Today’s world presents us with many challenges, but alumni support is helping Cranfield School of Management develop world-class solutions and instigate positive change. Our research focuses on specific, topical and relevant issues, and delivers transformational research with global impact. 

A key strength of the School is its world-class faculty, which is among the largest and most diverse of any business school in Europe. Leaders in their chosen fields, they are actively engaged in consultancy and business-relevant research and are closely in tune with the evolving needs of business and government. Their research provides meaningful guidance to private sector leaders (boards, senior executives), the public, and Non-Governmental Organisation sectors.

Cranfield’s approach is distinct in four ways:

Interdisciplinary – combining engineering and ecological perspectives on the one hand, with management and leadership on the other, to leverage the full potential of resilience.

Collaborative – building a network of industry leaders, public officials, and researchers, united by a bold mission to promote the application of rigorous resilience research, education, and industry engagement.

Solution-focused – an explicit focus on producing knowledge that is relevant to practice by focusing on developing means-ends propositions that solve real problems.

Evidence-based – systematic analysis and investigation of resilience through disciplined scientific investigation, driven by rigorously obtained empirical data.

This type of work is difficult to initiate and undertake given the traditional structure to access academic funding through the established Research Councils, which is what makes alumni support essential to the advancement of this work.

Your support will enable Cranfield to play a crucial role in understanding and addressing pressing global challenges such as sustainability and resilience and future-proofing our world against disruptive threats, amongst others

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Hear from our students...

Name Nam Vu
Programme PhD in Supply Chain Management (2022)
Research topic: Applying Blockchain in Food Supply Chain for Sustainability
Nationality Vietnamese
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In the field of supply chain management, Cranfield is one of the most reputable institutions in the world. I had read numerous works from Cranfield scholars such as Professor Christopher Martin and Associate Professor Michael Bernon, which really motivated me to apply to Cranfield. Prior to obtaining my MSc (and beginning my PhD) I was working in operations, making supply chain management naturally attractive to me. I love to expand my knowledge and contribute meaningful works to the field, and a PhD is a perfect opportunity for me to achieve this.

My area of research is exploring the potential use of Blockchain in food supply chain, especially for sustainability development. Food supply has always been an essential element for humanity; however, the concern nowadays is not that whether we can produce enough food for the rapid growing population, but rather how we can manage to feed ourselves without severely depleting natural resources. Thus there is a need for research into enhancing sustainability in food chain. Blockchain is an emerging technology with promising benefits to supply chain management and so I believe it is important to examine the technological potential in facilitating sustainable food supply chain.

Cranfield is among the leading institutions in researching the impact of Industry 4.0 on supply chain management, and my specific area of research (Blockchain) is part of Industry 4.0. I am very happy with my decision and definitely grateful for the bursary support! The PhD programme at Cranfield is very well structured and students are guaranteed to work with the best teams in their respective fields. Moreover, the environment is excellent and can bring out the best in every student.

Name Alp Yildirim
Programme PhD in Leadership and Management (2022)
Nationality Turkish
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I used to work in the CEO Office of OPLOG Operational Logistics, a national logistics company in Turkey. I knew that Cranfield University is very popular in management and aviation, and for this reason I applied to the PhD programme.

My area of research is in the path planning optimisation of mobile robots in the picking process of warehouse operations. It is an important topic in supply chain; for example, Amazon is a supply chain company rather than an e-commerce company that has become one of the biggest in the world through automating their warehouse operations with the help of Kiva robots, and most companies now try to imitate what they have achieved.

In the School of Management there are great academics who work in university-industry integration. They are knowledgeable and I think that merging their success with the branding of Cranfield University will help me to apply theoretical algorithms to real life. I am learning a lot from my supervisors who are working with real logistics companies in the industry. Cranfield University has the advantage of university-industry integration and enables students and researchers to solve real problems. People are very welcoming and helpful here and the campus is very quiet and green, which helps you to focus on what you are doing.