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Collaboration formed under the RS University Partner Programme to support innovation among the students
HONG KONG, June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the global distributor for engineers, has announced The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) as its first university partner in the Greater China region. This partnership will support and promote innovation among engineering students in Hong Kong, and is part of the RS' University Partner Programme to foster the next generation of engineers.
This three-year collaboration will forge a close working relationship between RS and HKUST, such as RS-hosted workshops and the provision of professional teaching materials to lecturers to enhance the engineering curriculum. RS will also grant an annual product sponsorship to the school, to encourage innovation among final year students and provide them with a wide range of advanced technological components from the RS portfolio.
Supplemented by RS' suite of design software - the DesignSpark Printer Circuit Board (PCB) design software, and DesignSpark Mechanical, a 3D solid modelling and assembly tool - students will have easy access to the schematic, footprint, and 3D symbols of these components to complete their projects across multiple laboratories in the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering (ECE). With the ability to obtain a quotation for the bill of materials and for the bare-board prototype directly from their terminals at school or at home, students will be equipped with design tools from front-end circuit design to final product realisation.
To help students gain real-world experience, internship opportunities and exchange programmes to tour the manufacturing production lines of electronic components will also be offered by RS. Other joint activities will include circuit design workshops, industrial projects, and design contests.
"Through this collaboration, we hope to inspire and nurture engineering talents and plant the seed for future innovations in Hong Kong. HKUST is a perfect fit as our education partner, with values aligned with our mission of empowering current and future generations of engineers, as well as supporting them to bring their ideas to life," said Eric Lee, Head of Technical Marketing, Asia Pacific.
Professor Ross Murch, Department Head and Chair Professor, Department of ECE, added, "As a leader in engineering education, we are very excited to be RS' first university partner in this region to advance student learning through the RS' programmes. This means that engineering students will be armed with both the theoretical and practical know-how to enrich their capabilities in the engineering field."
RS' partnership with HKUST started in 2011 when the company sponsored components of up to an annual value of HK$50,000 for the robotic team's participation in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) International Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition.
This year, the HKUST Robotics Team emerged as champion in the Explorer Class of the MATE ROV Competition in Hong Kong that featured an underwater theme, and has advanced to the international finals that will be taking place in Michigan, USA in June 2014.
"It is incredible to see the students' engineering talents shown through their creations. Their design consideration, attention to detail, and choice of reliable components in a deep-water environment showed their advanced capabilities in this field," Lee said.
Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, RS partnered Republic Polytechnic in Singapore to set up the Electronic Product Design Lab earlier this year, and since 2009 has supported the solar car team from Japan's Tokai University in the annual World Solar Challenge.
