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NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT

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Smartlink in 2006

Due partly to changes in staffing, and partly to lack of funding, the Smartlink program is currently in recess, and our newsletters are discontinued. However this website will remain available, with its large archive of seminars and presentations in the Library section. This Newsflash section will remain current, and anybody wishing to publicize events and publications relating to education in manufacturing management is welcome to submit brief announcements.

Manufacturing Futures report

19 April 2006: a new report has been released by the Australian Industry Group: Manufacturing Futures: Achieving Global Fitness. The 108-page full report and a 4-page summary are both available on the AIG website (PDF files). Based on a survey of 800 manufacturers in Australia, the report recommends a strategy of moving up the value chain, with competition based on innovation rather than low cost.

Manufacturing management degrees at the University of South Australia

For 2006, Smartlink offers a set of 3 manufacturing management degrees in classroom or online mode. Students can choose from a graduate certificate (4 courses, usually 1 year part time), a graduate diploma (8 courses, 2 years part time), or a Master's degree (12 courses, 3 year part time). These courses all fit together in a staged fashion, so that students in progress can either decide to finish earlier, or upgrade their qualification and take another year or two. Further details: a flier on Graduate programs to help your business become more competitive, and a timetable for 2006 (both are Acrobat PDFs).

Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship
The Centre for Development of Entrepreneurs at the University of South Australia is offering this new program for the first time in 2006. the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship. Instead of lectures stretching throughout a full semester, this program uses "intensive mode", with lecture-workshops for four days full-time.

Recent Smartlink fellows

Our first (and only) Smartlink Fellow for 2006 was Hans Hvolby, from Aalborg University in  Denmark. His research interests are lean order management, supply chain integration, production planning and control, and information technology and supply chain management. Here's his current full CV. And here are two new presentations by him: one on supply chain integration, and one on lean order management. (Both are PDF files, 7 and 4 pages respectively.)

Our final Smartlink Visiting Fellow for 2005  was Dr Roger Maull, from the University of Exeter, UK, who was in Australia  December 5-16. He was a return visitor, having been a Smartlink Fellow in mid-2004 when he presented on Business Process Management and its associated methods and techniques including Six Sigma and activity based costing. Roger and others have been developing a business process model for the aerospace industry - see press release. More on Roger Maull and his current visit, and a PowerPoint Show on Business Process Management (33 slides) and A systems approach to managing processes.

Complete listing of Smartlink Fellows

Site contents

Events

Details of previous years' events (2000 and 2001 and 2002 and 2003 and 2004 and 2005)

Courses
Our educational activities ...
Postgraduate courses in manufacturing management
Our partners' courses

Thinking of upgrading your skills? To receive information on Smartlink's educational activities, go to the Graduate Certificate or Master's Degree fax-back form.

Library
The online library is the largest section of the Smartlink website. Recent additions and Full list of library items.

Links
Websites relevant to manufacturers ...
Australian sites
International sites
Topical links to specific web pages of interest to manufacturing managers, e.g.

If you have wondered what Six Sigma was about, here's a clear explanatory article by Kaliym A. Islam and a web site at isixsigma.com