PECM Issue 21 2016 | Page 112

Global and local As an integral part of the world’s third-largest civil aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast looks to its involvement with the Royal Academy of Engineering’s research schemes to make an impact on its operations and on the local community in its long-established base in Northern Ireland. Bombardier’s experience of the Academy’s research schemes goes back more than a decade and the company is already developing ideas for further involvement. Gavin Campbell, Bombardier’s Director of Design Engineering and Technology Development, said, “The company is selective in picking partners for this kind of initiative. It’s the standing of the Academy that has attracted us. There’s a reputation for excellence, and the calibre of output that’s expected from the appointees is very high. It also provides us with an independent and valuable validation, not just of the candidate but also of the field of study that we’ve chosen.” The impact of research Bombardier Aerospace has had a substantial presence in UK engineering over many years, principally through its acquisition in 1989 of Short Brothers, one of the great names of UK aviation and engineering. The company is the oldest aircraft manufacturer in the world, having secured the first-ever orders from the Wright brothers for six Wright flyers in early 1909. The company set up a base in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1936. “The new appointment reflects not just the company’s research priorities in terms of subject matter, but also the way in which it likes to approach the organisation of research,” said Campbell. Previously, the group and the Academy had collaborated on the appointment of Professor Srinivasan Raghunathan at Queen’s University Belfast. Bombardier identities its priorities in terms of future products and processes and then looks to see which technologies can be de-risked to help achieve those priorities. “So we tend to look at the universities to be continuously trying to bring technologies Bombardier Aerospace and Royal Academy of Engineering’s jointly funded Research Chairs (Past and Present): Professor Srinivasan Raghunathan, Professor of Aerodynamics at Queen’s University Belfast Professor Brian Falzon, Professor of Aerospace Composites, also at Queen’s University Belfast 112 PECM Issue 21 forward from basic research,” Campbell said. The relationship between Bombardier and academia is, however, evolving. “In the past, professorial supervised research would take place exclusively in the academic environment with large research facilities and highly specialised research equipment, and our work would be very much on the applied side,” Campbell said. “But more recently, we’ve helped develop a cross-sectoral centre for the research and development of advanced engineering and advanced materials technologies, along with Queen’s and the University of Ulster, and with investment from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Invest Northern Ireland.” Professor Falzon’s role at Queen’s University Belfast is intended to be “the pivotal position in the relationship between the engineering community in the company and the engineering community in the university”, said Campbell. Measuring the impact As part of an international company, Bombardier Aerospace supports work in several UK and European universities. Campbell said, “The recent chair at Queen’s University, Belfast was the pinnacle of its involvement with academia in the UK. The direct support and involvement of the Academy is an important component in the development of this research”.