Mike Sharman: a celebration of his life

A celebration of his life Saturday 27 September 2014

Today’s celebration of Mike Sharman’s life brings together literally hundreds of his former students. This commemorative booklet captures just a few of the images and memories of Mike’s full and energetic life.

An appreciation The Advanced Course in Production Methods and Management – the post-graduate programme that Mike pioneered and ran for 30 years – changed the way engineering is taught.

For many of us who were introduced to the world of engineering and manufacturing through the ACPMM, the experience was quite literally life changing. What to the untutored eye were dark satanic mills, preferably to be avoided, to Mike Sharman were sources of endless interest and fascination and places of useful endeavour.

We students were swept up by his enthusiasm, not to mention the thrill of travelling around the UK and overseas, visiting and working in all manner of factories. The organisation of this complex logistical operation rarely missed a beat – except for the famous occasion when we were instructed to turn right two miles before the bridge!

How to make a Volkswagen Beetle, how to make a tennis racket, how to put the flavour on both sides of a potato crisp. We learnt all this and much, much more. The camaraderie that develops on the course is unique, arising from the experience of working together under pressure – along with, perhaps, a little relaxation from time to time. The pub at Ulley I seem to remember was one of Mike’s favourites. Time to learn from him and from each other – rather different from a stuffy lecture theatre. The passion for engineering and manufacturing which Mike inspired has stood so many of us in good stead.

We, his disciples, if I dare use that word, are to be found in all walks of life but particularly in the higher reaches of industry. But Mike’s influence goes far beyond those of us who were fortunate to have been taught by him.

The principles which he evangelized and demonstrated including hands-on experience as an integral part of engineering education and the vital importance of industry to the economy, are now widely accepted.

Today manufacturing is almost fashionable. Mike would, I am sure, be amused to be thought ‘fashionable’ but principles surely outlast fashions. Perhaps Englishness might capture many of Mike’s qualities. Independent minded, passionate and dogged in pursuit of ‘the right thing to do’ and immune to hierarchy and pretentiousness.

When the ACPMM started it had just 12 students. Today, 120 students arrive in Cambridge each year to pursue courses based upon Mike’s principles – and the alumni run to thousands. As the renaissance of manufacturing in the UK proceeds apace, many of today’s leaders have been influenced by Mike’s work.

A former student

ACPMM the early days

The Advanced Course in Production Methods and Management was launched in 1966 with Mike as Course Director.

A very full timetable!

“... as well as analytical ability, graduates need to develop a fund of expertise and experience before they can take a responsible post in industry or an associated activity.�

Factory visits, study tours and tru Students encountered real problems in factories all over the UK and further afield – and the challenge of getting there and back.

usty transportation...

Expanding horizons

The number of students increased significantly when Durham and Lancaster came on board.

South Africa was always one of Mike’s favourite destinations for overseas study tours.

An enthusiast

Mike’s other passion was for railway memorabilia. Over the years he accumulated an extraordinary personal collection, particularly of historic railway lamps.

Family

Mike and Margaret at Buckingham Palace receiving the MBE in 1994 and other scenes from family life.

Mike Sharman 17 September 1933 - 20 December 2013 Mike did well at school and read Engineering at St John’s College, Cambridge.

Always more keen on practical action than on abstract theorizing, he went to work for the famous de Havilland aircraft company in Hatfield.

An enthusiastic and engaging communicator, Mike moved to become a lecturer at the highly-regarded Hatfield Polytechnic before being recruited back to Cambridge

by John Reddaway to run a radical new postgraduate course, initially known as the Reddaway Plan.

Reddaway had returned to join the staff of the Engineering Department after a period in industry. Encouraged by John Baker and Will Hawthorne, he outlined, with David Marples, a more engaging and demanding way to introduce graduates into industrial life rather than the then commonplace ‘sitting by Nelly’ – learning from experienced workers.

After a couple of trial runs in long vacations the ‘Advanced Course in Production Methods and Management’ (ACPMM) was launched in 1966 with 12 handpicked graduates as ‘guinea pigs’, support from leading manufacturing companies of the time, and Mike Sharman as the Course Director.

This pioneering role fitted Mike like a glove and he immediately took full ownership of the initiative. His energy, enthusiasm and knowledge of practical engineering as well as the theoretical context, inspired and excited the ‘guinea pigs’ who loved the course, as have successive generations of students. Lasting a full calendar year, and designed to emulate professional rather than student tasks and disciplines, the course involved an intense series of real 2-3 week projects in factories across the country, interleaved with lectures from practitioners as well as academics.

The projects, typically analyzing and improving factory operations, were almost always successful – sometimes spectacularly so. They demonstrated how bright young engineers with the right preparation could make an early impact in industry, boosting their professional confidence. Industry was delighted to see students getting to grips with the practicalities of engineering and manufacturing and graduates from the course were, and continue to be, much sought after.

Under Mike Sharman’s vigorous and tenacious leadership the course flourished enjoying support from major companies as well as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at a time when manufacturing was much less fashionable.

At its peak the course was able to take more than 50 students per year and became the Advanced Course in Design, Manufacture and Management (ACDMM). Today, the course is the MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacturing and Management (ISMM) and its 40 places are regularly five times oversubscribed – though Mike always wished to see more bursaries for UK students.

The influence and legacy of the course cannot be over-estimated. Having run for many years purely on its reputation and without any qualifications, Mike piloted the course into the mainstream thanks to the encouragement of David Newland, the efforts of Colin Andrew, support from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the award of a Masters degree.

The importance of blending practical engagement with theoretical study is now widely accepted as vital – Mike Sharman’s thinking and example were years ahead of this now accepted wisdom, not least in subsequent developments in Cambridge.

Thousands of students have experienced the excitement of getting grips with the people and places that actually make things.

But engineering and manufacturing practice and education were not Mike’s only passion. He was nationally known as an expert on, and an avid collector of, historic railway lamps. Those who had the privilege of being introduced to his collection will recall seeing his attic, shed and garage festooned with lamps – filling and covering the vintage Rolls Royce!

In recent years he had been ensuring that many of these fascinating and often beautiful objects found their way into major public collections, though the nameplates from famous steam age equipment still decorate his hallway at home.

Mike was a Fellow of Wolfson College from 1982 to 1996 and an Emeritus Fellow from 1996 to 2013. He was awarded the MBE in 1994 for his significant contribution to Engineering Education.

Unfailingly generous, knowledgeable and engaged, Mike substantially influenced the lives of many of us who were taught by him. He died peacefully and is survived by his three daughters and his wife, Margaret, whose calm and wise counsel was a perfect foil for Mike’s energy and enthusiasms.

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