A research and development partnership between Birmingham City University (BCU) and several leading car manufacturers has resulted in continuing professional development (CPD) courses that have helped employees adapt to the manufacturing of electric vehicles.
Posted 01 August 2022
Addressing an industry-wide challenge
The PERSEUS project launched in late 2019, in partnership with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and funded by Innovate UK/Advanced Propulsion Centre.
It aimed to help JLR and six other industry partners make the transition from the manufacturing of diesel and petrol engines to electric vehicles.
It was launched due to new legislations introduced that will see the sale of new petrol and diesel cars end by 2030.
Expert courses to inform staff and implement quicker changes
BCU developed CPD courses to upskill project partners’ staff.
By doing this, BCU managed to accelerate the training developments that were needed.
Furthermore, it provided the technical excellence in supporting the UK manufacturing cluster, specifically skills development in smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0.
“These courses support enhanced and more adaptable working in manufacturing scenarios, with the key objective of assisting in the transition from petrol to electric vehicle technologies,” says Junaid Arshad, Lecturer in Computer Science at BCU and a part of PERSEUS.
“This impact was achieved through upskilling engineers within the consortium companies in numerous fields.
“These include automotive engineering, immersive technologies, health and safety, cyber security and artificial intelligence.”
Impactful content to educate workforce
These CPD courses have been delivered to over two hundred enrolments from seven leading organisations in the car manufacturing sector. All received the content positively.
“PERSEUS provides the opportunity to develop more effective and efficient methods and processes that will enable our plant to offer full manufacturing flexibility between electric drive units and our petrol and diesel engines,” says a JLR representative.
“The project gave us the speed and responsiveness to produce what our customers want at the right time as we transition to an electrified future. JLR was also able to develop new processes for inhouse EDU manufacturing.”
The beneficiaries ranged from the attending delegates, their employers and the group as a whole who share interdependence.
The regional community at large benefited economically through the improved stability of employers, who enhanced their global footprint and retrained key staff.
Looking to the future, generations and communities will benefit from cleaner technologies.
The PERSEUS project has already been recognised, recently winning Most Impactful CPD at the Knowledge Exchange Awards.
Interested in undertaking one of the CPD courses mentioned above? Contact khalid.ismail@bcu.ac.uk to find out more.
