It was one small step for those who attended this morning's opening of the two-day engineering and technology event in Gloucestershire, one giant step for the county's education.

This is the Engineering and Technology of Tomorrow event at the University of Gloucestershire's school of engineering, staged in partnership with the business ABB which bought a very special engineer with it.

That 'engineer', called Yumi, was the smallest of the robots ABB deals with - this particular model built to showcase its skills and dexterity by building a small box and packing it with a number of different items.

Present were also representatives from up-market car marque Aston Martin and Cheltenham firm Spirax Sarco as well as Gloucestershire Engineering Training (GET), which is based in Gloucester and works with firms of all sizes county-wide.

The event is a 'giant step' because it represents the Holy Grail sought for years by many - the coming together of education and business to focus on engineering and technology in a way that creates a pathway from Level 2 right the way through to degree level.

Taking place all day today and tomorrow the free seminars cover manufacturing, powertrain technology, cyber, energy efficiency, measurement and analytics and robotics.

Richard O'Doherty (pictured above, left), the deputy vice chancellor of the university of Gloucestershire, opened the event at the Park campus in Cheltenham: "When I joined eight years ago I was told we are not serving engineering in Gloucestershire. But we have been working hard and are now bringing new engineering courses forward.

"What has been really important for us is the number of companies which have wanted to get involved in shaping the curriculum to make it relevant, opening up opportunities for students."

Stuart Melling, of ABB (pictured above, right), introduced ABB as a high-tech company offering innovative digital solutions for companies.

"It is a simply fact that the county does not have enough engineers. I am grateful to Greta Thunberg. She has done a brilliant job of raising the profile of climate change and the challenges we face.

"But it is engineers who will have to make the difference so we can all make those changes possible."

He had been, he said, staggered by the breadth of the courses on offer within the mechanical and digital engineering and cyber sectors at the University of Gloucestershire.

The event was also a chance for the university to showcase its cyber technical and professional degree apprenticesips, now in their first year.

With the university's close proximity to a certain Government spy base and major plans afoot to create a cyber business park in Cheltenham the university has positioned itself to become a key player in helping to shape the county's future and attract in the next generation of talent in teh digital sector.

According to the latest figures from the university 28 per cent of those who startcyber courses at the county are living here before the course begins. After graduation an estimated 46 per cent stay within Glocuestershire.

The free, two-day event is on until 4.20 today, but starts again tomorrow at 9.30am with a talk on 'how to attract the next generation of engineers'.

Those who attend will be able to benefit not only from the short seminars and talks, but also have a chance to talk about the latest technologies set to revolutionise UK manufacturing - including Robotics and virtual technologies.

All of which is takes place at the University of Gloucestershire, The Park, Cheltenham, GL50 2RH.