Future
The Centre has won funding from the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) and the European Union's Leonardo da Vinci programme, to develop exciting new courses offering flexible and distance learning for industry. These courses have now been launched and have successfully recruited people from a wide range of polymer companies in the UK and Europe. The Centre aims to expand this distance learning provision and in combination with attendance at short courses, provide flexible routes to the full range of qualifications from Technician to Masters level. Indeed we are now in the process of developing a distance learning HND course to join the BTec National Certificate course and MSc course already on offer.
Research and consultancy is also an area in which the School is succeeding. The Centre has recently received major research grants from industry for projects in both rubber and plastics technology areas. These companies are using the Centre's expertise and wide provision of polymer processing, testing and characterisation equipment to investigate the potential of new or modified materials or carry out fundamental research to exploit new ideas. Short consultancy work is also completed on a regular basis.
Whilst the provision of short courses is not new, it is believed that this will play an important part in the Centre's future. To this end, the Centre constantly reviews its course offering to match the perceived demand. Indeed should a company have a specific training need, the Centre will be pleased to offer advice on this and suggest possible courses that can be developed to meet individual requirements.
The London Metropolitan Polymer Centre will continue to be an international centre of excellence for education in polymer engineering. Whilst developing innovative and flexible routes of study, the Centre will strive to provide courses that enable students to benefit from using the full range of practical equipment in its laboratories. The Centre currently attracts students from a diverse range of countries, including Malaysia, Ireland, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand and Russia, and it will continue to welcome students from all corners of the world.
