Cummins Comes to Call
The success of the University of Greenwich at Medway in helping leading engineering firm Cummins Power Generation has been seen first hand by top executives from the company.
Elizabeth Carey, Executive Director (Engineering), based at Fridley, Minnesota, led a delegation from Cummins Power Generation to meet with the team behind the university’s degree course that is helping to deliver the needs of the international engineering company.
Cummins Power Generation is a major Kent firm, employing nearly 600 people at Manston Park, Ramsgate, in the assembly of generators and power production equipment for worldwide distribution.
The university’s School of Engineering introduced a programme in electrical engineering to help Cummins Power Generation overcome recruitment problems caused by the national shortage of qualified electrical engineers.
Delivered on a part-time basis as a rolling programme over six years by the University of Greenwich at Medway, the course is set to welcome more Cummins employees, as well as employees from other companies in the region, on the BEng (Hons) programme in 2007. In addition, four further members of staff are taking other undergraduate and graduate University of Greenwich courses, including mechanical engineering and engineering management.
Dr Stuart Ashenden, Director of Academic Planning, Medway, said: “We are determined to deliver graduates with the skills to sustain local employers. The reinstatement of electrical engineering as a key discipline in the School through our relationship with Cummins has led to the development of a very vibrant MSc in Electrical Power Engineering that saw this year's cohort all receiving at least two job offers.
“This is an outstanding example of how business and education providers can and should work together.”
The Cummins delegation explored other potential opportunities for collaboration with the university including specific areas of research, in particular what the university is doing on bio-fuels and renewable energy and the work of the Centre for Sustainability.
Elizabeth Carey said: “It was great to see for ourselves how the university is striving to enhance the skills of our company and industry.
“The shortage of highly qualified electrical engineers is a problem our industry is facing and the difficulties in recruiting suitably skilled staff are predicted to become more severe in coming years.
“We are delighted to have been able to work so closely with the University of Greenwich at Medway to develop a programme which meets the needs of our staff – contributing to their skills in the workplace as well as their personal career development.”
ENDS
Photo: Elizabeth Carey, Executive Director - Engineering, Cummins Power Generation (front centre) Richard Meadows, Technical Director, Cummins Power Generation (Back middle) Professor David Wills, UOG, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Front right of photo) Dr Stuart Ashenden, UOG, Director of Academic Planning (Front left) Dr Yehdago Habday, UOG (member of staff appointed as a result of this relationship) (Back left) Professor Ndy Ekere, Head of School of Engineering, (back right)
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University of Greenwich
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Hester Brown
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