Event Itinerary
Day 1 Day 2 Meet the experts
Session 25
Wednesday 17 March, 15:15 PM
Team Work and Collaboration – Going for Gold in Tokyo 2021
Successful projects are rarely completed by individuals, but by teams; coming together and working towards a collective goal and creating synergies by combining their skills and expertise. As manufacturing led projects are rarely linear, they often require multiple skills as individuals come together and new teams are created. This session will be led by MTC Ambassador and Paralympic para-canoe gold medallist Emma Wiggs as she provides a rare insight into the inner workings of the team that support her efforts to compete in Tokyo 2021. Emma will then be joined by senior engineers from the MTC and National Composites Centre (NCC) to discuss their ground breaking collaboration to build a completely new, bespoke, composite paddle, to help propel Emma to her second Paralympic gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Emma Wiggs MBE
Paralympic Gold Medallist and eight-time World Champion - Paracanoe
Emma Wiggs MBE is a Paralympic gold medal winner and eight-time World Champion paracanoeist in the women’s 200m KL2 class. Her sporting career has seen her switch from sitting volleyball to paracanoeing after the London 2012 Olympics.
Since a mystery virus impaired her mobility in her legs, Emma has fought her way to the top, dedicating herself to the mastery of, not just one, but two sports. After being discovered at a Team GB talent day in 2010, Emma competed in sitting volleyball at London 2012 before choosing to challenge herself by switching to the high-speed sport of paracanoe, where she continues to dominate on the world stage.
Now a trailblazer for the sport in the UK and the paracanoe community around the world, Emma’s achievements were recognised in the 2017 Queen’s New Year Honours list, where she was awarded an MBE for her services to canoeing.
Miguel Fernandez-Vicente
Advanced Research Engineer, MTC
Graeme Barnes
Principal Research Engineer, National Composites Centre
Graeme brings to the project many years of composites design and manufacturing knowledge as well as experience, ranging from R&D / low volume to medium volume production projects for the Automotive and other composite and construction industry applications.
Part of the NCC role is focussed to develop the UK supply chain for manufacture of composite parts aimed at Automotive and industrial applications. This project will further enhance some of capabilities of composite material choices for additional applications.