The importance of standards in a digital world

Thursday 8 December 2016

IfM has just published a report, commissioned by BSI (British Standards Institute), which looks at the challenges for UK manufacturers of ‘going digital’ – and how standards and good practice can help the UK benefit from the digital revolution.

Manufacturing leadership in the age of digital disruption

Thursday 8 December 2016

Professor Andy Neely, Head of the IfM and the Cambridge Service Alliance, suggests that industry leaders should focus on five key areas if they want to survive the journey to a digital future.

Digital manufacturing at the IfM

Thursday 8 December 2016

Professor Andy Neely, Head of the IfM, introduces the IfM's take on digital manufacturing.

The digitalisation of manufacturing economies

Wednesday 7 December 2016

Eoin O’Sullivan, Head of the  Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, reflects on different policy perspectives, priorities and initiatives in key manufacturing economies (USA, Germany and Japan) and considers the implications for the UK.

IfM key partner in new manufacturing research hub

Wednesday 7 December 2016

The IfM is part of a new research hub to transform the way medicines and other high value materials are made.

MET alum named Young Engineer of the Year at the NMI 2016 Awards

Thursday 1 December 2016

IfM alumnus Keno Mario-Ghae has been named Young Engineer of the Year at the National Microelectronics Institute’s (NMI) 2016 Awards.

Innovative food technology start-up wins Open Innovation Food and FMCG Pitching Event

Wednesday 30 November 2016

Start-up Nuritas, which uses artificial intelligence and DNA analysis to create health-benefiting ingredients has won the 5th Food & FMCG Innovation Pitching Event held in London on 23 November at Food Matters Live.

A disruptive influence

Thursday 24 November 2016

Stewart McTavish, Director of ideaSpace, Cambridge’s hub for early stage innovation and CTM Head Dr Tim Minshall reflect on how Stewart came to be running ideaSpace, how he has seen his vision for it become a reality, what he plans to do next – and how he invented crowdfunding.

How bright is your digital future?

Thursday 24 November 2016

Dr Jag Srai, Head of the IfM’s Centre for International Manufacturing (CIM), and his team have developed a new way to help companies embrace the challenges and opportunities of digitalising the extended supply chain. 

Getting smart with digital

Thursday 24 November 2016

Dr Alexandra Brintrup, recently appointed to the new post of Lecturer in Digital Manufacturing, explains how the IfM’s Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory (DIAL) has been at the forefront of digital thinking for the last two decades with its research into intelligent processes, products and services.

IfM Review Issue 6 - What's new at the IfM - November

Monday 21 November 2016

Issue 6 of the Institute for Manufacturing Review is now online. Articles include the digitalisation of manufacturing economies, new ways to manage the digital end-to-end supply chain and the importance of standards and best practice in the digital era.

What does Brexit mean for UK manufacturing?

Thursday 17 November 2016

IfM Head, Andy Neely and Head of the IfM's new Policy Links unit, Carlos Lopez Gomez, have written an article on the post-Brexit challenges for UK manufacturers for Prospect Magazine. 

IfM awarded best outreach ambassador for its Science Festival activities

Tuesday 11 October 2016

The IfM has won a Cambridge BID Customer Experience Special Recognition Award for its participation in the Cambridge Science Festival 2016.

Rolls-Royce Director of Manufacturing, Dr Hamid Mughal gives inspiring talk at the IfM

Thursday 6 October 2016

Dr Hamid Mughal, Director of Manufacturing at Rolls-Royce, visited the IfM this week to share his thoughts on UK manufacturing.

IfM researchers create ground-breaking ultraflexible battery

Wednesday 5 October 2016

Researchers from the IfM’s NanoManufacturing group have created an innovative carbon nanotube structure which allows them to create extremely flexible batteries with superior performance.

IfM Head, Professor Andy Neely to speak at Financial Times Future of Manufacturing Summit

Wednesday 28 September 2016

Professor Andy Neely has been invited to be a panellist at the Financial Times Future of Manufacturing Summit on Tuesday 4 October in London.

Food & FMCG giants are looking for innovators to pitch them new ideas

Thursday 22 September 2016

Senior leaders from major food and FMCG firms, part of the Open Innovation (OI) Forum, are holding a pitching event on 23 November at Food Matters Live, ExCel, London.

IfM Head, Andy Neely awarded Institution of Engineering and Technology Achievement Medal for Manufacturing

Monday 19 September 2016

Professor Andy Neely, Head of the Institute of Manufacturing and Founding Director of the Cambridge Service Alliance, has been awarded an Achievement Medal for Manufacturing.

IfM publishes report highlighting opportunities and challenges for UK manufacturing

Monday 19 September 2016

The IfM has published a new consultation paper looking at the UK’s High Value Manufacturing (HVM) landscape over the next 15 to 20 years.

Innovative waffle machine designed by IfM students competes for Dyson Award

Monday 8 August 2016

A revolutionary continuous-flow waffle machine designed by undergraduate students at the IfM has been entered into the James Dyson Award 2016 competition.

How we get what we want

Monday 1 August 2016

Jag Srai, Head of CIM, gives Cambridge Business magazine an insight into what the IfM is doing to address the challenges involved in the modern supply chain.

IfM hosts biggest ever R&D Management Conference

Tuesday 26 July 2016

The 2016 annual R&D Management Conference was hosted in Cambridge by CTM between 3 and 6 July, with more than 450 delegates from 35 countries.

IfM ECS workshop brings academia and industry together to define bulk superconductivity research strategy

Tuesday 19 July 2016

A roadmapping workshop facilitated by IfM ECS brought academics and industrialists together to develop an industrially-relevant strategy for bulk superconductivity research.

Autumn courses, conferences and events - What's new at the IfM - July

Thursday 14 July 2016

September is just around the corner – and at the IfM this marks the start of a busy season packed with courses, conferences and events for our industrial and academic delegates.

DIAL's latest research presented at MIM 2016

Thursday 14 July 2016

Wenrong Lu, doctoral researcher, presented DIAL’s latest work on data mining for inventory management at the 8th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and Control (MIM 2016).

DIAL visits YH Global in China

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Researchers from the Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory, Philip Woodall, Vaggelis Giannikas and Wenrong Lu, visited YH Global’s headquarters in June as part of the ITALI project.

Digital supply chains: Jag Srai takes part in The Economist Manufacturing Forum

Monday 4 July 2016

Dr Jag Srai, Head of the IfM's Centre for International Manufacturing, was a panellist at The Economist's Manufacturing Forum.

New book on asset management

Thursday 30 June 2016

Researchers from the Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory Raj Srinivasan and Ajith Parlikad had a new book, Decision-Making in Asset Management, published by the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE).

Prize-winning agri-tech entrepreneurs

Wednesday 29 June 2016

Two IfM graduate students reap the rewards of their entrepreneurial approach to agri-tech.

Best paper award for the ITALI team

Wednesday 29 June 2016

Researchers?from the Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory?won the best paper award at the 2016 International Conference on Information Quality.?

DIAL at the Airline Operations Conference

Saturday 25 June 2016

Alena Puchkova, research associate in DIAL, participated in the AGIFORS Airline Operations Conference that was held on the 16-19 May 2016 in Seattle, USA.

The Nature, Location and Functioning of International Research Collaborations

Wednesday 22 June 2016

The report follows a workshop which explored effective practices for building and nurturing effective international collaborations in manufacturing research which was hosted for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

Duncan McFarlane: the future of automation

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Professor Duncan McFarlane talked about how we should be thinking about automation at a summit on collaborative innovation at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Understanding Business Model Innovation - What's new at the IfM - June

Thursday 2 June 2016

Our new White Paper looks at the theoretical challenges underpinning business model innovation and makes recommendations for academia, business, funding councils and government.

A new White Paper has been published by the Business Model Innovation Research Programme at the IfM

Wednesday 1 June 2016

The Business Model Innovation White Paper (developed jointly by the University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter) looks at the challenges and opportunities presented by the unifying concept of the business model.

Getting to grips with IP

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Intellectual property (IP) is clearly fundamental to technology-based companies but Dr Frank Tietze from the IfM’s Centre for Technology Management thinks that many firms can benefit from taking a more strategic approach to IP management.

Bridging the gap - How to create business tools and processes that really work

Tuesday 17 May 2016

Dr Imoh Ilevbare, Product Manager for IfM Education and Consultancy Services, describes the IfM’s approach to developing business tools and processes from cutting-edge research.

Digital futures - and other manufacturing matters

Monday 16 May 2016

On 12 May, the IfM held its annual Briefing Day – attended by more than 150 senior industrialists and policymakers who heard about the IfM’s latest research and the work it is doing with industry and government.

Make the most of your IP - register for the next Strategic Intellectual Property Forum

Friday 13 May 2016

The third Strategic Intellectual Property Forum, a half-day seminar designed to help companies better understand innovation and IP management, will take place on 24 May at the IfM.

Inventing the wheel

Friday 13 May 2016

Jag Srai, Head of the IfM’s Centre for International Manufacturing, took part in The Forum, a recent BBC World Service programme discussing the history of the wheel and its twenty-first century uses in modern logistics and performance art.

Leonardo da Vinci: the first systematic study of friction

Monday 9 May 2016

Friction is immensely important to us – without it, for example, we could not walk or even crawl – yet it is only 50 years since a special word –  ‘tribology’ – was first coined to describe its study.

The innovation game

Friday 6 May 2016

Dr Chander Velu, head of the IfM’s Business Model Innovation research programme, explains why the time has come to put business model innovation under the microscope.

Design for Transformation - What's new at the IfM - May

Tuesday 3 May 2016

The IfM’s Design Management Group uses experience-based and academically-underpinned tools to transform a company’s product range, deliver sustainable growth and produce improvements to productivity.

Why did they design it like that?

Tuesday 3 May 2016

James Moultrie looks for universal appeal when beauty in is the eye of the beholder.

Good Design is a Game Changer

Thursday 28 April 2016

James Moultrie, Head the IfM’s Design Management Group, argues that good design is just as important for industrial products as it is for consumer goods such as cars and electronics. 

The Cambridge Value Mapping Tool

Monday 25 April 2016

The Cambridge Value Mapping Tool has been developed and refined over the last five years. It uses a structured and visual approach to identify ‘value uncaptured’ in the form of failed value exchanges: value missed, destroyed, surplus, and absence.

A social network of things - New approaches to asset management

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Dr Ajith Parlikad, Head of the IfM’s Asset Management Group, explains how effective asset management can deliver significant value both for manufacturers and for infrastructure owners and operators – and how his team is developing a ‘social network of things’ which has the potential to revolutionise the way in which organisations manage their assets.

Patently not obvious

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Frank Tietze knows more than most about IP and hopes to help Cambridge and the UK do a lot better in the global IP charts.

Supplying innovation: unlocking innovation in the supply chain

Friday 15 April 2016

The Cambridge Service Alliance have launched a new white paper 'Supplying Innovation - Unlocking Innovative Behaviours in the Supply Chain'.

Roadmapping at BASF

Friday 8 April 2016

How BASF’s experiences are shared by many of the companies taking part in a research project run by the IfM’s Strategic Technology and Innovation Management Consortium.

No contact required: Digital inkjet printing enables new applications

Monday 4 April 2016

Dr Steve Hoath, Senior Research Associate at the Inkjet Research Centre of the IfM explains how his and colleagues’ work is focused on understanding the underlying science of inkjet printing.

IfM Review Issue 5 - What's new at the IfM - April

Friday 1 April 2016

Issue 5 of the Institute for Manufacturing Review is now available online. Articles include the importance of business model innovation, advances in inkjet printing and fluid engineering, the 'social network of things' and the benefits and challenges of embedding roadmapping.

Liquid assets

Thursday 24 March 2016

Understanding fluids and their behaviour is key to developing new manufacturing processes and a wide range of applications. Professor Ian Hutchings, Head of the Inkjet Research Centre, and Dr Ronan Daly, Head of the Fluids in Advanced Manufacturing Group, explain how the IfM’s research in this area has evolved over the last ten years – and where they see it heading.

The Newsletter of the Centre for Technology Management - March 2016

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Read the March issue of the Centre for Technology Management Newsletter.

'Where there is light, there is shadow' EPSRC photo competition winner

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Jon Parkins has been announced as the EPSRC Science Photo Competition entry winner for the Innovation category.

Colour Marketing Services: increased profits and future orders for specialist colour cards firm

Monday 21 March 2016

IfM ECS has recently worked with Colour Marketing Services, a manufacturer of colour systems and samples.

Science festival 2016 at the IfM

Sunday 20 March 2016

More than 1000 visitors of all ages visited the IfM on Saturday 19 March for the annual Cambridge Science Festival.

Circular Business Book: Collaborate and Circulate

Friday 18 March 2016

A new book Circular Business: Collaborate and Circulate has been published today.

What we do at the IfM

Friday 18 March 2016

The People, Projects and Activities 2016 report provides an insight into the range of work we do in all areas of manufacturing, from carbon nanotubes to global supply chains, from supporting national R&D strategies to understanding the impact of the ‘digital revolution’.

50 years of tribology

Monday 14 March 2016

From wind farms to data storage, from deodorants to floor tiles, tribology is involved in many aspects of modern life – yet most people have never heard of the word, let alone know what it means.

CSTI and Policy Links host 'smart specialisation' workshop for the region's agri-tech community

Friday 11 March 2016

The IfM’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (CSTI) and its knowledge exchange unit, Policy Links, held a ‘smart specialisation’ workshop this week bringing together the agri-tech community in the East of England. The workshop was designed to identify the distinctive strengths of the region as one of Europe’s leading agri-tech clusters. 

Balancing push and pull strategies within the production system

Monday 7 March 2016

Dr Alena Puchkova, research associate in the Distributed Information and Automation Laboratory, presented a paper called "Balancing push and pull strategies within the production system" at the 7th IFAC Conference on Management and Control of Production and Logistics.

Record attendance expected for the R&D Management Conference and PhD Colloquium

Thursday 3 March 2016

Preparations are in full swing for a record attendance at this year’s R&D Management Conference, hosted by the Centre for Technology Management at Churchill College.

Reducing the risk of failure in new product development

Tuesday 1 March 2016

This new Practice Guide examines the front end of innovation and considers how this can be organised using formal processes to avoid such failures in innovation processes, and to improve the success of the innovation pipeline.

Podcast - The importance of academia to the manufacturing landscape

Thursday 25 February 2016

In this interview podcast, Andy Neely discusses his views on how the manufacturing landscape wouldn't be the same without academia.

Manufacturing metrics review report

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Today sees the launch of the Manufacturing metrics review report lead by Professor Sir Mike Gregory prepared for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

President Fox Visits the IfM

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox and his wife Marta Sahagún de Fox visited the IfM last week. They were in Cambridge to understand more about the future trends in manufacturing and their implications for Mexico’s economy.

Making It - Advanced Manufacturing in the Liverpool City Region to 2020

Wednesday 17 February 2016

The Liverpool City Region (LCR) has a vision to become a global manufacturing hotspot with the smartest networks, talent, technology and investment.

Positive outlook for manufacturing

Tuesday 16 February 2016

Dr Jag Srai, Head of the IfM’s Centre for International Manufacturing, was interviewed for ITV’s Anglia News last week about the prospects for manufacturing in the region.

IfM convenes manufacturing and innovation policy workshop with senior UK and German policymakers

Friday 12 February 2016

In January 2016 the IfM’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (CSTI) brought together a high profile group of policymakers and practitioners from UK and German institutions to share experiences and identify best practices in implementing innovation policies.

Manufacturing your future - High value manufacturing at the Alconbury Enterprise Campus

Thursday 11 February 2016

The new Alconbury Enterprise Campus in Cambridgeshire needed a clear vision to develop the economic potential of the exciting new facility. It required a better understanding of the sector strengths of the region, and to identify any gaps that could be used to inform decisions on training provision for its technical and vocational training centre.

Opportunities and Challenges in Additive Manufacturing

Monday 8 February 2016

Dr Tim Minshall who leads the bit-by-bit project at the IfM explains why Additive Manufacturing (or 3D Printing) could have huge application in sectors from cars to space stations.

Getting up to speed with automation

Wednesday 3 February 2016

More than 50 manufacturing companies visited the IfM last week. A mix of SMEs and multinationals, they were all there to learn how automation can help grow their businesses, improve their productivity and create better working environments for their staff.

What's new at the IfM - February - Seven Critical Success Factors in the Shift to Services

Tuesday 2 February 2016

A new Executive Briefing from the Cambridge Service Alliance, 'Seven Critical Success Factors in the Shift to Services’, sets out a roadmap for making the shift to services journey.

Add a service dimension to your business

Friday 29 January 2016

Dr Veronica Martinez explains that UK manufacturing companies often cannot compete on price alone, while product differentiation is getting more difficult and expensive. Services are the key to creating a more diversified business and to building stronger customer relationships, she argues.

Lean and agile strategies key to outsmart the competition

Wednesday 27 January 2016

Dr Rob Phaal from the Centre for Technology Management at the IfM in this short video makes the case for lean and agile strategy as a source of competitive advantage.

Enabling the 4th industrial revolution - "industrie 4.0" or the "internet of things"?

Monday 25 January 2016

I've been struck recently by the range of people talking about new digital and data developments in manufacturing. Of particular interest has been the apparent explosion of discussion about industrie 4.0, internet plus and the industrial internet.

Manufacturing - an exciting place and time

Monday 18 January 2016

Andy Neely, Head of the at the IfM, explains why he thinks this is a wonderful time to be involved with manufacturing.

What's new at the IfM - January - The Year Ahead

Friday 8 January 2016

2016 promises to be an exciting year for everyone involved in manufacturing as we continue to embrace new technologies, new business models and changing customer expectations - as well as the increasingly pressing need to run businesses in a way which will preserve our planet for future generations.

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