DTI mission to Russia led by DMU Research Centre

Citation

(2007), "DTI mission to Russia led by DMU Research Centre", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 79 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2007.12779bab.027

DTI mission to Russia led by DMU Research Centre

DTI mission to Russia led by DMU Research Centre

Cutting-edge aerospace, defence and production technologies being developed in Russia was the subject of a fact-finding mission led by De Montfort University (DMU).

Researchers at the University's Mechatronics Research Centre (MRC) co-ordinated the visit to Moscow and St Petersburg, which aimed to find out more about developments in the field and establish links for future collaborative opportunities.

The mission is took place from 13 to 17 November and was funded by the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Global Watch Service.

Global Watch helps small groups of influential experts from industry and academia to visit other countries with the aim of boosting UK companies through the sharing of knowledge.

Delegates on the mission included representatives of MBDA UK, Mitsui Babcock, Rolls-Royce and R.U. Robots.

Professor Philip Moore, Head of Research and Commercial Development at DMU's Faculty of Computing Sciences and Engineering, was the lead academic for the mission.

He said: “The mission was all about identifying the potential that exist in mechatronics technology in Russia which could benefit UK industry in areas such as aerospace, production machines and defence technologies. It provided a unique opportunity to assess the technological standing of Russian science and technology in this domain and compare it with the UK”.

“The mission looked at a range of organisations within these sectors including research institutes, companies and universities. It also included a Workshop at MSTU Stankin in Moscow to enable a wider exchange of information with other organisations.”

The mission featured a number of visits to companies and scientific organisations specialising in mechatronics technologies.

Delegates visited some 12 organisations during the four-day mission, including: the Moscow State Technical Universities “Stankin” and “Bauman”; Moscow Institute of Radio Technology, Electronics and Automation; Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre; Central Research Institute for Machine Building; State Research Centre of Robotics and Technical Cybernetics; National Research Institute for Aviation Technology; St Petersburg State Polytechnical University; and the Russian Aircraft Corporation.

Mechatronics is a form of engineering which combines mechanics, electronics and computing. The Mechatronics Research Centre is one of the UK's premier centres for mechatronics research.