A £32 million engineering hub is a step closer to completion after a major construction milestone was reached.

The final part of the roof at the new Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME) was completed this week.

Coventry University and Unipart Manufacturing are leading the project to create the new institute - the UK's first "faculty of the factory floor", which aims to create a closer link between academia and industry.

The remaining construction work on the 1,700 sq m building will be completed by Lindum group. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, including the latest robots and CNC tube manipulation equipment, costing £2 million.

Top industry professionals and researchers will use the facilities to teach 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students when it opens later this year.

Students will focus on developing the next generation of powertrain technologies.

Director Carl Perrin said: "Not only do we want to provide industry-ready graduates, but we also want to future-proof them so they are learning techniques and using technologies that are cutting edge and will be around for years to come.

"This gives them the ideal opportunity to accelerate their career progression and gives companies access to staff that will have the most impact on their business both in the short and long-term."

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Building work is set to be finished by mid-October, with the internal layout and machinery to be completed by early November.

Once complete, the research will be used across Unipart and its supply chain and in helping UK industry compete in the global powertrain marketplace.

There will also be access to a four-strong robotics training line that will allow students to write programs and see how small robots perform the complex operations.

Coventry University's city centre campus is also set for a £100 million investment in a new student centre, engineering and computing building and science facility.

Mr Perrin added: "It's an exciting time. The roof of the building is complete and we’ve experienced a surge of interest from potential students."

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