Thales UK and Scottish Enterprise today announce the winners of The Thales Scottish Technology Prize for laser technology and applications. The competition, launched in June this year, was open to all students and staff attending ...

Thales UK and Scottish Enterprise today announce the launch of The Thales Scottish Technology Prize for laser technology and applications. The competition aims to strengthen links between Thales and the Scottish academic ...

Thales UK and Scottish Enterprise today announce the launch of The Thales Scottish Technology Prize for laser technology and applications. The competition aims to strengthen links between Thales and the Scottish academic community and to identify opportunities for collaborative working between Thales and universities in Scotland.

A substantial prize fund is on offer, with a first prize of £40,000 to support the winner’s current research, as well as smaller personal cash prizes for the winner and finalists.  Prizes will be awarded for the most innovative ideas for using new laser technology applicable to Thales’ laser business.

                           

The competition is open to all staff and students attending Scottish universities. The winner and finalists will be announced at a Prize Giving Ceremony in December 2008.

David Lockwood, Managing Director of Thales UK’s optronics facility in Glasgow is confident that this initiative will further strengthen the relationship between business and academia in Scotland; “As a provider of leading edge technology used in mission critical equipment, we need to work closely with the academic community to ensure that our products continue to provide our customers with the best future-proof solutions. This competition illustrates our commitment to supporting the academic community’s research and development activities.”

Adrian Gillespie, Director of Digital Markets and Enabling Technologies, comments: “Scotland has a rich heritage in optoelectronics technology and we consistently demonstrate capabilities well above a country of our size. Historically, bringing together research and ideas with businesses we can turn these ideas into competitive advantages and new products has been challenging. 

“This competition will help tease out the excellent optoelectronics research conducted by Scotland’s academic innovators and offer Thales new enabling technologies on which it can build future product innovations.”

Some 530 of Thales UK’s 9,000 work force are based at the Glasgow site. The company is an important source of high-tech, high-skill employment in the region. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is the main customer for Thales’ activities in Glasgow, with the local site being a world leader in night vision technology, delivering equipment and services to the MoD since 1888 when the company was formerly known as ‘Barr & Stroud’. Later this year Thales in Glasgow will celebrate its 120^th anniversary. We are proud to have been a leading supplier to the MoD for 120 years.

Thales UK’s Glasgow site is involved in a number of significant defence projects such as night sights for Challenger 2 tanks, plus Warrior and Scimitar armoured personnel carriers (used by Scots soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan). The factory is also supplying advanced optronics masts, which replace the old-fashioned periscope, for the Royal Navy’s new Astute-class submarines. These are currently being built in Barrow and will be based at Faslane.

Thales UK commemorated its 120th anniversary in Scotland with a celebratory event on the 30th June for the 550 employees at its Linthouse facility in Glasgow. First established in Scotland in 1888 when Professor Archibald ...

Thales UK commemorated its 120th anniversary in Scotland with a celebratory event on the 30th June for the 550 employees at its Linthouse facility in Glasgow. First established in Scotland in 1888 when Professor Archibald Barr of the University of Glasgow and Dr William Stroud of Yorkshire College (now Leeds University) set up Barr & Stroud Ltd to make optical range-finders for the British Army, the company has gone on to become a world centre of excellence for electro-optical systems and equipment, principally for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the international export market. In 2001 it became part of the Thales Group.

Secretary of State for Defence the Rt Hon Des Browne MP was the guest for the event and during his address to the employees he congratulated staff not only on the company’s long list of technical innovations and world firsts, but also for their commitment to the local community and support to British operations and troops since 1888.

Representatives of the local community, including a number of local MPs and teachers and pupils from schools in the Govan area joined in the celebrations, recognising the important role of the company in providing local employment opportunities. Thales continues to build on its original academic links by working with local and wider Scottish educational institutions in its commitment to supporting and fostering science and engineering as an exciting potential career for prospective apprentices and graduates in Scotland.

David Lockwood, Managing Director of Thales UK’s optronics business in Glasgow, said: “Thales has been a part of the Scottish engineering scene for 120 years, having first started in 1888 in Glasgow as Barr & Stroud Ltd. We are deeply proud of our heritage and our contribution to the local community in Glasgow, the welfare of our employees, support to troops in the field and of course to Scotland’s reputation as the pre-eminent country for all aspects of engineering throughout the world.”

Some 530 of Thales UK’s 9,000 work force are based at the Glasgow site. The company is an important source of high-tech, high-skill employment in the region and currently has a major recruitment drive underway to find an additional 100 staff.

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As part of the Thales Scottish Technology Prize initiative, Thales & Scottish Enterprise will be carrying out University Road Show’s in September and October of this year. So far, Strathclyde, Heriot Watt, Glasgow and ...

As part of the Thales Scottish Technology Prize initiative, Thales & Scottish Enterprise will be carrying out University Road Show’s in September and October of this year.

So far, Strathclyde, Heriot Watt, Glasgow and Aberdeen have all confirmed dates for this event.

The Road Show will provide Universities with the opportunity to:

• Invite undergraduates to attend and get involved in the competition
• Ask any questions that Universities have in relation to competition entries

Dates confirmed:

The University of Strathclyde

When:     23rd September 2008 between 10.00 – 12.30
Where:    317, John Anderson Building, 107 Rottenrow, Glasgow G4 0NG

Heriot-Watt University

When:     24th September 2008 between 1.00 - 4.00
Where:    Room 3.20, Scott Russell Building, Heriot-Watt University Riccarton Campus, Edinburgh, EH14 4A

University of Glasgow

When:     15th October 2008 between 1.00 – 4.00
Where:    Department of Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Rankine Building University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8LT

University of Aberdeen

When:     16th October 2008 between 2.00 – 4.30
Where:    School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen