Ford engineer's drive for success as Honorary Doctorate awarded
An award-winning engineer from Ford Motor Company is amongst those who received an honorary award from the University of Bradford in the summer graduations this year. He has been awarded a Doctorate of Engineering in recognition of his leadership and innovation within the engineering industry.
Alan Banks, who gained his Master’s degree from Bradford, has worked for Ford for 40 years, and is dedicated to passing his knowledge and experience onto the next generation of engineers. He advises the university on new practices in industry in order to evolve the course content, offers mock interview sessions and encourages his contemporaries in industry to be involved in this process as well. He said: “The work I do at the University of Bradford is the pinnacle of my career - I feel it’s my duty as an elder statesman of engineering to pay it forward.”
He was joined at the graduation ceremony by his wife of 28 years, Lisa, their daughter Juliet and son Jack and says that his 16 year old self, embarking on what would become a long career at Ford, would never believe that an honorary doctorate was in his future: “I’m so, so proud to receive this award. I’m not academically minded and was the first person in my family to go to college, never mind university.
“I feel indebted to the academic staff here at the University of Bradford - they kept me going through my Master’s when the economic crash meant that my work was put on hold.
“They led me in a new direction and I got a lot out of the course.”
The work Alan did on his Master’s - in Engineering Quality Improvement - led Ford to adopting new best practices based on his research, which focuses on lightweight technologies with mass-production capabilities.