Advanced manufacturing institute awarded Queen’s Anniversary Prize

Prince Charles has presented the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering (AME) with the highest honour in UK higher education.

The awards were presented at a ceremony with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, which celebrated achievements in higher and further education.

Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are granted by the Queen every two years and recognise excellence, innovation and education in the work carried out by UK colleges and universities. They are the highest national honour to be awarded to further and higher education institutions.

Known as the UK’s first ‘faculty on the factory floor’, AME gives students direct access to live manufacturing projects and access to state-of-the-art technologies in a bid to future-proof and accelerate their careers.

Over 200 students have completed or are working towards their degrees, utilising the latest robotics, automation and welding technology.

In addition to taking a new approach to education, AME also has a team of technology specialists and professors who are working together to help develop new powertrain and energy transfer solutions for automotive, aerospace and renewables.

Projects have included lightweight exhaust systems, fuel tanks for hybrid vehicles and battery energy storage systems, working with a number of leading automotive companies in the process.

Carl Perrin, director of AME, commented: “AME thrives on the fact that the engineering experience starts the minute a student begins their course, not at the end of it and this ‘hands-on’ approach creates graduates that have an immediate positive impact when they join a company. This is reflected in excellent employability and extremely high student satisfaction.”

He continued: “This is just the start. We have a lot of exciting things planned for the AME model and this includes a new expansion in 2020, more global partnerships and the launch of Manufacturing Apprenticeships.”

Professor John Latham CBE, vice-chancellor at Coventry University, added: “The prize is testimony to the valuable work the partnership achieves and the students who have engaged with AME are also a shining example of the benefits the partnership can bring by producing industry-ready graduates with the skills, knowledge and expertise the sector needs.”

AME www.coventry.ac.uk/ame