Academic Interests

• Education for Industry

Background

Tom Ridgman worked in the automotive industry for 20 years mainly in Leyland Trucks with a variety of roles in new product development, manufacturing strategy and manufacturing operations. After leaving Leyland he ran a research programme into leadtime reduction at Warwick University before coming to Cambridge in 1995.

At the IfM he was Course Director for the Advanced Course in Design, Manufacture and Management (ACDMM) and for the successor the MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management (ISMM). He has a keen interest in investigating and promoting industrial and academic collaboration and was instrumental in setting up IfM Education and Consultancy Services.

He is an active volunteer with the Institution of Engineering and Technology and Chaired the Registration and Standards Committee for 5 years which oversees University accreditation and registration for Chartered and Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Engineering Council, Chairs the Quality Assurance Committee and is an ex-officio member of the Registration and Standards Committee and the International Advisory Panel.

Teaching Activities

As well as teaching on ISMM Tom worked with UTT, a new University in Trinidad, to set up a similar course there named Industrial Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Management. In addition, as Director of External Education for the IfM he has been developing a range of courses for industry that build upon the Institute’s long tradition of practice based education.

Research Activities

Current research interests include:

• Manufacturing Capabilities and International Performance
• Competitive and Sustainable Manufacturing in the Food Industry
• Education for Manufacturing

In addition Tom is working to set up a research group, MIERG - Manufacturing Industry Education Research Group in the broad area of education for industry. The Group is developing projects in the areas of:

• Transfer of Knowledge and skills
• Education policy challenges arising from industrial globalisation
• Impact and assessment of of education and training
• Competences required by manufacturing professionals
• Effect of cultural context on manufacturing education
• Personal development of the manufacturing professional
• The relationship between education and training profile and different industrial roles

Selected Publications

Papers

• Ridgman, T. & Sheibani, F. Comparison of Learning styles of British and Yemeni Students. SEFI 43rd Annual Conference, Orleans, France, 2015
• Shawcross, J. & Ridgman, T. Short Industrial Placements – developing an activity framework to support teaching and learning. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol 4, Issue 3, ISBN 2042-3896
• Mahmud, M. N, & T. Ridgman – The Application of Repertory Grid Interview Method for Improving the Identification and Understanding of Competences Required for Engineering Practice.  SEFI 42nd Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK September 2014.
• Ridgman, T & Liu M. Engineering Graduate Employability – An International Comparison,   SEFI 42nd Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK September 2014.
• Shawcross, J & Ridgman T. Completing the SIP Activity Framework, what through placement activities should they, and do they, do. .  SEFI 42nd Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK September 2014.
• Bahram Hamraz, Nicholas H.M. Caldwell, Tom W. Ridgman & P. John Clarkson – FBS Linkage ontology and technique to support engineering change management, Research in Engineering Design,  Springer ISSN 0934-9839
• Shawcross, J & Ridgman T – Publishing Engineering Education Research, HEA Academy Working Paper, December 2013 ISBN 978-1-907207-99-0
• Shawcross, Judith & Ridgman, Tom – “Two week industrial placements for Masters students – what do they , and should they, do?  SEFI 41st Annual conference, Sept 2013
• Williams, N. L., T. Ridgman, et al. (2014). "Internationalization as Interaction: A Process Perspective on Internationalization from a Small Developing Country.” Thunderbird International Business Review 56(2): 127-144.
• Ridgman, T. Student Industrial Projects, Cambridge Experience, 5th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education, July 2013,
• Probert, D & Ridgman, T. Structuring technology and innovation management executive education: the research contribution, XXIV ISPIM Conference June 2013 Helsinki,
• Judith K. Shawcross and Tom W. Ridgman  Manufacturing excellent engineers: skill development in a Masters programme  Engineering Education: a Journal of the Higher Education Academy Volume 7, Issue 2 February 2013
• Shawcross, J. and Ridgman, T. (2012) Towards a Skills Development Framework; SRHE Conference 2012
• Thorpe, M & Ridgman, T.  “Enablers of the successful scale up of biotechnology processes” Chemspec Europe 2012.
• Nigel L Williams, Tom Ridgman and Yongjiang S. Shi. From stages to phases, a theory of small developing country internationalisation, In Advances in International Management Volume 24,
• Pedro Zoragoza-Gasca and Tom Ridgman,  Securing food supply through efficiency in the Supply Chain –, 16th Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium Sept 2012
• Macro, Meso, Micro: The Potential of Process Methods in Internationalization Research - Nigel L.Williams, Tom Ridgman and Yongjiang Shi, University of Cambridge - 15th Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium
• Shanzhai in and out of China: Lessons for Manufacturers from Small States Nigel Williams, Ke Rong, Tom Ridgman and Yongjiang Shi, University of Cambridge 15th Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium
• “Innovation as Response to Emissions Legislation: Revisiting the Automotive CatalyticConverter at Johnson Matthey” Lan TAO, Elizabeth Garnsey, David Probert andTom Ridgman. R & D Management R&D Management 40, 2, 2010
• Allwood, J.M., Bramley, A.N., Ridgman, T.W. and Mileham A.R. (2006) "Rapid production of tools and dies with surfaces made by incremental sheet forming", Proc I Mech E part B J Eng Manuf 220(2), 323-327
• Allwood, J.M., Bramley, A.N., Ridgman, T.W. and Mileham A.R. "Novel method for the rapid production of inexpensive dies and moulds with surfaces made by incremental sheet forming", Proceedings Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B Journal of Engineering Manufacture, Short Communications in Manufacture and Design, Vol X, NoX, pp XX, X 2005, ISSN 0954-4054
• Ridgman T. & Wiggins C. "Postgraduate Problem-Based Learning for Manufacturing", IEE Conference – Engineering Education Southampton Institute (2003)
• Ridgman T. "ACDMM – Bridging the Gap" Progress 1, Student Progression and Retention in Engineering, University of Hull (2001)
• Ridgman T. "Preparing Graduates for a Career in Manufacturing Industry, The Advanced Course in Design, Manufacture and Management" 4th International Symposium on Technology Education and Training, Cape Technicon, Cape Town (1998)
• Ridgman T. "Speeding companies design process - computerised and graphical tools to improve time to market". InfoDesign97 (July 1997)

Books

• Gregory I & Rawlings S et al. 'Profit from Time'. by published by Macmillan, (1997)
• Gardiner G., Ridgman T & Gilmour C, 'Speeding New Products to Market' Dti Workbook.

Book Chapters

• From stages to phases, a theory of small developing country internationalisation, Nigel L Williams, Tom Ridgman and Yongjiang S. Shi. In Advances in International Management Volume 24, Dynamics of Globalization: Location specific Advantages or Liabilities of Foreigness? Edited by Christian Geisler Asmussen, Torben Pedersen, Timothy M Devinney and Laszlo Tihanyi. Published by Emerald Books 2011 ISBN 978-0-85724-991-3