Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 01 Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute
Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 02 Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 01 WELCOME TO THE NATHU PURI INSTITUTE The Nathu Puri Institute (NPI) for Engineering and Enterprise was established at London South Bank University (LSBU) in 2011 with a generous gift from Professor Nathu Puri CBE, alumnus and founder of the Purico Group. Its vision is to be the international centre of excellence for fostering innovation and enterprise in education and industrial practice. The challenges posed by a population approaching 9 billion require engineers to be increasingly creative and innovative ABOUT THE NPI Over the past two centuries, engineers have played a crucial role in improving the quality of life across the world, through the development of systems to improve water quality, sanitation and to facilitate the mass production and distribution of nutritious food. In this century, the challenges posed by a population approaching 9 billion lifelong health, climate change and resource depletion require engineers to be increasingly creative and innovative, delivering solutions in a broader context. The key to fostering this creativity is education. If enterprise and innovation become integrated and embedded in the education of engineers this, allied with their rational minds and problemsolving abilities, will bring great benefits. As one of the UK s most successful industrialists, Professor Nathu Puri CBE shares this vision. His experience in business underpins his belief that, with a more entrepreneurial approach and vital management skills, engineers could and should - be leaders within the engineering industry. This shared vision lies behind the creation of the NPI. Professor Rao Bhamidimarri, who was instrumental in establishing the Institute, initiated the redevelopment of the University s engineering curriculum by introducing two modules, Design & Practice and Innovation & Enterprise. As well as redeveloping the curriculum, the Institute conducts research and disseminates its findings on integrated approaches to engineering education, with the aim of fostering confidence and enterprise in learning and practice. With this mindset, and through an ambitious schedule of research and knowledge exchange programmes in the UK and overseas, the NPI aims to educate creative problem-solvers and engineering leaders of the future.
Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 02 Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 03 NPI IN NUMBERS 4 PhD programmes: Embedding Creativity in Engineering Education Curriculum Innovation to Foster Confidence and Enterprise Leadership in Engineering Industry Research-led Innovation in Engineering Industry 10 Engineering students supported by the NPI to participate in international business venture competitions co-sponsored by the NPI. 300 Engineering students taking the Innovation & Enterprise module per year. 400 Engineering students studying Design and Practice module per year. Design and Practice goes beyond just teaching Engineering students about engineering. PUTTING THE NPI VISION INTO PRACTICE In 2011 Professor Bhamidimarri, previously the Executive Dean of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment at LSBU, introduced two modules for all engineering students: Design & Practice and Innovation & Enterprise. The development of the Design & Practice module, taken by all first year LSBU Engineering students, was led by NPI Associate James Barnham. Alessio Corso, who is now responsible for this module, says Design and Practice goes beyond just teaching Engineering students about engineering. It s about learning vital skills like team-working, communication and being able to critically evaluate sources of information and assumptions. This approach, which is central to the NPI s vision, makes a visible difference to first year students, broadening their thinking and encouraging them to look beyond their particular discipline to the societal, environmental and economic impact their decisionmaking can have. The Innovation & Enterprise module, which forms part of every Engineering programme at LSBU, was developed by Chris Dowlen, another Associate of NPI James Barnham was also a key contributor to this module and subsequently assumed responsibility for its further development and delivery. Inspired by the vision of the NPI, the module introduces business development, market research, financial evaluation, intellectual property, business planning, business strategy and commercial context. By teaching students to approach industry with a broad perspective and enquiring, creative mindset, as well as with a commercial acumen, this module goes to the heart of the NPI s values says Professor Bhamidimarri.
Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 04 Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 05 PHD RESEARCH AT NPI CHAMPIONING ENTERPRISE The NPI is currently sponsoring or co-sponsoring four PhD projects. Focusing on creativity in engineering, curriculum innovation and leadership within industry, these projects are key to developing a research-informed portfolio of programmes that will engender the entrepreneurial mindset that lies at the heart of the Institute s aims. Embedding Creativity in Engineering Thomas Empson s PhD aims to capture and share knowledge to help foster creative engineering that will address global challenges and shape a more sustainable future. His research focus is on what creativity is, where it is and who is creative. Thomas wants to understand where creativity is nurtured, and hindered, in systems, processes and management within the engineering industry. Further research into today s social, economic and environmental context will deepen his understanding of what influences there are on the way engineers must work to support economic growth, as well as enhance society. Lifelong Learning in Engineering Profession Gordon Duncan s focus is on Lifelong Learning in Education. His PhD s primary lines of enquiry are: the current and future skills gap in the engineering sector; learning methods in the digital age; personal development and two-way learning; entrepreneurship and job/wealth creation; and the roles of professional institutes in contributing to such issues. I hope this research will develop actionable recommendations that can offer transferable solutions to organisations within the engineering industry in attracting and developing the workforce it needs, says Gordon, who graduated from LSBU s BA Business Studies programme in 2015. His PhD is jointly sponsored by the NPI and the Institute of Refrigeration. Curriculum Innovation to Foster Confidence and Enterprise Haroon Rashid s research focuses on curriculum innovation at undergraduate level to foster confidence and enterprise in engineering graduates, preparing them to be able to catalyse innovation in the industry. His PhD work involves analysis of traditional engineering curricula and emerging trends in curriculum innovation; he will be developing hypotheses in relation to engineering curricula, pedagogies and the graduate attributes, and testing these against case studies. Leadership and Management in Engineering Industry Currently, 7 out of 10 engineering and technology companies are headed by people from professions other than engineering and technology. The strategic advantages of engineers as leaders are well documented. This project investigates the leadership and management skills needed for engineers to assume leadership roles in engineering industry. The research will focus on both undergraduate engineering education and continuing education for engineers in industry. The vision of the Nathu Puri Institute is to embed enterprise in science and engineering education and practice. This focus on enterprise is a key principle for LSBU as a whole, as evidenced by the Enterprise Champions programme, in which Champions from across LSBU s seven Academic Schools work together to get students to explore their entrepreneurial potential while developing employable skills. AN OPEN PLATFORM Accessibility is key to education. LSBU is excited to be creating a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Academy. The content will include Creativity & Innovation; Engineering Entrepreneurship in a Global Context; Intellectual Property and Commercialisation; Costs, access to finance and economic viability; and Entrepreneurial thinking. As part of the initiative, several LSBU Enterprise Champions have completed the International Entrepreneurship Educators Programme (IEEP), a national initiative helping educators to promote enterprise within their organisations, to which the NPI contributed a module on organisational behaviours. This gave IEEP participants the chance to speed-mentor LSBU students. The MOOC will be available on the IET Academy portal to professional engineers and engineering organisations, either as a standalone one hour online course or as a package covering 11 modules. Dr Safia Barikzai and Senior Lecturer James Barnham are developing the content.
Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 06 Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 07 Our ambition is to be the centre of excellence for expertise that will be sought after by industry and educations sectors nationally and internationally. The NPI is committed to working in partnership with international centres of excellence to advance knowledge. NPI ACCREDITED In November 2016 the NPI was awarded accreditation by the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (IKE). The award is given for demonstrating innovation and is used by further and higher education providers to demonstrate the value and relevance of innovation skills within their courses or programmes. Prof Bhamidimarri says: Our ambition is to be the centre of excellence for expertise that will be sought after by industry and education sectors nationally and internationally. This accreditation is a reflection of our achievements so far. NPI ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE To meet global challenges, we need to think and work globally. The NPI is committed to working in partnership with international centres of excellence to advance knowledge. We are also working to establish exchange programmes for staff and research students; and to develop an International Engineering Enterprise Competition for students. In addition to his sponsorship of the NPI, Professor Puri is committed to advancing enterprise in engineering all over the world. The NPI is delighted to be working with Prof. Puri in supporting the development of the Institute for Engineering and Enterprise at UIAR in India. The NPI is also collaborating with the University of Alabama, which benefits from a major manufacturing facility, on research and programmes that will provide key insights and accessible knowledge for industry and academia globally. MEASURES OF SUCCESS Over the next four years, the NPI is committed to establishing two international centres of excellence as partners, involving joint PhD and postdoctoral programmes and academic exchanges. We will support and oversee the completion of at least 5 PhDs. The NPI also aims to make our Journal of Engineering and Enterprise, to be launched in 2019, an internationally recognised source of knowledge for innovations in engineering education, leadership development in the engineering industry and entrepreneurship in engineering. These tangible goals will be supported by a portfolio of credit and noncredit bearing courses for engineers in industry. The NPI aims to make our Journal of Engineering and Enterprise an internationally recognised source of knowledge. THE YEAR OF ENGINEERING 2018 is the Year of Engineering. To mark this, the NPI is holding three events. The first of these, planned for mid-april 2018, is a thought leadership event to consider the topic, Creative Engineer Myth or Reality?. The Institute will also host a satellite symposium in conjunction with the Global Engineering Congress being organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers. Each of the events focuses on a specific topic relating to our mission. They will lead to policy papers and briefing documents to be shared with industry associations, Government departments, professional institutions and universities. We hope to see many colleagues and supporters at the Nathu Puri Institute s inaugural annual conference, being held in November 2018.
Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 08 Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 09 NPI PEOPLE NPI Sponsor Professor Puri is an alumnus, an honorary graduate, a donor and a close friend of London South Bank University. He arrived in the UK from India in 1966 with a degree in mathematics before training as an engineer. He went on to found the Purico Group, a diversified, industrial manufacturing group and today one of the UK s most successful private enterprises. Prof Puri has a passionate conviction about the importance of engineers being equipped with all-round commercial and enterprise knowledge, so that more of them can break the glass ceiling and become entrepreneurs and our business leaders. Current demands are for engineers with a much wider knowledge base. Professor Bhamidimarri is the Director of NPI. He has over 25 years international experience in teaching and research, and strategic management in higher education. He is a passionate advocate of a vertically integrated education system that is student-led and he is strongly committed to fostering innovation and enterprise in students through innovative curriculum and learning structures. He was previously Dean of Engineering, Computing and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University, where he brought engineering, design, music and business together to foster creativity and innovation in graduates. James Barnham is an Associate of the NPI. He graduated in Engineering Product Design and then received a masters in entrepreneurship from London South Bank University. During this time he developed a novel product to prevent water overflow. Having turned down investment by five leading investors, he established his own company, Nova-Flo. He was invited to return to London South Bank University as Senior Lecturer to help develop the Design and Practice module; he also played a key role in the development of Engineering and Enterprise module. Alessio Corso, an Associate of the NPI, is a Senior Lecturer in Product Design. He graduated in Engineering Product Design, then worked in industry and taught at universities before returning to LSBU. Alessio is now responsible for one of the key modules taught as part of the innovative engineering curriculum catalysed by NPI s vision. Professor John Mitchell, an Associate of the NPI, is the Co- Director of the UCL Centre for Engineering Education and Vice-Dean (Education), UCL Engineering. John has a strong interest in and commitment to innovation in engineering education. He is also a research leader in Communication Systems Engineering. John is a cosupervisor for research projects in the NPI. Prof Puri has a passionate conviction about the importance of engineers being equipped with all-round commercial and enterprise knowledge Dr Safia Barikzai is an Associate Professor. She has taught on a number of teaching modules in the area of Usability Engineering, Technological Innovations and Systems Design and has led Business IT courses. She provides students at LSBU with industryrelevant experience and skills both inside and outside the classroom and has always encouraged her students to gain real-world experience. Thomas Empson joined the Nathu Puri Institute as a Research Fellow in 2017. He has had a successful and multifaceted career, working across creative communications, marketing, business development, funded programmes and lecturing. He has international experience in fashion, education and not-forprofit sectors, including delivering funded programmes from NESTA and Big Lottery Fund and initiating cross-sector partnerships to bridge strategic relationships. With an MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship from Goldsmiths University and a BA (Hons) in Fashion Design with Marketing from Central Saint Martins, he is currently undertaking PhD studies in embedding creativity in engineering education. Nathan Baker is a consultant to the NPI and champions the Institute s links with the Institution of Civil Engineers and industry stakeholders. He is also the Director of Engineering Knowledge. He has extensive experience in industry following time in the military. He led the development of learning for the UK arm of a large construction product manufacturer, has driven the transformation of learning and development for MOD training and defined the growth strategy for engineering training for a FTSE 100 organisation.
Welcome to the Nathu Puri Institute // 010 For more information please contact us at: E. natpuri@lsbu.ac.uk T816, Tower Block, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road London SE1 0AA NATHU PURI Institute for Engineering and Enterprise