Supporting innovative businesses on Merseyside

Leading figures from the manufacturing industry including global engineering and technology companies such Siemens and Jaguar Land Rover visited the university to celebrate the opening and tour the new facilities.

Managing Director of Siemens UK (Process Industries and Drives) and alumni of LJMU Mike Houghton, spoke at the event to launch the partnership between Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and LJMU which in collaboration, will lend expert guidance and support to regional businesses while developing research and innovation excellence within the technology and engineering sectors.

Working together, LJMU and the MTC will become a transforming force for regional industry through the use of a new Business Launch Centre based at LJMU’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology at the Peter Jost building. The university has partnered with Coventry-based MTC which develops manufacturing processes and technologies. The initiative was also boosted by the news of the MTC receiving a £2m government grant to help small and medium enterprises in the region.

Professor Nigel Weatherill, Vice-Chancellor of LJMU, said: “We’re enormously excited by the opportunity of working alongside MTC here in Liverpool and to foster opportunities for improved processes and innovation across the technology and engineering sectors. This initiative is part of the wider ambition of the university. We have responsibility for students as well as the region in taking it further forward into the 21st century and make it a viable part of the Northern Powerhouse.”

Professor Ahmed Al-Shamma’a, Executive Dean at LJMU’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology added: “This is the beginning of a ground-breaking partnership which will revolutionise the scope for manufacturing success in the North West. The new centre will help drive innovation especially among the regions small to medium enterprises, raising awareness of the potential of new technology and delivering guidance, lending expertise and technical support. Through the new centre, we will be able to deliver vital support to businesses to improve productivity and to introduce new products or processes.”