The University of Warwick is one of the nation’s top research universities, distinguished by its commitment to improving the human condition through advanced science and technology. The Warwick Manufacturing Group, within the School of Engineering is one of the largest academically based groups in Europe. The Faculty of WMG is exceptionally "research-active" and encompassed a wide-ranging theme of activities from plastics to ebusiness. A key feature of research at WMG is its close connection to the needs of business. Many of the projects involve partners from industry. At the same time, the Faculty is prolific in its contribution to the scholarly and pedagogical literature of our various fields including the publication of books and monographs many of which have been routinely adopted by faculty in other academic programs throughout the country and around the world. A substantial amount of research in the School is conducted within the confines of various "research centres".

The Centre for Distributed Automation and Control, headed by Dr Duncan McFarlane, is part of the Institute for Manufacturing, in turn a part of the Cambridge University Engineering Department. A world-leader in research into distributed, intelligent and agile manufacturing systems, CDAC also incorporates the European Auto-ID Research Laboratory, part of a global project to set standards in RFID technology in the supply chain. Specific research activities within CDAC include analysis of manufacturing responsiveness, development of distributed intelligent control systems, intelligent products and devices and internet-based supply chain operations. The key objectives of CDAC are:
• To provide a focus for education and research in supply chain automation.
• To support and maintain an active, participation-based network.
• To be a source of knowledge and expertise in industrial practice.
• To establish and maintain collaborative R&D relationships with key companies.

The Manufacturing Systems Group is located in the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. The Department is broadly based, covering teaching and research in many areas of engineering, and with a strong collaborative and inter-disciplinary tradition.. The Manufacturing Systems Group was established to work with industry to solve the problems that industry face on the management of systems and schedules. So far, we have worked with a wide range of companies, many from the automotive sector (e.g. BMW, Ford and Rover).

The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering (MAME) at the Unversity of Manchester has 33 members of academic staff who are all active in research with an average annual journal publication record of 4 journal papers per staff per year. Most members are involved in research activities funded by national research councils, Europe, and industry. The Manufacturing Division of the MAME Department at THE Unversity of Manchester has advanced research facilities that are related to I*PROMS scope such as a manufacturing modelling and simulation facility that includes fuzzy logic control, SCADA Systems, and PLCs; a laser processing research centre (LPRC); CAD, CAE, CAM; Special manufacturing processes facility: EDM, ECM; Metrology facilities: CMM and two laser interferometers; nano-resolution sensors facility; Robotic and computer-integrated machine tools and manufacturing systems; CNCs with open architecture control research facility; instrumentation and precision engineering facility; workstations: UNIX and Parallel processing facility; materials analysis facility: creep and fatigue; and facilities for business and industry - conference suites with AVA technology and internet access. The Division is also in the process of acquiring a Mikron high speed machine and a Faro articulated arm for reverse engineering.

The School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering at Newcastle University are a multidisciplinary school offering a wide range of excellent undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, covering topics from many facets of mechanical engineering. Research within the school is far ranging and encompasses the fields of robotics, bioengineering, engineering mathmatics, MEMS, smart materials, manufacturing plus power and transmission systems.

The newly formed Stephenson Centre actively promotes collaboration between academia and industry at a local, national and international level, specialist units within the centre include:
The Design Unit provides design, development and consultancy services to industrial engineering customers in the fields of gear technology and metrology, testing and failure analysis, medical instrumentation, and special machine tools.
EDC - Engineering Design Centre to improve engineering design for the cost effective and efficient design, manufacture, and operation of made-to-order products.
RCID - Regional Centre for Innovation in Engineering Design for the creation of a collaborative research and development environment in which Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can develop methods and processes to enhance product development and improve their business performance.
ISRU - Industrial Statistics Research Unit has a wealth of experience with industry especially SME's. ISRU's work is related to process improvement and production quality issues, dealing with uncertainty, safety and reliability. ISRU is one of the leading exponents of the use of Experimental Design for production purposes.