Cranfield partners with Purdue Uni on US DoD Master's degree

Above: Cranfield has been supporting the US DoD civilian scientific and engineering community's educational needs since 1999 by offering executive professional development courses and in 2011 it also started to offer an MSc in Vehicle and Weapon Engineering in Warren, MI.
Courtesy Cranfield

The first offering will be a dual Master’s degree in Defence Engineering and Technology with a specialisation in expeditionary warfare – the deployment of a country’s military forces to fight abroad.

Further educational programmes are being developed under the recently signed dual-university partnership, which will enable military personnel and civilians in the scientific, engineering and technology communities affiliated with the DOD to study for degrees in defence engineering.

Professor Simon Pollard, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, International, at Cranfield University said: "Cranfield's developing relationship with Purdue University brings together two like-minded institutions focused on excellence, leading-edge technology and the delivery of practical engineering. We have much in common and, where it makes strategic sense, we look forward to deepening the relationship for our students, partners and staff.”

Professor Amer Hameed, Professor in Defence Engineering and Director of Defence Security & Technology at Cranfield, said: “We are honoured to be partnering with Purdue University to deliver this programme to Department of Defense staff and look forward to offering further courses. This first Master’s-level degree will provide graduates with the technical qualities, transferable skills and independent learning abilities necessary to make them effective in organisations that design, develop, procure, or operate military expeditionary systems. Partnering with Purdue University will act as a capability multiplier.”

The new MSc will cover vehicles, conventional weapons and electronic warfare systems and sensors used in expeditionary warfare. It will introduce students to the critical issues and constraints associated with modern expeditionary warfare systems and special attention will be given to recent advances in global defence technologies, and the analysis and evaluation of systems against change and threat developments.

“Linking theory to real examples from warfare systems is important and the course will therefore use current and legacy equipment to highlight design philosophy, design parameters and issues, constraints and trade-offs,” Hameed added.

Two of Purdue University’s 10 academic colleges – the Polytechnic Institute (the Polytechnic) and the College of Engineering – are joining Cranfield in the partnership and the first dual master’s degree will be offered at Purdue at WestGate in Odon, Indiana.

Doreen Gonzalez-Gaboyan, Associate Director of Workforce Engagement for Purdue Polytechnic, said: “This collaboration is the full realisation of what Purdue at WestGate is intended to be, an example of our commitment to the region.”

Gary Bertoline, Dean of Purdue’s Polytechnic Institute, said: “The Polytechnic is pleased to play a role in the local economy by contributing to workforce development for the State of Indiana.

“Furthermore, because the Polytechnic has study abroad partnerships with technology universities across the globe, we’re excited to now have Cranfield University as a global colleague.”