University of Plymouth joins our 'Innovation Cities' event this month

Image: Plymouth looking west over the city and Plymouth Sound to Devonport Docks and the River Tamar (copyright WebbAviation)

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Adrian Dawson, Director of Research and Innovation, at the University of Plymouth, will be contributing to our 'Innovation Cities' discussion event in Bristol this month alongside the West of England Combined Authority..

The forum will ask questions around how defence will grow as a major economic driver in Plymouth and how technology and nuclear innovation can support this.

Adrian joined the University in 2010 as the Director of SERIO (Social Economic and Market Research Observatory) which offers specialist evaluation and social research both regionally and nationally to the public, private sector organisations. 

In 2013, he became the Head of GAIN Projects and Partnerships for the University before moving into the role of the University's Director of Research and Innovation in 2017. He now leads a multi-disciplinary team responsible for supporting researchers, securing grant funding, creating and developing partnerships and collaborations with industry, the public and third sector organisations to enable knowledge exchange, and deliver real world impact from our research.

The University of Plymouth has helped to launch Team Plymouth, a collaboration drawing together key organisations across the city with the aim of ensuring residents of Plymouth and the wider South West region benefit from its new role as a National Defence Growth Area.

A new academic module co-created to provide the essential skills and understanding needed to excel in the nuclear industry has been launched at the University. Going Nuclear: Nuclear Applications for Science and Engineering has been developed between the University, Babcock International Group (Babcock) and the Ministry of Defence.

Its aim is to rapidly deliver more highly qualified personnel to a fast-growing sector, which is key to both energy security and national security and forecast to require an additional 40,000 staff nationally by 2030. Rather than a specific focus on certain aspects or applications of nuclear technologies, it has been designed with a particular focus on safety and the environment that will be applicable right across the nuclear enterprise.

The first cohort registered to take the module includes staff from Babcock, and contractors working for the company and the Ministry of Defence, in addition to students on masters-level programmes covering engineering, robotics and environmental geochemistry.

It is also available as part of the University’s suite of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes, which also includes short courses in maritime cyber security, sustainability and marine autonomous systems.

The new module has been launched just weeks after Plymouth was earmarked to receive a share of £250 million from the Ministry of Defence through its UK Defence Growth Deals scheme. With a specific focus on partnerships, skills and advanced marine technologies, the scheme is being taken forward by Team Plymouth – a collaboration including the University, Babcock, the Ministry of Defence and a number of other partners.

It will be used to forge long-term partnerships between government, business and research institutions in the city and to harness local expertise and resources in support of the UK Armed Forces.

The content for the Going Nuclear: Nuclear Applications for Science and Engineering module has been co-created over several months by the University of Plymouth, Babcock International Group and the Ministry of Defence. Over the space of 12 weeks, it will cover topics from the fundamentals of nuclear fission and fusion to the intricacies of reactor functionality, regulation and safety, radiation protection, and nuclear waste management.

It will be taught by University experts in engineering, geology and chemistry who have interests in the nuclear sector – including those involved in the ENLIGHT programme, which aims to boost UK energy security through sustainable graphite innovation. There will also be teaching from industry professionals working at Babcock and the MoD, who have been directly engaged in the nuclear sector for many years.