As part of the NWDA and ERDF funded North West Eco-Innovation Programme, SMEs in the North West of England are sought for graduate consultancy placements. The current placements are for Geography MSc dissertation projects starting Easter 2010 and lasting approximately six months. Two generic types of project can be undertaken:

1. Projects which involve the administration of social surveys to investigate competing issues. For instance, a company may be looking to develop a new eco-innovative product or service, which could cause social, economic, or environmental conflict. A student could conduct questionnaire surveys and interviews and carry out an analysis to determine the nature of, and reasons for, the conflict. This could assist the company in further development of the service/product.

2. Projects involving the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to map development scenarios. For example, this could involve overlay analysis to identify suitable locations for the development of new initiative, or network analysis could be carried out to assist in improving the efficiency of a company’s transportation logistics.

The cost of the time for the consultant is met by the NWDA and ERDF funding, although travelling expenses may have to be covered by the company.

For more information on the programme see:

http://www.ctechinnovation.com/innovation-management/eco-innovation.html

and for more information on the LEC graduate consultancy programme:

http://www.lec.lancs.ac.uk/postgraduate/masters.php

If you think you have a project that would benefit from such a placement please contact me at cath.roberts@ctechinnovation.com