A project to create the engineering university of the future in Hereford, NMiTE (New Model in Technology and Engineering), is welcoming three new engineering industry leaders to its board of trustees today; Martin Hitchin, Rowena Innocent and Richard Lindsay-Davies.
Commenting on the appointments, chairman Dame Fiona Kendrick said: “The addition of these three industry leaders, all with strong engineering backgrounds, will be great support for delivering our vision for the world’s most distinctive and innovative engineering curriculum. Each will reinforce the role of employer leadership of this project, as well as contribute a range of individual commercial experiences. These appointments bring our board to nine, giving us additional breadth and diversity as we move towards university status.”
Martin Hitchin is the CEO of REHAU, a leading systems and service provider for polymer-based solutions in construction, automotive and industry, and founder member of NMiTE. Hitchin is currently a council member of the EuPC (professional representative body of plastics converters in Europe) and of the British Plastics Federation. He said: “The whole project represents a unique opportunity for engineering teaching in the UK. I believe that my engineering background, commercial experience and exposure to many different engineering fields and companies will help drive this project forward.”
Rowena Innocent has been vice president of research and development of Malvern Panalytical since January 2017. Malvern Panalytical is a provider of scientific instrumentation for materials analysis. Innocent said: “I’m delighted and excited to join the growing NMiTE family. Engineering is changing rapidly and we urgently need to develop engineers that can drive the high tech industry in the UK. The lack of gender balance in further education and subsequently industry is leaving a rich talent pool untapped. Having worked in engineering, leading product development teams for over 25 years, I am really looking forward to helping NMiTE rebalance and re-energise engineering in the UK.”
Richard Lindsay-Davies is CEO of Digital TV Group, the organisation which defines the core requirements of every television sold in the UK market. He said: “Engineering underpins every part of our society and economy, from our health through to our security and our entertainment, but the world is changing fast and we are facing a huge engineering skills gap. NMiTE’s innovative approach will help ensure that Britain retains its global position in this critical area, with engineering graduates that are not only ready for the world of work, but also representative of broader society.”
