Emerson’s Test and Measurement business, formerly NI is donating equipment to the UK’s Defence Academy to help modernise its facilities and improve R&D.
The UK’s Defence Academy, which is run by Cranfield University at Shrivenham, offers defence and security education to people in the British Armed Forces, government and industry.
Emerson’s NI Test and Measurement business is donating Vector Signal Transceiver hardware, target generation software and will provide hands-on instruction from defence experts as part of the donation.
Speaking at a signing ceremony this week at the Farnborough Airshow, Reggie Rector, vice president and general manager, Emerson’s Test and Measurement business said, “We are donating hardware and expertise to enable the team at Shrivenham to accelerate their educational and training capabilities for testing radar and electronic warfare.
“We’re looking to learn from this project too – the team has a close relationship with the defense community because the world needs this type of work to be successful.”
Defence engineers operate in very complex electromagnetic scenarios while navigating an increasing level of technological disruption. The NI Test and Measurement technology is expected to serve more than 100 students annually, educating trainees on advanced simulation and measurement technologies.
Heather Goldstraw, director of defence, Cranfield University said, “The Ministry of Defence is constantly searching for suitably qualified and experienced people. This tie-up with industry and the hardware will allow us to better combine qualifications with experience. People will do real projects on hardware that industry is using now – it will mean we can produce people who can go into jobs faster.
“It also allows us to leap up to a more modern generation of equipment and scale up our research, generating better teaching. You can get feedback loops quickly between what you are learning or what you are developing and researching, and what it will achieve on the ground.”
Classes will cover how to prototype new concepts, emulate realistic threats and analyze the performance of systems and equipment before deployment.
“It is relatively easy to teach radar and electronic warfare principles and theory, but going from algorithms and prototyping on testbeds to deploying capability in the field is complex. This hardware and expertise will help the team rapidly go through those cycles,” said Rector.
“NI has deep knowledge and capability in testing complex microwave systems, which will contribute to solving engineering challenges across simulation, experimentation, and analysis for the academy’s students. We are honored to lend our expertise to the Defence Academy.”
Cranfield is a leading postgraduate university for technology and management. Professor Dame Karen Holford, chief executive and vice chancellor of Cranfield University said, “This is a great fit for Cranfield. We only teach postgraduates and the education we offer is very close to industry.
“Our students leave knowing how to work in industry and the research we do leads to real products. We solve the problems of tomorrow in a practical way and that’s unique for a university.”
