Postgraduate Prospectus

Through-life System Sustainment MSc

Suitable for experienced engineering and technology professionals wishing to develop capability in the leadership of long-life system sustainment programmes and through-life engineering services.

Takes you on to careers with higher levels of responsibility, a broader base of skills and capability and a greater level of professionalism.

You will be taught by industry-active research academics from Cranfield with an established track record in product-service and maintenance systems, and through-life capability management. To ensure the programme is aligned to industry needs, the course has the support of a number of organisations in the through-life engineering services industry including Rolls-Royce.

Course description

The cost and environmental impact of keeping complex, long-life assets and infrastructure operating efficiently is significant. The ability of owners and maintainers to deploy superior through-life support capability will be increasingly critical to meeting shareholder and public demands in tomorrow’s world.

These demands increasingly require improved availability with a simultaneous reduction in the cost of supporting the service and equipment. This results in the need for a new and integrated approach to education within engineering and operations management.

With this rapidly developing interest in ‘service and support engineering’, the MSc in Through-life System Sustainment provides an essential foundation for future leaders in organisations who wish to maximise the ‘value in use’ from complex, long-life product systems, and become the change leaders for system sustainment.

The MSc course comprises eight assessed modules, in which students gain an understanding of world-class business practice, a number of industry experience days, a multi-sector group project and an individual project. Students are also supported through individual coaching and mentoring and an online learning platform.

Group project

The group project involves students working in teams to fulfil demanding objectives within a tight timescale, applying state-of-the-art technologies and approaches to addressing major challenges in long-life equipment support and sustainment, and delivering results to a high professional standard. 

Individual thesis project

The individual thesis project offers students the opportunity to develop their research capability, depth of understanding and ability to provide world-class technical and business engineering service solutions to real problems in system sustainment.

Modules:

  • System Sustainment
  • Effective Through-life Support
  • System Effectiveness
  • Diagnostics and Prognostics
  • Information Management
  • Supply Network Analysis and Modelling
  • Cost Engineering
  • Leadership and Service Skills

Entry requirements

Candidates are expected to have at least two years relevant experience in industry together with a 1st or 2nd class UK Honours degree in a relevant engineering or technology-based discipline, or the international equivalent of these UK qualifications. Alternative qualifications together with additional industrial experience may be considered.

Duration

2-3 years (part-time).

Start date

October.

Assessment

Taught modules 40%, group project (or dissertation) 20%, individual project 40%.

Funding

Students must be company sponsored.

Further details & applications

Further information

Open day - 11 May 2013

Contact

School of Applied Sciences Enquiries
T: +44 (0)1234 754086
E: appliedsciences@cranfield.ac.uk

Application process

Application form. UK students are normally expected to attend an interview. Overseas and EU students may be interviewed by telephone.

Online application

Through-life System Sustainment

Teaching location

Cranfield campus, School of Applied Sciences and Shrivenham campus, Cranfield Defence and Security.

Additional files

Through-life System Sustainment course brochure