Beko plc support Marlborough College with an educational visit to Arçelik’s Garage Innovation Hub

Two lecturers from Marlborough College participated in the visit, which aimed to inspire and inform the development of the Beko Innovation Centre on the Marlborough campus.

Equipped with advanced production technologies, the Arçelik Garage is a leading open innovation centre that enables the production of high-quality prototypes at an accelerated pace. As a world-class innovation hub, the Garage provides an exceptional environment for creative development, collaboration and innovation, supporting start-ups, universities, and many other organisations with prototyping facilities, knowhow, and mentorship, so that creativity is encouraged and knowledge shared.

Marlborough College was selected for the visit due to its existing partnership with Beko plc, which has already resulted in the construction of the Beko Innovation Centre on the college's campus. Since its establishment in September 2021, the Centre has become a hub for the science and technology outreach activities led by Marlborough College, in partnership with various primary schools.

During their visit to the Arçelik Garage, the Marlborough College representatives had the opportunity to tour the facility extensively and gain first-hand experience of its advanced technologies and practices. Cem Avci, the Garage's Head of Design, guided them through the ideation and CAD workspaces, as well as the advanced manufacturing, rapid prototyping, and assembly workshops. The visitors were particularly impressed by the way the Garage's design and layout were conducive towards a seamless workflow that enabled ideas to move smoothly from sketches to prototypes, ultimately translating into manufactured products.

In addition to the Innovation Garage, the lecturers from Marlborough College also visited the Atölye 4.0 lab, where Turgut Köksal Yalçin, the hub' Head of Industrial Robotics, showcased several current projects. This provided an excellent opportunity to witness advanced robotics in action and gain hands-on experience interacting with cutting-edge technologies that the Marlborough students aspire to build.

The lecturers also had the chance to view a live production line, which offered valuable insight into the real-world production of high-end consumer products, including the direct results of the prototyping they had previously witnessed in the Garage and advanced manufacturing lab.

Julian Patient, Innovation Design Associate at Marlborough College who participated in the visit, commented:

“As we enter an increasingly technological world, it is essential for educational institutions to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and working environments that facilitate ambitious creativity. This vision has inspired us to explore ways in which we can expand our Beko Innovation Centre at Marlborough College. We strive to become a world-class facility that inspires our students to ideate, design, and manufacture in an environment that closely mirrors the professional world.”

“This trip was a tremendous success. Our experience at Arçelik will benefit our students at Marlborough College as we continue to develop our space into a world-class design facility. We look forward to incorporating the insights we gained into our teaching and workshops, pushing the boundaries of innovation at our college, and we are thrilled to continue our valued partnership with Beko plc.”