About the Project

Turkey-UK: 3DI 3D Printing & Digital Innovation

This project will deliver a new paradigm approach to international collaborations by creating a Virtual Reality (VR) Institute where scientists from Turkey and the UK, can meet in cutting-edge laboratories, the same way they would in real life. The project focuses on industrially critical 3D-printing, and we envisage that our centre will become a world-leading example of how collaborations can work across borders whilst minimising carbon travel footprints. In this manner, we will hold real in-person meetings in the same way we would in real life if we were in the same building.

To educate the next generation of graduates in cutting edge 3D-printing technologies using high-end equipment, universities need to be able to provide hands-on training on the machines to students, who can then transfer this knowledge to industry to support both countries growth in digital technologies.

However, the costs of such leading equipment limit the capacity of universities to meet global training needs. To overcome this, we will set up a VR 3D-printing training institute, known as Turkey -UK 3DI, where scientists from universities and companies in Turkey and the UK can come together and be trained on digital-twin versions of the latest equipment and apply this in their research without the need for physical access. In this world-leading approach in VR, we are also cognisant of the effects of Covid-19 on travel, and the need to reduce our travel carbon footprint and as such, the learning outcomes from this project will have a significant effect on both countries efforts to reduce collaboration carbon emissions.