A new advisory board set up to increase collaboration between the global automotive industry and academia has appointed University of Bath professor Chris Brace as its UK representative.
The board has been created by the international organisation for the automotive engineering profession FISITA (The International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies) and includes leading international automotive experts. 
Academics from five leading universities in the UK, Germany, China, Australia and the US will regularly share their expertise with FISITA and its members to collaborate and develop mutually beneficial development plans.
Prof Chris Brace, pictured, is Professor of Automotive Propulsion and Deputy Director of the University’s Powertrain & Vehicle Research Centre (PVRC).
The university has extensive engagement with the automotive industry and is a crucial component of its undergraduate teaching.
More than 65% of its engineering students undertake an industrial placement year and its innovative Integrated Mechanical & Electrical Engineering degree has proved extremely popular with students and employers.
Prof Chris Brace said: “I am honoured to have been invited to join the FISITA Academic Advisory Board.
“It is evident the positive impact that can be achieved when the automotive industry and universities collaborate on a global basis.
“I am looking forward to contributing to the success of this board and working with international colleagues to strengthen the automotive engineering industry’s link with academia across the world.”
This significant appointment is further evidence of the success and recognition of the university’s longstanding record for delivering world-class automotive education and research.
For more than four decades, Bath’s highly PVRC has been conducting prize-winning automotive research and has delivered nearly 100 business-led experimental projects worth £24m over the past 20 years.
Last November the university was formally recognised as one of the UK’s leading automotive propulsion groups, having been selected as a Spoke of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). The PVRC, which will form the core of the university’s work as a Spoke, is one of the leading UK university groups in its field, spanning over 40 years of achievement and extensive engagement with the automotive industry.
FISITA CEO and co-chair of the Academic Advisory Board, Chris Mason, said: “The automotive industry is embarking upon its most significant transformation to date as it reshapes into the mobility sector of the future. We are increasingly aware of our members need to for a coordinated and close working relationship with a network of universities around the world, in order to ensure the technical expertise required to meet with future mobility demands is met.”
The new board is one of number of activities in which FISITA supports the professional development of engineers, through its membership link with automotive engineering societies and corporate organisations. FISITA promotes the automotive/mobility sector as a career pathway of choice and supports engineers throughout their career journey through a number of education initiatives.
