2032.

The project to create the engineering university of the future is being strongly backed by engineering businesses, the Herefordshire community, Herefordshire Council, Olin College of Engineering (USA), professional engineering bodies and the UK Government, which awarded up to £23 million in initial funding. £8 million of this funding for the project was awarded by the Marches LEP via its Growth Deal with Government. Growth Deals are awarded to LEPs through a competitive bidding process to fund the delivery of projects to boost the local economy.

*Engineering UK 2018: The state of engineering

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  • Malvern WR14 1XZ, UK
  • Malvern Panalytical