The service sector is the fastest growing segment of the world economy with a complex set of challenges bringing together people, technologies, organisations and information. There is an urgent need for UK Higher Education to respond to the requirement of business and public sector organisations in their quest for service innovation and service excellence. This two day workshop provides an opportunity to connect with leading researchers and practitioners, and to contribute to the development of a new academic discipline.

You will benefit from:

joining a UK-wide development group focused on the management, design, engineering, delivery and marketing of services across a range of industry and public sectors
directly influencing academic curricula and enhancing your graduate recruitment strategy
networking with like-minded professionals in academia and business

The outcomes from the workshop will include:

an agreed "requirement" from business and public sector organisations
the scope of what comprises service science courses and what constitutes 'core' material
examples of innovation in course design or delivery
the way forward for future UK curriculum development including: - a list of current modules and courses plus contacts
- a list of establishments that agree to work to provide modules and / or courses
- a framework for managing the course / module development
- a "press release" on the agreement of the conference: "the conference agreed that service science is a critical success factor for the UK economy and plan to develop detailed curricula to address the gaps"

This will be a highly interactive two days bringing together offerings and curriculum development across a wide range of disciplines.
To make your initial contribution to the workshop you are asked to give your views on a number of PRE-WORKSHOP QUESTIONS

The process for arriving at a Blueprint for UK SSME Education is described in the BLUEPRINT PROCESS document

Agenda

Wednesday 17th September 2008
10.00	Welcome: Professor Michael Luger: Dean and Director Manchester Business School
10.10	Keynote: Dr. Allan Mayo Title: Improving the Framework for Service Innovation/Performance - A Government Perspective Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
10.50	Break out to two main parallel sessions
11.00	Coffee/tea
11.30	Parallel sessions For those interested in recruiting SSME graduates: A session to agree on their collective requirements in terms of outcomes and graduate capabilities For educators: To learn from each other what courses, teaching materials, resources already exist For those who are not so familiar with the SSME agenda: Leading SSME advocates from business will brief participants on the key strategic issues, after the briefing participants will join the main parallel sessions.
1.00	Lunch
2.00	Parallel sessions continued: preparation of reportback
2.00	Coffee/tea
3.30	Report back from parallel sessions employers/recruiters report back on requirements educators summarise existing materials based on parallel session plus pre workshop questions
5.00	Close
5.30	Drinks reception
Free time after drinks reception, restaurant options will be suggested
Thursday 18th September 2008
9.00	Welcome
9.10	Panel Session: Key employers discuss their view of SSME core curriculum including speakers from HP, IBM, BT
10.10	Mairi Macintyre, University of Warwick, presents a proposal for core curriculum on Service Design and Delivery
10.50	Small group sessions: curriculum design � attendees break out into groups of 7 to 12 people to focus on their view of the goals and content of a core SSME curriculum
11.00	Coffee/tea
11.30	Small group sessions continued
1.00	Lunch
2.00	Report back
3.00	Blueprint for UK SSME Education: what we have; what we need � Bringing together the Framework and next steps in the process
4.00	Close
For those registered for the Doctoral Symposium on the 19th we will be meeting with the doctoral students for a Chinese buffet on the evening of the 18th.

Organising Committee

Michael Lyons	BT
Richard Taylor	HP
Chris Toft	HP
Chris Cromack	IBM
Charles Loving	IBM
Steve Street	IBM
Philip Stiles	University of Cambridge
Irene Ng	University of Exeter
Linda Macaulay	University of Manchester
Claire Moxham	University of Manchester
Katherine Tyler	University of Westminster
Fiona Barker	BarkerPR

Registration

Registration for this event is essential for security purposes and admission to the building.
There is no charge for attendance.

To be kept informed of this and other SSME events register today as a network member with www.ssmenetuk.org

Hotel Information

The conference venue postcode is MBS East, corner of Oxford Road and Booth Street East, opposite the Royal Northern College of Music, postcode M13 9SS.

See campus map for travel directions.
http://www.mbs.ac.uk/aboutus/mbs-campus.aspx

A taxi from Manchester Piccadilly station will cost around £5.

A list of hotels within walking distance or a short taxi ride from the venue can be found from the link below:
Hotels in Manchester City Centre

Frequently Asked Questions

A list of FAQs can be found from the link below:
Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 12th September 2008