Obviously, running a research group with substantial external research funding (in some years up to 95% of the research budget) requires a sustainable successful combination of many factors, such as: An excellent team of people; industrial relevance of the proposed research; high scientific quality of the proposed research; the ability to deliver results; and last but not least, an effective communication plan for the dissemination of results. If any of these factors is failing, one might perhaps be successful in obtaining incidental research grants, but in order to build up a long-term relationship with industry and to gain trustworthiness as a research partner and grant recipient all these aspects need to be addressed simultaneously. These experiences and competencies are bundled in two main business areas:

· R&D, Consultancy and Training

· Research proposal preparation

R&D, Consultancy and Training

· R&D projects: These can be organised in many ways, depending on scope, duration and volume. Obviously, my own research group and other groups at the university can be an important resource in larger projects.

· Consultancy: Typically in the form of pre-studies or shorter assessments; if these reveal that further studies/actions are required then this can be accommodated through my research group, spin-off companies or other partners.

· Training: Training can be provided in the form of lectures or seminars. If necessary, training activities such as simulation courses can be accommodated through my research group, spin-off companies or other partners.

Research proposal preparation

In most funding schemes, the proposal success rate lies somewhere between 3% and 30%. This means that there is hardly any room for errors or weaknesses when it comes to research topic, consortium, project organisation, and last but not least the project proposal itself. Based on my own successes and international experience as a proposal assessor the following services can be provided:

· Proof reading and where needed rewriting of a project proposal; completion of a draft proposal; writing a draft or complete proposal on the basis of project discussions.

· Mock assessment: Assessment of a written proposal; participation in a mock panel; any other forms of assessment that they may be appropriate for a specific call for proposals.

· Training and support: Workshop or lecture around the theme "what makes a good research proposal?".

Subject Areas

The services mentioned above can be provided in subject areas such as:

· Production Engineering in general (including related topics such as Lean & Agile Manufacturing or Computer Aided Process Planning)

· Integrated Product Development (including related topics such as Concurrent Engineering)

· Manufacturing Simulation and Virtual Production Design

· Simulation for Decision Support (in production system design and operation phases)

· Principles and Organisation of the Verification, Validation & Acceptance process

· Discrete Event Simulation in non-industrial environments

· Sheet Metal Part Manufacturing

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive. In the area of research proposal preparation for instance, it can be useful to involve experts from other disciplines (the EPSRC assessment panels for instance typically consist of experts from a range of fields) and I would be happy to assist research proposal preparation in other areas than my core expertise.

Back to Professor Leo J De Vin homepage