Secondments are a brilliant way of offering professional benefits to both companies and employees, in our case researchers, alike.
For industry, it can be an opportunity to bring someone new into their company, with a fresh set of eyes and skills, that has the potential to help develop a new area of business or solve a particular problem and to help build collaboration.
For secondees, it’s an opportunity to immerse themselves in the fabric of a company, help bring their expertise to the table and broaden their skills and knowledge.
In light of this, it has been really important and worthwhile for TransFIRe to have a number of secondment placements set up for our research staff for a range of Foundation Industry companies.
These placements focus on short term projects or challenges that are of benefit to both the companies and to the TransFIRe researchers.
For example, this month researcher Dr Wei Deng will spend a week within Wm Lee, one of the largest foundries left in the UK, to focus on the processing of foundry sand and the amount and sources of waste generated. The aim is to gain a clear understanding of the process and create a flow sheet outlining this and, in turn, help identify potential ways to enhance the reuse of foundry sand rather than having to discard it. We are sure that many interesting questions will be raised during the secondment.
In another project in June, Dr Ahmed Khalil participated in a short-term secondment at Wienerberger, the world’s largest manufacturer of bricks and clay blocks and the market leader in clay roof tiles.
Ahmed was assigned to the Kingsbury facility, which specialises in the production of engineering bricks and he spent time in the Central Laboratory, a focus for innovation and research. There, he discussed Wienerberger’s optimistic decarbonization initiatives, which are in line with their ambitious commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to levels in 2020.
Ahmed’s secondment included a number of site visits, training on sophisticated instruments and tests and insights into the company’s progressive EDI ethos and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. Discussions were also held with regards to potential case studies between Wienerberger and TransFIRe.
Other secondments have been held at both Trent Refractories, a manufacturer and supplier of bespoke refractory solutions, and the Royal Mint.
If your business is interested in a potential secondment or has a particular challenge they would be interested in talking about with us, then please contact Sanjoo Paddea, Business Development and Hub Manager, sanjooram.paddea@cranfield.ac.uk