UK-China Sustainable and Intelligent Manufacturing (SIM) Network

The aim of this project is to promote and facilitate high-level collaboration in research, innovation and policy between China and the UK in area of SIM, an important theme of future manufacturing in both China and the UK. This will be achieved via:

1. Formation of a network in a specific area of SIM composed of key players in academic, industry, standard developments agencies, professional associations, governmental policy makers etc.
2. Arrangement of two  face-to-face dialogues between senior officials from governmental departments, e.g. BEIS, DEFRA, DIT in the UK and MIIT and NDRC in China to identify common areas  for further collaboration.
3. Organization of  two workshops to understand the state of the art in a selected area of SIM and discuss the possible collaborations. The activities will be invited speeches, round table discussions, facilitated workshop etc..
4. Industry visits in China and the UK.
5. Discussion of potential policy collaboration with Shanghai Importation and Exportation Bureau in Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ) to support the exportation of UK products to the zone.
6. Funding applications to funding agencies, e.g. EPSRC, Royal Society of Engineering, Newton Fund, Innovate UK and Chinese NSF, MoST to sustain the network beyond the lifetime of the project.
7. Mission report to summarise the findings from the project to cross-sector stake holders and general public.

The project will have far reaching impact beyond the life time of the project and will make significant difference over next few years: 

1. Improved productivity and innovation in SIM in both the China and the UK led from the collaboration researches in field of SIM as a result of the network.
2. A network that will sustain beyond the life time of the project will become a hub for knowledge transfer, dissemination and carry on to exert influences on innovation, standards, policy making and innovation.
3. Changes in policies in the UK and China in SIM which will boost trade, investment and innovation in both countries.

June 2017 - March 2018

The National Key Lab for Remanufacturing (NKLR) is a world leading research institute in remanufacturing, playing an important role in policy making, standard development and knowledge and technology transfer in remanufacturing in China.

NKLR is the co-investigator of this project, responsible for activities relating to China, for example to bring a representative to the UK and receive a representative from the UK in China.

The partnership with NKLR is accumulated from the long term collaboration from previous EPSRC Network (EP/J007870/1) and the previous funded project Development of Remanufacture Standards in China, FCO, 70K, April 2015-April 2016, a mission report can be accessed here (pdf doc.).  

Dr Yan Wang has over 20 years experiences in advanced manufacturing and have worked closely with the China partner (NKLR) and other organisations in both China and the UK in area of sustainable manufacturing with a focus on remanufacturing.

She is a technical committee member of BSI standard BS8887 which allows her work to be integrated as an element of the standard. The project is built on her link with both China and the UK and the partner relationship she has established with the NKLR.