Prize for engineering firm and university collaboration - 25-09-2007 - 11:07

An engineering firm is set to create jobs after winning an award for a new technology it developed with a university in the north-east.

Kablefree Systems, which worked with Northumbria University, was awarded the SME and University Collaboration Award at the national Technology and Innovation Awards in London.

The two organisations co-operated to create an emergency lighting system which uses radio to test whether lights are working and can activate backup power from a secondary source. It has already been installed in various hospitals.

More jobs are set to be created as the company sets out to make and sell more units.

Thomas Lovell, director at Kablefree Systems, told North East Business: "This is one of the biggest developments this business has seen and, although I can't give a number, we are looking to create a number of new jobs to push the product forward."

He also praised the collaboration with Northumbria University saying it showed how businesses could benefit from working with the educational establishments.

Beeb brains gets Faraday medal - 21-09-2007 - 11:49

Professor Steve Furber, whose famous work includes the BBC Micro and ARM architecture, has been awarded a prestigious engineering prize.

The professor was presented with the Faraday medal by the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Named after magnetism pioneer Michael Faraday, the annual award recognises notable engineering accomplishments.

Professor Furber's BBC Micro, one of the first computers to move out of massive rooms and onto desktops, was first released in 1981 and was in high demand.

His ARM processor architecture, first developed in 1985, is still present in a vast range of consumer electronics.

The professor, who has previously received the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal and the Queen's Award for Technology, said of winning the award: "It is a great honour to receive this. I have been very fortunate to work with many outstanding colleagues both at Acorn and at Manchester, and to find myself in the right place at the right time to work on projects that turned out to have an impact.

"The first half-century of computing has been extraordinarily exciting, but watch out, because the next half-century promises even bigger changes and more rapid development."

Engineers in short supply - 04-09-2007 - 11:05

Engineering and technology companies are having difficulty recruiting experienced or mid career staff, giving engineers an advantage when looking for jobs, according to a survey.

The poll of 500 companies, taken by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) revealed that more than 70 per cent of companies in the engineering were facing this difficulty.

Only 56 per cent of the respondents said they believed they would be able to fill all the engineering positions they needed to. This figure represents a nine per cent drop from last year.

The skill most lacking, according to the employers, was leadership, with a quarter of the businesses claiming that recruits often did not meet expectations.

Some 35 per cent said a shortage of specific skills was behind the recruitment troubles, 29 per cent blamed a lack of qualified candidates and one in five claimed prospective employees didn't have the right experience.

Companies are now starting to develop their own mentoring, coaching and training to develop existing staff's communication and leadership skills.

IET also offers financial awards to engineering students to try to attract more to engineering courses at university.