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First UK Cyber Factory training facility installed at Middlesex University

02/02/2017
Middlesex University prepares its students for industrial digital revolution – Industry 4.0 – by installing latest smart technology

Middlesex University's Cyber Factory

Professor Karamanoglu, Head of the Department of Design Engineering and Mathematics at Middlesex University (left), with Babak Jahanbani, Head of Learning Systems at Festo Didactic in Middlesex's new Cyber Factory

The UK’s first Cyber Factory training facility has been installed in Middlesex University’s new Ritterman Building, coinciding with the £18m building’s official opening on 2 February.

The new facility will allow students to develop the skills and expertise needed to work at the forefront of emerging technologies. The goal is to prepare them for what is being called Industry 4.0 – a fourth industrial revolution which will see a seismic shift in the way technology is used in the workplace.

Benefiting from Middlesex University’s long-standing partnership with Festo - a leading international supplier of automation technology - the Cyber Factory is fitted with the latest smart technology.

“Middlesex University prides itself in providing the best facilities to support its students,” says Professor Mehmet Karamanoglu, Head of the Department of Design Engineering and Mathematics at Middlesex University.

“Everything we have developed over the years has been specified to industry standard. Expanding our provision in automation and smart technologies is no exception.

“The benefit for our students, in working with such industry partners, is immense and will continue to have a huge impact on their employability.”

“The new training facility is the first of its type in the UK and will provide essential practical experience for the engineers of the future,” Babak Jahanbani, Head of Learning Systems at Festo Didactic

New technology allows the factory to put components together without any human involvement, checking its own work and correcting problems as they occur.

“I’m delighted that our advanced automation technology features in the new Cyber Factory training facility at Middlesex University in support of the leading edge, digital skills training the University is undertaking to prepare UK graduates for the industrial digital revolution - Industry 4.0," says Brian Holliday, Managing Director, Siemens Digital Factory.

The Ritterman building is the newest addition to Middlesex’s London campus, housing subjects from the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries.

Learn more about studying design engineering at Middlesex

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