Callum Kidd, CEng FBCS FRSA FAPM SFHEA

Callum is considered a significant thought leader in the field of Configuration Management and advises several leading aerospace and defence organizations on the application of managing through life configuration data to support their digital manufacturing infrastructure. He has also been identified by the Project Management Institute as being a leader in the development of practice based education for the project management profession. This was recognised in him being the first UK recipient of the prestigious Linn Stuckenbruck Award for Global Teaching Excellence in 2020. As part of his role as Head of Department, Callum is developing Knowledge Exchange Partnerships with several organizations to bring practice based experience into the classroom. In return, the department will help influence future practice from their current research portfolios.

After more than a decade working in the defence sector managing major IT Infrastructure projects to support PDM/PLM developments, Callum took up his first academic post as a lecturer with the University of Leeds. His influential research in digital product structures led to him being awarded a signigicant EU Framework 4 grant as PI to develop a framework for managing through life definition data within an extended lifecycle. Project partners included the Airbus and Eurofighter consortia, as well as IBM, FIAT and Rover. The outcome of the project laid a strong foundation for the current developments in Digital Twins and Digital Threads.

In 2000, Callum joined UMIST to work with Professor Peter Morris on the development of a groundbreaking MSc in Project Management Professional Development (PMPDP). This was based on a consortium approach of sharing knowledge and experience across sectors and helping shape the future of PM as a profession. A very successful sister programme was developed and run in Singapore with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as the partner. Callum was programme director until 2018.

Callum currently works with several UK and overseas defence organizations to develop both their current thinking in configuration management process (CM) and their people capabilities. He also works in an advisory capacity with the MoD and NATO to develop future standards for both CM and Lifecycle Management. He was the BSi expert for the development of ISO 10007 and its subsequent most recent revision in 2016. He is currently undertaking a global research study to assess possible future revisions.

In 2023 he founded and launched the Engineering Management Forum. This was built on previous experiences of Knowledge Exchange Partnerships in sharing experiences and practices to develop future professional development activity. This is different to the more traditional model of sharing research outputs, and has the advantage of bringing current practitioner knowledge into the UG and PGT programmes, so aiding employability skills of UoM graduates.

Digital Twins and Digital Threads; PLM Infrastructure; Definition Data Structure; Configuration Management; Project Management Education and Professional Development.

Member of the Greater Manchester Digital Infrastructure Advisory Group;

Chair of the Engineering Management Forum;

Member of NATO Lifecycle Management Standards Group;

Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS CEng);

Fellow of the Association of Project Management (FAPM);

Senior Fellow of AdvanceHE (SFHEA);

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Commerce (FRSA);

Chartered Engineer (CEng)

My research into both configuration management and PLM infrastructure management has influenced organizations in the UK and beyond in adding significant capabilities to their application of lifecycle management. Further, my research has influenced commercial and defence standards development through research informed engagement.

For further information, contact me by email [email protected]