For over 10 years, the business has maintained strong relationships with the Southampton Solent University through the sponsorship of prizes, providing guest lectures and undertaking mock interviews with students.

Last year, the university approached Fortis IBA regarding their Mechanical Engineering Course (Continuous Improvement Module), seeking the business to become an industry sponsor. Recognising the importance of supporting learning opportunities within the communities where we operate, we were pleased to accept.

This project involves a partnership with the university to provide students with real-world work experience and problem solving. As part of the 4-month module, the project involves a site visit(s) to the A303 IBA Recycling Facility, where students will be presented with a specific task – a ‘problem’, devised by David Laflin, Electrical and Mechanical Project Manager. The students will then analyse and assess the challenge and propose suitable solutions which they will present to Fortis IBA later in April 2026.

We look forward to reviewing the students’ feedback, findings, and solutions for our A303 IBA Processing Facility which could also be applied to our other Fortis sites.