KITE Makes Innovation and Technology Available to Students and Businesses

A collaborative project to provide training and access to the latest technology to businesses and students in the engineering and manufacturing sector has recently been launched. ‘Knowledge & Innovation Transfer in Engineering’ (KITE) is a tri-partite initiative between the Northern Regional College (NRC) in Northern Ireland, the Sligo Institute of Technology in Ireland and Ayr College in Scotland.

The €3.2 million initiative was officially launched on 11 November at the NRC in Ballymena, and was attended by An Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who complimented the colleges for their collaboration: “I am impressed with the initiative and the potential it has for industry. It is this kind of approach that will help us maintain our competitiveness in the global economy.”

KITE aims to ensure the long term sustainability of the manufacturing and engineering industries across the region. In order to achieve that it will support businesses with training on new technology and equip laboratories with the most modern industry standard equipment, to meet the training needs of both industry and students.

Furthermore, the project will promote a closer relationship between businesses and students through networking.

 

The goal is to increase the pool of highly trained technicians available and active in the job market, in order to enhance the vitality of the industry in the region.

Facilitating training and access to the latest technology is crucial for small and medium businesses that have a limited capacity to expand, acquire resources and build expertise in-house.

Speaking at NRC's Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing and Engineering, Director of NRC Trevor Neilands said: "As the engineering and manufacturing sectors face increased competition due to globalisation, we are combining our technical expertise to develop and implement training solutions for industry, while also providing access to state-of-the-art technical facilities for practical training."

Howard Keery, from SEUPB, highlighted the strategic relevance of the project: “KITE provides an excellent fit with the INTERREG IVA Programme’s objectives. It is strategic and operates on a true cross-border and tri-partite capacity. By addressing a gap in the infrastructure for provision of access to advanced technology it will go a long way to support a more diverse economy”.