• • • NEWS • • • Schneider Electric
collaborates with NVIDIA on designs for AI data centres
chneider Electric has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to optimise data centre infrastructure and pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in edge artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin technologies.
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Schneider Electric will leverage its expertise in data centre infrastructure and NVIDIA’s advanced AI technologies to introduce the first publicly available AI data centre reference designs.
67% of UK’s top 100 universities still don’t offer engineering degree apprenticeships
he barriers to unlocking highly skilled workforces and economic growth in the engineering sector have been uncovered by new research, which reveals 67% of the UK’s top 100 universities still don’t deliver engineering and manufacturing degree apprenticeships.
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The study was conducted by the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) which has over 90 university members and examined the range of job roles students can train for when completing a degree apprenticeship. Analysis across the 100
universities found that more work is needed if the UK’s higher education (HE) system is going to be in a position to offer every available degree apprenticeship to ensure engineering employer and student ambition is met.
Dr Mandy Crawford-Lee, chief executive for UVAC, said: “Giant
strides have been made to ensure the UK’s traditionally recognised top 100 universities are meeting the needs of students and employers by maximising their contribution to the provision of degree apprenticeships. “In the last academic year alone, degree apprenticeship starts increased by 9% compared to the previous year. Yet our research reveals there is still scope for far greater provision, given their proven impact on improving social mobility, addressing the skills gaps and shortages across public and private sector organisations and bolstering the wider economy.”
Dr Crawford-Lee added: “UVAC recognises that delivering manufacturing and engineering- based degree apprenticeships brings with it concerns around cost, employer engagement and regulatory requirements, preventing some universities from committing further.”
These designs are set to redefine the benchmarks for AI deployment and operation within data centre ecosystems, marking a significant milestone in the industry’s evolution. With AI applications gaining traction across industries, while also demanding more resources than traditional computing, the need for processing power has surged exponentially. The rise of AI has spurred notable transformations and complexities in data centre design and operation, with data centre operators working to swiftly construct and operate energy-stable facilities that are both energy-efficient and scalable. “We’re unlocking the future of AI for organisations,” said Pankaj Sharma, executive vice president, Secure Power Division & Data Centre Business, Schneider Electric.
“By combining our expertise in data centre solutions with NVIDIA’s leadership in AI technologies, we’re helping organisations to overcome data centre infrastructure limitations and unlock the full potential of AI. Our collaboration with NVIDIA paves the way for a
more efficient, sustainable, and transformative future, powered by AI.” In the first phase of this collaboration, Schneider Electric will introduce cutting-edge data centre reference designs tailored for NVIDIA accelerated computing clusters and built for data processing, engineering simulation, electronic design automation, computer-aided drug design, and generative AI.
Special focus will be on enabling high-power distribution, liquid-cooling systems, and controls designed to ensure simple commissioning and reliable operations for the extreme-density cluster. Through the collaboration, Schneider Electric aims to provide data centre owners and operators with the tools and resources necessary to seamlessly integrate new and evolving AI solutions into their infrastructure, enhancing deployment efficiency, and ensuring reliable life-cycle operation.
CA said it has broadly welcomed the pledge by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to create up to 20,000 more apprenticeships with a series of reforms to funding and bureaucracy. While ECA welcomes the removal of the co- funding requirement for SMEs recruiting apprentices aged 21 or under, the association said the resultant saving of just £2,000 over four years isn’t likely to sway many more small electrical contracting firms into shouldering the much greater financial and administrative responsibilities currently imposed on employers. Additionally, as an industry which is largely male dominated, ECA recognises the need to increase diversity in our workforce.
ECA has called on Rishi Sunak’s new industry-led taskforce to recognise the
electricalengieneeringmagazine.co.uk
ECA welcomes PM’s apprenticeship announcements, but calls for more actionable detail E
challenges of boosting gender diversity in SME dominated industries essential to the UK’s net zero and digital transformation, including the rapidly expanding electrical contracting sector. Andrew Eldred, ECA’s chief operating officer,
said: “99.8% of electrical contracting firms are SMEs. ECA has been calling on government for some time to offer better targeted support, especially to small and micro businesses, to help reduce the various bureaucratic and financial disincentives currently discouraging them from employing more apprentices. “We have consistently made the point directly to parliamentarians and through representative bodies such as the CBI and FSB, that SMEs need a range of support to encourage more to recruit and train.” For the last several quarters, survey data for the engineering services sector, which includes electrical contracting, has shown that shortages of qualified staff are the top commercial issue of concern to business owners, holding back growth.
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