MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture, and Management

University of Cambridge

The aim of ISMM is to equip numerate graduates with the academic skills, personal development and industrial experience to be immediately effective in their early careers in industry. ISMM is very different from any other academic course: it combines traditional academic teaching material with a series of industrial visits, industrial seminars, skills development and projects in industry. ISMM is a very intensive programme that gives a direct experience of many different industries, cultures and working environments. In addition to the lectures, the projects present real challenges in genuine industrial and business environments.

ISMM will broaden your perspective and experience and open the door to a wide range of industrial careers. Many firms recognise the value of the course and target our graduates. Equally, for those who want to work in a smaller company, ISMM gives the confidence to start directly in a manufacturing engineering or management role. Those with entrepreneurial flair go on to set up their own companies.

The programme is structured around taught modules, company visits and in-company projects solving live business or technical problems. An overseas study tour offers a broader international context and the individual research dissertation allows greater depth of study in a specific area of manufacturing.

You will be learning by having concrete experiences, like lectures, company visits or projects. You will then be guided to reflect and review these experiences and afterwards to abstract and conceptualize these. Finally, you will experiment actively with new ideas to start having new experiences.

The overall aim is for you to acquire throughout the year a working understanding of the fundamentals of a business enterprise, with a particular emphasis on manufacturing disciplines. You will visit a wide variety of companies, large and small, chosen to cover all industrial sectors; you will absorb the different cultures and learn to identify strengths and weaknesses.