Lab technician picks up top university award

Aggregate Industries laboratory technician receives University of Derby award for study tour report

A UNIVERSITY of Derby student who works as a laboratory technician for Aggregate Industries has scooped a top university prize for the report he wrote following a visit to the  Rockwool factory in South Wales.

Ken Bird (right of picture), who is studying for a Diploma in Asphalt Technology, received his Industrial Study Tour Award after spending a week with fellow students visiting a number of quarrying and processing sites, and plant manufacturing and engineering facilities in the West Country.

Part of the tour involved a visit to the Rockwool factory, where the students were shown how rock is turned into a fire-resistant material that can be used for both thermal and acoustic insulation.

Tutors at University of Derby Corporate (UDC), the University’s corporate training and development division, judged Mr Bird’s report to be the most comprehensive with respect to describing Rockwool, its products and production techniques.

Andrew Hartley (left of picture), managing director of UDC, said: ‘We incorporate an element of real-world learning, such as the annual study tour, into many of the asphalt, quarry and concrete programmes offered by UDC.

‘By doing this, our students have a fantastic opportunity to broaden their understanding and gain valuable experience and knowledge of the industries within which they work.’

UDC offers qualifications in the asphalt, quarry and concrete industries, which have been developed in partnership with sector-leading organizations and bodies such as the Institute of Quarrying, the Institute of Asphalt Technology and the Concrete Society.

UDC is currently accepting applications for new entrants on to its Diploma programmes in Quarrying, Asphalt or Road Surface Technology; the Certificate in Quarry or Asphalt Studies; and the University Certificate in Concrete Technology.