The National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) is a state-of-the-art, postgraduate engineering facility which was established in 2012 by founding partners TWI, BP and Lloyd’s Register Foundation.  It works closely with lead academic partner Brunel University London, and other prestigious universities in the UK, to provide fundamental research based on novel PhD topics undertaken in an industrial setting. Students undertake their studies at TWI, giving them access to state-of-the-art engineering laboratories and the support of TWI’s technical specialists.  Overtime, NSIRC has also introduced a number of new MBAs and MScs.  In combination, all these elements contribute to creating the next generation of technology-based engineers.

Research and innovation

Qualifications undertaken by NSIRC students, with the support of the Centre's partners, supports the following objectives: 

• Safe operation of products and structures
• Development of innovative, fit-for-purpose technologies and design rules
• Engineering solutions for long-term asset management

NSIRC was made possible by grants provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) through its Regional Growth Fund (RGF), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Structural Integrity Research Foundation (SIRF), an organisation set-up by TWI to set the direction, and provide a platform, for industrially driven research in its field.

NSIRC International

NSIRC began a journey towards internationalisation in early 2022, with the aim of extending the original NSIRC modal out to local territories, to deliver new PhDs based on industrial needs in partnership with notable universities overseas.  In just under a year, NSIRC International successfully formed partnerships with premier universities in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia to collaborate on new, PhD-based research and development (R&D) programmes.

Visit the NSIRC website to find out more.