Department of Analytics, Operations and Systems

Our researchers and academic staff are highly regarded experts in their fields and work on a variety of funded projects in logistics, transport, healthcare, and sustainable development, among others. From collaborating with Port of Dover and Eurostar in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships to minimising flood impacts on urban transport in Hanoi, Vietnam, our academics develop advanced problem–solving tools to help organisations improve their performance, efficiency, and sustainability.

At Kent Business School, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in Analytics, Operations and Systems are taught by staff who are at the top of their field in mathematical optimisation, big data analytics, simulation for healthcare and transport, green logistics, supply chain management and Soft OR. Graduates from our courses have gone on to work for a variety of top UK and international firms – including British Airways, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Nestle, Amazon, Samsung and Ernst & Young, while our PhD students have gone on to academia (University of Exeter, University of Cardiff, UC Dublin), industry (China Construction Bank) and the public sector (NHS England, Ministry of Justice, the UN).

Research conducted by the Department of Analytics, Operations and Systems falls broadly into the following categories:

1. Operational Research
2. Optimisation and Heuristics
3. Data Analytics
4. Operations and Supply Chain Management
5. Logistics and Transportation
6. Information Systems
7. Environmental Systems Management
8. Healthcare Management

The Department of Analytics, Operations and Systems has published work in top operational research and operations management journals, including Management Science, European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research Part B, Transportation Science, International Journal of Operations and Production Management and British Journal of Management.

The department has been successful in attracting research funds from prestigious funding bodies, including ESRC, EPSRC, the British Academy and the European Commission. The department also has an excellent record of securing funding from industry through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) and industrial CASE studentships. Recent industry collaborations include projects with Eurostar, the Port of Dover, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), Parker Steel, Priority Freight, South East Water and the NHS.

The department hosts the School’s Centre for Logistics and Heuristic Optimisation (CLHO) and contributes to the research of the Technology, Innovation, Management and Entrepreneurship centre (TIME) and the Africa-Asia Sustainable Development Centre, University of Aberdeen.