UCLan receives £200,000 manufacturing funding

The University of Central Lancashire has been awarded £199,763 of funding to help address advanced manufacturing skills shortages in Lancashire.

UCLan’s share of the funding will be put towards the delivery of its Additive Manufacturing Education Programme (AMEP) which will train educators, address business skills and outreach to the engineers of the future.

The project will respond to a shortage of skilled people within engineering and manufacturing in the county, to increase productivity within the AM sector by supporting the development of skilled people through teaching and learning activities.

Part of the funding will also be used to build on work being done through UCLan’s DigitME project, to meet with local businesses and assess potential opportunities to carry out CPD and skills development to implement AM technologies for prototyping, tooling or manufacturing purposes.

“The rapid rise and disruptive nature of additive technologies has left a skills gap whereby specialists in additive manufacturing are limited and there is a requirement for a significant shift in engineering education in order to support the future of this method of manufacture. “The HEFCE Catalyst Fund means we will be able to accelerate and expand the delivery of teaching and learning activities to address the skills gap and develop and sustain AMEP long term.”