Skip to main content

Dr Nicholas Silburn

Lecturer

Director of Academic Tutoring – Post Experience Programmes

N Silburn 2023

Specialisms

  • Information Systems, 
  • Information Behaviours, 
  • Project Management, 
  • Processes and Systems, 
  • Digital Transformation

Location

EH522 Greenlands Campus

Dr Nicholas Silburn has many years of experience of working in engineering and business related roles in commercial organisations before moving into academia.

Nicholas’s first degree, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, led to a varied engineering career starting off with research into multiphase pumping and expert system development for a fluid engineering research organisation. A move to a small, specialist pump and pumping system design company introduced Nicholas to the UK water industry. Subsequently Nicholas joined Thames Water and spent a number of years working on major wastewater pumping station and treatment plant projects in and around London. Whilst at Thames Water Nicholas was also involved in a number of business-related projects ranging from a major business process reengineering project to user acceptance testing and training delivery on a range of corporate information systems. Nicholas’s last role at Thames centred on the design, development, implementation and day-to-day operation of a major electronic document and records management system for Thame’s engineering department. Whilst at Thames, Nicholas also carried out a number of engineering and information system internal and external consultancy projects.

Common themes throughout this time in business led to undertaking an MSc in project management, and eventually a PhD related to information behaviours and information management, and the move to a more academic career.

Nicholas is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a member of the Chartered Management Institute, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, the Energy Institute, and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Nicholas also supervises a wide range of MBA and other masters level dissertations on topics related to business process and systems improvements, project management, digital transformation, and business continuity across a wide range of industries.

Taught Modules

Technology Advisory Practices (MM398)

This undergraduate final year optional module provides participants with a very practical introduction to technology advisory practices. Based around group working, students are introduced to the skills and competences required of a technology consultant, including problem identification and solving, research methods, and effective communications.

Programme Delivery

Nicholas is Module Convenor for:

- MM398 Technology Advisory Practices

Reference: Spinks, N. , Silburn, N. L. J. and Birchall, D. W. (2007) Making it all work: the engineering graduate of the future, a UK perspective. European Journal of Engineering Education, 32 (3). pp. 325-335. ISSN 1469-5898 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790701278573
Henley faculty authors:
Nigel Spinks - Dr Nicholas Silburn

Technology Advisory Practices

This module develops the students’ ability to address complex business problems involving the use of technology and formulate recommendations. As a part of the module students will have the opportunity...

Module code: MM398

Nicholas also works as a MBA programme Academic Tutor and MBA dissertation supervisor.