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Next year, Cranfield School of Management turns
50, marking the anniversary of the first MBA
programme. While our anniversary year is still some
months away, we’re already in an exciting phase,
in which we’re planning some celebratory events
and activities. I’m coordinating a project team
of colleagues across the School to run the 50th
celebrations, under the sponsorship of the SoM
Executive and a steering group chaired by Emeritus
Professor David Myddelton.
There are three strands to the celebrations.
Firstly, we want to celebrate with our student and
corporate alumni, faculty staff and current students
across the globe, in as many locations as possible.
Secondly, we want to use the anniversary as an
opportunity to generate interest and momentum
in Cranfield to attract new students, corporate
partners, faculty, researchers and staff.
And, finally, to grow support for the School through alumni and sponsor engagement in our
activities and our future.
We’re anticipating a 50th anniversary ‘treatment’ of our brand, encompassing a logo and
special email signature, which I’d encourage you to use on your external messages to
spread the word, so look out for all of this in due course.
Most of all, we really want your help and to hear your ideas. This is a celebration for all of
the School of Management community and we need for everyone to get involved. If you’ve
got an idea for an event, please do get in touch with me. We need offers of how you can
contribute to what will be an exciting year of celebrations ahead.
Our achievements across these 50 years have been phenomenal and I hope that many of
you will have the opportunity to be part of these lasting celebrations in 2017. I came here as
a student in the 25th year of the School and I know that many of you have a long association
with, and are very proud of, Cranfield School of Management.
Colin Hudson
Director of Career Development
Message from a Director…
In the last edition of Forum, we reported news of Cranfield
50 Entrepreneurs, a new network bringing together the most
successful entrepreneurs from our community of alumni and
friends. Dr Shai Vyakarnam, director of the Bettany Centre,
spearheaded the initiative to help inspire the next generation
of start-ups by encouraging the network to donate their time
to support and promote entrepreneurial activities across the
University.
The celebratory evening was held at the House of Lords and
hosted by Lord Karan Bilimoria, co-founder and chairman of
Cobra Beer, and himself an alumnus of our Business Growth
Programme (BGP). Cranfield vice-chancellor Professor
Sir Peter Gregson and School of Management director
Professor Maury Peiperl spoke at the event, which included
alumni from a host of start-ups spanning continents.
Three of the Cranfield 50 Entrepreneurs who were at the
event have since appeared in a Financial Times article.
Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew of Go Ape! and Jamie
Waller of JBW Group Ltd all attended the Business Growth
Programme and appear in a piece on mixing study and
networking.
50 Entrepreneurs
The CRMI was buzzing with discussion as 45 associates from
across the School recently joined CCED for the first Cranfield
Associate Network day.
Sarah Amies, Business Development and Commercial
Manager, said: “The invitation to all was to come and gain a
broader understanding of our business and strategic plans
so they could consider how they might want to work with us
going forward. Lively debate followed inputs from Maury, John
Glen, David Butcher, Mary Mills and Michael Bourlakis, with
useful feedback and suggestions on how we might build a
mutually beneficial associate community across the School.”
Concurrent workshops in the afternoon on Writing for
Cranfield, Networked Learning and a client case study, gave
the group further insights into the business and the potential
opportunities. The day marked the launch of a new era in
the School of Management’s associate approach. Work now
continues on building the community and professionalising
the practice, with the next Cranfield Associate Network day
taking place on Friday 17 June.
CCED launches Cranfield
Associate Network
Maury joins his five predecessors
Professor Maury Peiperl welcomed some familiar faces back to the School of Management
at a CMDC lunch last month.
Spanning over 30 years of School directors were Emeritus Professor David Myddelton
(1985-1986), Emeritus Professor Leo Murray (1986-2003), Emeritus Professor Michael
Osbaldeston OBE (2003-2009), Professor Frank Horwitz (2009-2013) and Professor Joe
Nellis (2014-2015).
Dr Neil Turner was pleased to
welcome another double cohort of 60
students onto the Executive MSc in
Programme and Project Management
in Shrivenham this year. These are
all military staff, and bring the total
number of ‘in-flight’ students on the
course to over 200.
Dr Turner said: “This is great news
for Cranfield, and the growth of the
course with such investment and
commitment from the MoD is an excellent sign that they see
the benefits for their students and the wider organisation.”
MoD boost to Executive MSc