Course description
Course Summary
Enterprise Engineering is a branch of e-Manufacturing and Digital Enterprise Technologies specifically designed to assist companies to become more competitive in the modern era. High technology companies require engineering executives with business acumen and entrepreneurial flair to pro-actively direct companies into positions of strategic market leadership.
There is an increasing demand for high-quality innovative engineers with postgraduate experience to lead technology management and enterprise. The programme is designed to enable students to apply digital enterprise principles and techniques to leading high technology organisations. Graduates will become high quality 'entrepreneurial' and innovative engineers able to meet the challenges of modern enterprise in the global engineering marketplace.
What is Enterprise Engineering?
Enterprise Engineering is an interdisciplinary engineering research theme which aims at the understanding and the management of complexity in the enterprise. This entails the complete analysis, understanding and design of large-scale, integrated and sustainable systems that comprise of interacting units such as nodes, components, sub-systems etc and operate across variable time and length scales. This is a timely and fast moving area currently being paid great attention by enterprises in all industries.
The Enterprise Engineer possesses skills and a toolset to systematically study these interactions, including:
* Modelling and simulation: interactions and negotiations between components of system (e.g. nodes in a supply chain; interactions between sub-systems).
* Enterprise integration: the focus is on inter-firm interactions to understand, design, simulate and operate sustainable supply networks considering energy, costs and environmental factors concurrently.
* Entrepreneurship: Enterprise management of situations where key variables can be uncertain. Enterprise management will take into account the nature of risk in the decision making process.
* Technology management and evaluation: As a multidisciplinary and applied subject, the MSc could be used as a platform to foster potential links with industrial organisations, as well as deepening Brunel’s links with industry by garnering positive support and interaction from relevant companies.
Why study Enterprise Engineering at Brunel?
The School of Engineering and Design has a long tradition of excellence in both teaching and research in manufacturing systems and engineering management. The staff expertise and national and international reputation in this area includes:
* Modelling and optimisation, including agile manufacturing (eg developing simulation models for decision making and optimisation)
* Autonomous intelligent systems based around robots and CNC equipment leading to future research into the use of distributed computing technologies
* Process and supply chain modelling and optimisation: the integration of physical flows with information (“bits to atoms”) through sensors, software and algorithms
This leading edge reputation was enhanced by the creation of the Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering (AMEE) Group in 200. The group aims to focus on providing analytical and practical skills in state of the art enterprise engineering technologies and methods and increase students employability in high-end managerial, engineering management and consulting positions.
Programme Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding:
* Representative conceptual, social and technological underpinnings of Entrepreneurship
* The wider business world and organisational structures and processes to ensure that undertaken business process optimisation is based on their understanding.
* Digital business design and manufacturing technologies
* Methods for organizations to create and deliver value to customers through effective management of the supply chain. In particular, goals of service enhancement and cost reduction are explored through supply chain strategies.
* Managerial and business functions expected of staff in engineering organisations.
* Key tools and techniques for planning, undertaking and evaluating technological innovation and its outcomes.
Cognitive Skills:
* Formulate, express, solve and evaluate problems in an appropriate manner.
* Critically evaluate the potential benefits of alternative manufacturing infrastructures and strategies.
* Demonstrate systemic thinking in the assessment of legacy technology and industrial systems.
* Use virtual environments and virtual modelling to facilitate and improve enterprise infrastructure or business process improvements
* Investigate and select appropriate design parameters for digital design and manufacturing
* Analyse and design integrated and enterprise engineering systems that comprise of interacting units such as nodes, components, sub-systems
Transferable Skills:
* Demonstrate business and commercial acumen including financial appraisal and risk assessment.
* Effectively communicate complex issues and arguments in both written and oral forms.
* Demonstrate competent project management skills (e.g. set objectives, plan and manage workload(s) and deliverables, monitor outcomes, manage time).
Course Details
The programme can be studied as 12 months full time, or can be completed within 3 years on a part-time basis, starting in September. For full time students attendance is 2 days per week for the first and second terms and includes six taught modules followed by individual and group projects for a total of 120 credits. For the final four months of the programme (June to September), students will complete a dissertation counting for 60 credits. For part time students attendance is 1 day per week in each of the first two years. The part-time form takes three years; the first two years comprise taught modules followed by individual and group projects and the final stage is taken up with the dissertation. The dissertation follows the taught part of the programme and will be an in-depth study of an enterprise engineering problem or situation - which may reflect individual interests or be a real-life problem from the student’s workplace organisation.
Modules (all core)
* Enterprise Strategies and Entrepreneurship
Main topics of study: nature of organizations and their development and effectiveness; the role of the enterprise manager and Entrepreneurship; the marketing concept: customer orientation; market segmentation and analysis; market planning focusing on the value proposition and the marketing mix; the nature and strategic role of Financial Management including sources of finance; business start-up including raising capital, IPR, relationships with suppliers and marketing communications; developments in management theory for Business Performance Management; strategic analysis focusing on external aspects: customers, markets and competitors; development of business strategies including sustainable competitive advantage and growth strategies; managing Innovation including organizational culture in a global business environment.
* Global Manufacturing and Enterprise Systems
Main topics of study: enterprise systems for supporting the product manufacturing, and developmentand lifecycle; the marketing/services/supply chains and their interface; e-Manufacturing and operations; digital enterprise technology (DET), virtual organizations and the integration; selection and use of DET and e-manufacturing tools; global manufacturing implementation isses and methodology; global manufacturing concept, methodology and implementation issues; case studies on global manufacturing operations and best practices.
* e-Business and m-Business Strategies
Main topics of study: m&e-commerce; m&e-business strategies; business planning.
* Systems Modelling and Simulation
Main topics of study: principles of systems engineering. modelling and analysis of discrete Systems; material Flow systems (assembly lines, transfer lines, serial systems, shop scheduling, Flexible Manufacturing, Group technology, Facility layout); machine setup and operation sequence; Material Handling systems; general Modelling approaches (Queuing Models); process Simulation and data analysis, enterprise operations; supply chain and logistics-reverse logistics modelling concepts.
* Technology Management
Main topics of study: technological Innovation; strategic planning.
* Managing People and Organisations
Main topics of study: nature of organisations and their development and effectiveness; the role of the engineering manager and the contingency theory of management; the nature and strategic role of human resource management; developments in management theory for business performance management; learning organisations and the role of innovation; managing innovation including organisational culture in a global business environment; motivation and managing high performing teams; managing change and designing organisations that support creativity and innovation.
* Enterprise Engineering Projects
The student is asked to identify a change that has occurred in an area of enterprise engineering; the student will conduct an appraisal of project success factors for transforming IT-based innovation into business payoff; PIR (Post Implementation Review) of e-commerce initiatives.
* Dissertation
Careers
Graduates may enter a broad range of careers in the manufacturing, engineering and technology sectors with employment at multinational or global engineering enterprises in particular. They may follow a consultancy path or even choose to start their own business. Graduates may also choose careers in engineering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for pursuing the multidisciplinary leading role in technology innovation, enterprise organization, and people and engineering management.
