Barric Sponsors City College Prize for Excellence in Electronics

electronics-training

Contract electronics manufacturer, Barric, has announced that they are to sponsor a prize for excellence in electronics. The prize is to be awarded annually to the most accomplished student studying electronics at the City College in Norwich.

"We are very pleased to be sponsoring this prize," said Karl Hain, Managing Director of Barric. "The UK is a world leader in the development and manufacture of electronics and in order to maintain this lead, we think we should be providing encouragement and support to the students who choose electronics as their career. The Barric prize will hopefully offer this encouragement and also demonstrate to students that their studies really do matter to those of us in the industry."


Barric manufacture electronic products for companies around the world. Using sophisticated pick and place machines, Barric are a leader in the production of complex, modern electronics. Their customers include companies making marine safety devices, broadcast audio systems, automotive electronics and technology for the health sector. In addition to their manufacturing services, Barric also offer inspection and repair services to other European electronic companies.

Photo: David Devaney, Programme Manager for Engineering Technician courses (City College), Stefan Przybokski, Head of Technology (City College) and Karl Hain, Managing Director (Barric)

"As electronics has become more complex and far more dense, repairing this kind of technology can be very challenging," said Karl. "We've had to invest in a special 3D x-ray machine, automated optical inspection machines and a special scope that can view the components in microscopic detail. Electronics has moved on a long way in recent years and we are expecting that our new relationship with the college will help us share this knowledge and experience with up and coming engineers."

The City College Norwich runs a broad range of engineering courses that includes studies for National Diplomas in Electronics and Higher National Diplomas and Higher National Certificates. The college currently accommodates about 75 full time students on its electronics courses with many more students also studying mechanical engineering and attending on a part-time basis. The college has gained a good reputation within industry, for the quality of the engineers it has produced over the years.

"The college has always had a strong engineering department, in fact it dates back to the days when the college trained many of the Lawrence and Scott engineers, many decades ago," said David Devaney, Programme Manager for Engineering Technician courses. "We very much welcome Barric's sponsorship of the electronics prize and their willingness to share their experience and technology with our students. The UK remains very strong in the technology industry, so it is good to have this kind of support for the training of our engineers and technicians of the future."

The Barric prize will be awarded at the college prize giving evening, which takes place at St Andrews Hall in September. The successful student will be awarded the prize by Barric's Managing Director, Karl Hain and may have the opportunity of a work placement at Barric's Diss factory.