Mon, 01 December, 2025
The TWI Research Board meeting on 27 November, 2025, at TWI Cambridge marked the final meeting for long-serving Research Board Chair, Simon Webster.
Simon brought over 30 years’ industrial experience in engineering and technology leadership to the role, having also served on the TWI Council for several years prior. His expertise in bringing together science, technology, and engineering to solve complex business problems made him perfect for the position of TWI Research Board Chair.
The Research Board is an important part of our support for industry as a membership-based organisation. It is the duty of this board to oversee the direction and investment into the Core Research Programme, where a portion of Industrial Members’ fees are invested into research for the benefit of industry. The Research Board, being made up of representatives from our Industrial Member companies, is perfectly-placed to ensure any undertaking is not only beneficial but also forward-thinking and innovative.
The unique position of TWI as an impartial and independent organisation that serves the needs of Member companies from across all industry sectors allows us to make links where none previously existed, transferring ideas from one to another for the benefit of both. As well as working across industry sectors, TWI has strong links with academia, government and industry bodies for codes and standards. These links allow us to deliver cutting-edge innovation, bringing scientists and engineers together who would not normally work together, and uniting companies to work on problems they did not know they shared.
All of this is brought to bear through activities like the TWI Core Research Programme, as Simon explained when he was appointed as Research Board Chair, “Having served on TWI’s council for several years, I have seen first-hand the tremendous value that our staff have created through the Core Research Programme, and when the vacancy for the Research Board chair became available, I jumped at the opportunity.”
Simon also explained how he saw the duties of the Research Board as being split into three important fronts, “Firstly, governance, ensuring that we have the right management processes in place to ensure that we deliver to our Members what we said we would. Secondly, focusing on content, ensuring that we are working on the right projects and projects aligned to our Members’ needs, and, finally, ensuring our programme is engaging and motivating for our staff.”
We would like to thank Simon for his service as Chair of the TWI Research Board.