Student works with the Royal Navy on planning the fleet of the future

University of Southampton postgraduate student Louise Fildes has been honoured for her work in procurement and planning of Royal Navy ships.

Her three month project as part of her Masters in Operational Research (OR) was hailed as one of the best of her year. She was among students receiving awards at a University ceremony at Chilworth Manor.

‘It was definitely a challenge, but it was very rewarding and enjoyable,’ she said.

Dr Steve Ryder from the Government agency, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) added: ‘We get involved with these projects because it’s a good way of keeping up to date with current thinking in the field of OR and we can get a piece of work down very cost-effectively and it’s also valuable for recruitment.’

University Industrial Liaison Manager Dr Ian Rowley said, ‘The project work our students can produce in only three months is quite awe-inspiring. It demonstrates not only the quality of students our MSc courses attract but also the impact Operational Research/Management Sciences techniques can bring to bear on difficult business and policy issues.’

Dr Rowley is always happy to hear from companies, which would like to offer placements for students. Projects can include increasing efficiency, reducing costs, developing strategy, managing demand or improving standards of service. The placements in the public and private sectors are an integral part of the OR/MSc course, which is jointly run by the University’s Schools of Mathematics and Management.

The University requests a contribution from the hosts to support students during the placement.