Contact Details

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Position

Lecturer in Human Resource Management
Director of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction

Affiliation

Dr Paul Heffernan

Research Areas

• Growth and Development of technology-based firms
• Adoption and dissemination of technology
• Innovation in the construction industry
• The value of production
• Management cognition and strategic problem-solving
• Management applications of complex systems theories
• Project Management

Background

Paul is a University Lecturer in Human Resource Management, and Director of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction. He was previously Director of the Emerging Industry Programme and Programme Manager of the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre.

Paul’s research has focused on technology-based firms, and industrial emergence and evolution. Management cognition and problem-solving in complex environments was the subject of his PhD thesis, completed in 2004.

Most recently, he has helped to establish the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, an Innovation and Knowledge Centre (CSIC), funded by the EPSRC, the Technology Strategy Board, and a large group of industry partners. The Centre involves the Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Division of the Department of Engineering, along with the IfM, the Department of Architecture, the Computer Lab and the Judge Business School. The aim is to transform the infrastructure and construction sectors through the commercialisation and dissemination of innovations in sensing, data analysis and representation, planning, and construction practice.

Before joining the University, Paul had nearly 20 years industrial experience in aerospace, railways and construction. He trained at British Aerospace, including an apprenticeship as an aircraft fitter, before working in production planning, management and projects. He later worked in railways and construction, joining the Jubilee Line Extension project, followed by periods with London Underground and Railtrack managing projects and programmes ranging in value from a few tens of thousands to over £250m, and deliverables from management systems to major station refurbishment via research and highways.