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IfM Masterclass

IfM Masterclasses are interactive online workshops designed to help address some of the most pressing challenges facing your business. Each masterclass will introduce solutions built through research at the Institute for Manufacturing to help overcome some of these challenges.

You will get to experience and run through the tools, discuss with your peers the issues raised and gain practical insights to take back to your business. Each session is run by an IfM Industrial Practitioner who brings their expertise from working with different companies and sectors to help unpick the challenges you are facing.

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Please note: you will need to make sure you have an Access All Areas pass to attend the Masterclass sessions being held Monday-Thursday. Attendees with a Manufacturer Free Pass are eligible to apply for the Friday session only. Please click Register now for more details.

Masterclass Schedule

Monday - 9 Nov

Finding opportunities for circular transformation in the lifecycle of your products

Most companies grow by using methods that involve increasing the amount of resource used; methods that are not sustainable in the future. Moving towards circular thinking in industry provides a sustainable way of creating growth. In this masterclass we will look at how value is captured and lost throughout a full product lifecycle. We will apply the lens of sustainability to understand who the key stakeholders are in a product's lifecycle and where there are opportunities to introduce circular actions to improve the overall impact of manufacturing your products. You'll get to try out one of the Cambridge Value Generation tools, share your experience and hear from your peers as we all move to implement sustainability measures and understand how your organisation can play a role in this critical issue.

Speaker:

Ian Bamford

Commercial Director, Centre for Industrial Sustainability

Tuesday - 10 Nov

Low cost digital manufacturing – an implementation focussed approach

Learn from recent IfM research into low-cost digital approaches to understand how digital improvement doesn't have to cost the earth. The Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project has provided a number of new approaches that harness off the shelf digital technologies to make incremental improvements to business and operational processes. In this masterclass we will share these methods with you and provide some inspiration for where you might be able to digitalise your processes without the huge investment.

Speaker:

Liz Salter

Industrial Associate, IfM Education and Consultancy Services

Wednesday - 11 Nov

Strategic approaches to digitalisation

New and emerging technologies present huge opportunities for businesses. But how can companies identify and capitalise on these opportunities, while remaining squarely focused on business strategy and on delivering customer value? We will provide insights from the latest thinking and research from the Institute for Manufacturing around successful strategies for digitalisation. Drawing on case studies from industry and from international practice, attendees we will explore frameworks and real examples that can help you to develop strategic approaches for digitalisation initiatives. Attendees will be encouraged to join the discussion and will have the opportunity to share experiences and insights as part of the Masterclass.

Speaker:

Nicky Athanassopoulou 

Head of Solution Development, IfM Education and Consultancy Services

Thursday - 12 Nov

Maximising strategic value from technology and innovation: Focus your resources in uncertain times

For business and R&D leaders, a technology and innovation strategy that is well-aligned to corporate and product goals will give you the ability to make sharper, more informed decisions, and to better account for crucial investment choices.

This IfM Masterclass will help you to gain a clearer understanding of where your technology needs come from, what your options are, and how to align strategy with corporate goals.

In the session you will discover how to develop a technology and innovation strategy that supports:

  • Quicker and more effective answers to technology investment questions

  • Insights in what high-performing businesses do in this space

  • Clarity over the capabilities you need to invest in

  • Accountability for ROI, financial performance and internal decision-making

Speaker:

Rob Munro

Industrial Associate, IfM Education and Consultancy Services

Friday - 13 Nov

IoT for Senior Management

This Friday session can be accessed with a ‘Manufacturer Pass’ (Free)

Many senior managers have limited experience of the Internet of Things but feel the pressure to keep their organisations competitive by investing in new technologies.  They need tools for choosing between competing proposals and for evaluating the changes in the ecosystems in which their organisations operate.

In this masterclass we will deliver a sample of a new IoT executive education course being developed by the Pitch-In project at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge.  The course combines strategies relevant to the adoption of IoT with pertinent aspects of the technology enabling IoT.  You will:

  • Participate in example strategy and technology sessions; and

  • Influence the final course design through a workshop with your peers on the learning needs of organisations in this area

Imogen Cleaver - IfM, Institute for Manufacturing

Speaker

Dr Imogen Cleaver

Senior Research Associate, Institute for Manufacturing

Register now

Please note: you will need to make sure you have an Access All Areas pass to attend the Masterclasses Monday-Friday, attendees with Manufacturer Free passes are able to apply for the Friday session. Please click Register now for more details.

“Very useful insight into how a manufacturer might approach the enormity of ‘how and where to digitise’” – IfM Workshop Attendee 2019

“Useful and entertaining. Well delivered. Good content.” – IfM Workshop Attendee 2019

“I enjoyed the speakers balance, experience and passion.” – IfM Workshop Attendee 2018