The agreement marks the first collaboration for a new UK-wide digitalisation network to link universities with the Internet of Things (IoT). It comes as the widespread adoption of digitalisation, the technology behind Industry 4.0, such as that being tested at the University of Sheffield’s Factory 2050, is seen as crucial to UK competitiveness and productivity.
The partnership is based on the MindSphere Innovation Network (MINe) developed by Siemens to connect a university’s estate and research assets into its innovative IoT platform, MindSphere. It then makes this data available to improve teaching and research collaborations between academics and industry partners, to uncover new business models and create commercial opportunities through digitalisation.
In addition to linking its estate and research assets into MindSphere and acting as a living lab to help equip graduates with the skills they will need in a digital world, the University of Sheffield and Siemens have also invested in a bespoke space for collaboration and learning between students, local businesses and other partners.
The ‘MindSphere Lounge’ is located in The Diamond building – the University’s largest ever investment in learning and teaching. Students, academics, industry partners and Siemens experts can use the area to access MindSphere to harness the value of the data produced from the University and the various projects connected to the cloud-based platform.
Juergen Maier, CEO, Siemens UK, who has led the Government’s Industrial Digitalisation Review said: “Using digital technologies to transform business operations is key for the UK to drive competitiveness, improve national productivity and take advantage of the commercial opportunities offered by an increasingly digitalised industry.
“We believe this innovative network heralds a new eco-system enabled by MindSphere, which will provide a vital new model for collaboration between institutions, departments and other key stakeholders to universities.”
Teams from Siemens will be based on campus to help projects and engage communities by enabling Sheffield and other universities to become hubs for collaborating with local businesses.
Professor Sir Keith Burnett, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Sheffield, stated: “This pioneering strategic partnership between Siemens and the university marks a significant milestone in our commitment to innovative technologies and progressive partnership with business.
“The digital revolution is transforming all parts of society, including industry, so it is vital that students and academics grasp the potential for data to fundamentally change the way we approach problems and opportunities.
"Just as business moves towards 'Industry 4.0', we are matching this with 'Education 4.0' in which students, academics and business come together in a shared digital environment to solve problems and boost productivity.”
Siemens www.siemens.co.uk/MINe
