Coventry University has unveiled its multi-million-pound National Transport Design Centre, which aims to boost design innovation in the region’s automotive sector and bridge a shortfall in creative skills.
The National Transport Design Centre (NTDC) will bring together students, designers and manufacturers to advance the concept-to-production process of class-leading automotive design.
It aims to cover all aspects of transport design and has been supported via a £7m contribution through the Government’s Local Growth Fund.
The cutting-edge NTDC has been equipped with future design solutions, including a six-metre interactive power wall, clay-milling facilities to create three-dimensional models and a projection mapping system that casts digital images on to three-dimensional objects.
Jonathan Browning, chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), which helped to support the funding, said: “The National Transport Design Centre is a world-class facility which builds on Coventry and Warwickshire’s strong innovation heritage and is further evidence of the region’s fantastic links between academia and industry.
“Not only will the NTDC play a major role in unlocking further growth potential, locally, regionally and nationally, it will be crucial in developing future talent and excellence within the automotive, manufacturing and engineering industries.”
David Wright, Coventry University’s director of strategic initiatives – responsible for the execution of the project – added: “The NTDC will have a lasting positive impact on the university, but also Coventry, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands region.
“There is a wealth of design, engineering and manufacturing expertise surrounding us in the Midlands and the NTDC brings those elements together, but brings into the mix an academic research component maintaining Coventry’s leading position when it comes to transport design.”
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