Developing a virtual engineering management community

Abstract

The paper reviews the lessons of planning and running an Engineering Management practitioner development programme in a partnership between BP and the University of Manchester. This distance-learning programme is for professional engineers in mid-career experienced in the engineering and support activities for delivering safe, compliant and reliable projects and operations worldwide. The programme concentrates on the why and how of leadership and judgement in managing the engineering of large and small projects and operational support. Two intensive residential weeks are combined with a virtual learning environment over one year. Assessed assignments between and after the residential weeks provide opportunities for individual reflective learning for each delegate through applying concepts and the lessons of case studies to their experience, current challenges and expected responsibilities. This successful partnership between a major global company and a university rich in research and teaching required a significant dedication of intellectual and leadership effort by all concerned. The rewards for both parties and most importantly for the engineers themselves are extensive.

Keywords:

• professional development
• engineering management
• industry partnership
• community of practice
• virtual community
• reflective learning

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the many University and company staff who have so helpfully provided ideas and sustained support for these innovative programmes.

About the authors

Bill Hewitt is the BP Director of the Manchester Engineering Management programme. He has had a career of 30 years in the oil and gas industry, all within BP Exploration and Production. His early career was an exploration and development geoscientist, at several locations throughout the world including the Draugen project offshore Norway. He has worked in the Information Technology and R&D, before becoming Learning and Development Manager for Projects and Engineering responsible for all the BP Exploration and Production learning programmes in the domain of Projects and Engineering.

Moray Kidd is the University of Manchester Deputy Director of the Manchester Engineering Management programme. He has held senior roles in mechanical design engineering in GEC Alsthom, GEC Power Controls and BAE Systems Regional Aircraft Division. His Engineering Doctorate (EngD) at the University of Manchester sponsored by Teradyne Diagnostic Solutions focused on automotive condition monitoring. During this same period he also completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Management Sciences (DMS) at the Manchester School of Management. In a research management capacity he has headed up satellite research groups tasked with developing next-generation products and services for passenger vehicle OEMs.

Professor Robin Smith is Director of the Centre for Process Integration in the University of Manchester School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science. He has extensive industrial experience in process investigation, production and process design, process modelling and process integration. He is the author of Chemical Process Design and Integration published by Wiley. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in the UK and a Chartered Engineer. In 1992 he was awarded the Hanson Medal of the Institution of Chemical Engineers for his work on waste minimisation. His main research activities include the design of energy systems, design of reaction and separation systems and the design of sustainable processes.

Professor Stephen Wearne was joint founder of the University of Manchester Project Management Group in 1964. He was previously employed in the construction, design and then project management of large hydro-power and nuclear power projects in Scotland, South America and Japan. His Ph.D. examined case studies of engineering organisations. He is author of books and papers on emergency unexpected and urgent projects, the causes of problems of project management, project control, joint ventures, procurement and the managerial tasks of engineers. He received the Association for Project Management's Sir Monty Finniston Award, the Institution of Chemical Engineers Brennan Medal and the Institution of Civil Engineers Garth Watson Medal.