Cranfield University establishes strategic partnership with CCL Solutions Group

CCL Solutions Group has worked with the Cranfield Forensic Institute to provide guidance on the structure and content of a new MSc degree in Digital Forensics, with the potential to position the course as the leading digital forensics degree here in the UK.

CCL Solutions Group is also developing collaborative research proposals with Cranfield University specifically designed to address emerging issues and opportunities in the realm of digital forensics.

Over 90% of crime is now recognised as having a digital element. That being the case, the Government has stated that digital forensic science sits at the heart of delivering justice in the 21st Century, spanning the entire criminal justice system from the crime scene to the courts.

The new MSc degree will seek to address the academically orientated operational needs of UK policing and the serious skills shortage of educated and trained individuals in the field to fill digital forensics-centred roles and support the UK’s criminal justice system.

Forefront of digital forensics

Professor Andrew Shortland, director of the Cranfield Forensic Institute, informed Security Matters: “We’re very pleased to be working together with the CCL Solutions Group in our teaching and research activities. Our strategic partnership will mean that students are taught by practitioners and researchers working at the very forefront of digital forensics, in turn providing exposure to the latest developments and challenges.”

Shortland added: “As digital forensics becomes one of the most critical fields within forensic science, the Digital Forensics MSc at Cranfield University is more important now than it has ever been in days gone by. Exposure to up-to-date research targeted at addressing current real-world problems means that students will not just be academically prepared to enter the digital forensics field, but also practically prepared for it as well.”

Noel McMenamin, CEO of CCL Solutions Group, responded: “We’re honoured to be working in partnership with such a well-renowned, recognised and respected institution as Cranfield University. CCL Solutions Group is committed to delivering the highest quality and standard of accredited services and products, as well as strategically investing in R&D projects. Combining the academic and practical elements of digital forensics, together with the talent and expertise of our people, represents a compelling offer for students, as well as providing our communities and industry with the next generation of specialists.”

New partnership

Cranfield Defence and Security Services Ltd, itself a commercial trading entity of Cranfield University, has also formed a new partnership with specialist cyber security provider CYSIAM to deliver short courses aimed at global law enforcement, military and security services.

The training courses will focus on the technical and procedural skills required to conduct operational forensics and investigations on all types of digital platforms, from mobile phones right through to networks and drones. Courses will be led by expert practitioners who have used digital forensics to counter organised crime and terrorist operations in some of the most hostile and challenging parts of the world.

Simon Harwood, managing director of Cranfield Defence and Security Services Ltd, stated: “Digital forensics is an ‘in-demand’ skill and we’re delighted to partner with CYSIAM to bring operational experience to our portfolio of defence and security education and research. Underpinned by the most up-to-date defence and security research from Cranfield, these practical courses will enable delegates to develop sustainable skills to take back to their critical roles.”

Steve Lancaster, CEO at CYSIAM, added: “We feel privileged to be working alongside an organisation with the history and global respect that Cranfield enjoys. Our focus is on ensuring that people who protect and support freedom around the globe are able to capture and secure digital evidence of wrongdoing, in turn enabling safe and fair judicial prosecutions.”

Matched funding

In 2020, the Cranfield Forensic Institute successfully secured £3.6 million of funding from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund as matched funding to investment of £3.6 million by Cranfield University to create a state-of-the-art forensic investigation teaching and research facility at its Bedfordshire campus near Milton Keynes.

Judith Barker, director of programmes and governance at South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership, explained: “We’re proud to be supporting this project through the Local Growth Fund. Not only will the new facility bring a world-class forensic sciences institute to the area, but it will also support the country in developing the attributes and skills required to respond to crime and develop for our modern, dynamic and competitive economy both now and into the future.”

The structure of the MSc degree in Digital Forensics has been reviewed and updated and will now comprise seven modules of taught material plus a research project with a focus aligned to the needs of practitioners in the sector.