Howden Launch Training Academy
Howden has partnered with Glasgow Caledonian University to create Howden Academy – a new international post graduate programme based at the university which will deliver specialist operational training to hundreds of Howden’s engineering graduates from 16 countries over the next few years.
Designed by Howden engineers to share their years of specialist operational engineering knowledge and experience with a new generation of engineers, the academy will use the teaching expertise and world-class learning facilities at Glasgow Caledonian University to package and deliver job-specific training modules.
Bob Cleland, Howden’s Chief Executive, said: “This course has been designed by Howden engineers for Howden engineers, and so marries the knowledge, skills and experience our people have gathered over the years with the teaching expertise and world-class learning facilities at Glasgow Caledonian University. Engineering is an exciting career and this will revolutionise the approach we take to post-graduate engineering education and training. We hope that by making this level of investment in our people, we will attract and retain the best engineers from around the world, strengthening our position as a global force in engineering innovation.”
“Glasgow Caledonian University was our preferred choice of partner because of their focus on applied professional learning and understanding of practical industry needs. The campus is modern and the quality of teaching and facilities is excellent, and that was important to us as well because, through the academy, we will be showing some of the world’s most promising engineers what Scotland has to offer.”
Professor Pamela Gillies, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “Howden Academy is a truly innovative partnership between a university and an industry leader in the field of engineering, and we are delighted to be working with a prestigious international organisation like Howden to help deliver innovative new educational programmes”.
Professor Mike Mannion, Dean of Computing and Engineering, Glasgow Caledonian University, followed: “There are currently very few companies who are investing as much to preserve the accumulated knowledge and experience in their organisation and pass it on to new generations in such a relevant way, and we believe that packaging operational business knowledge into modules and delivering it in a taught format is an incredibly powerful way of sharing information and is a training model that more and more companies will follow in future. The benefits to those engineers attending Howden Academy will be huge and there is potential for significant business and cultural advantages as a result.”
Training is delivered using a modular system and the teaching style is interactive and hands-on with classroom tutorials supported by site visits to Howden facilities. Four main courses cover job specific engineering training in subject areas such as Howden organisation, Howden markets, Howden products and Howden job roles. The academy curriculum is broken down into a total of 19 units and 82 bite-sized training modules.
Future plans include establishing an interactive online library of quality training material and e-learning modules as part of a wider framework for the ongoing development of Howden engineers. Eventually, all Howden products and engineering job roles will be covered within the academy’s curriculum.