CIRO Launches New Master’ s Course with Keele University
In early 2025, CIRO officially launched a muchanticipated rail-focused MBA programme in collaboration with Keele University.
This is CIRO’ s first academic partnership with Keele University and highlights the fantastic resources within CIRO’ s local county of Staffordshire.
The innovative MBA combines the traditional focus of an MBA on essential business disciplines, practices, skills, and knowledge with specialised rail-focused modules. By combining core areas such as leadership, finance, and strategic marketing with rail-specific studies, participants will develop a dual perspective: a strong foundation in general business management and a deep understanding of the intricacies of railway operations. The course supports students in blending academic excellence with practical skills, equipping them with the tools for success in senior leadership roles in the rail sector.
With a curriculum designed to meet the demands of the ever-evolving rail sector, this programme equips professionals with the expertise to lead confidently. Core business modules cover leadership, strategy, finance, marketing, people management, human resources, digital transformation, and research methods. In the second year of the programme, CIRO delivers two rail-focused modules: Comparative Railway Operations and Railway Systems Integration, providing essential industry context.
The MBA is currently eligible for apprenticeship levy funding due to its embedding into the Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship. This levy-funded opportunity will enable rail professionals to gain access to affordable, industry-specific, master’ s- level higher education.
The launch of this programme follows the incredible success of CIRO’ s degree course and the demand from its students for further opportunities to progress their studies. After two years of behind-the-scenes planning, CIRO was proudly able to answer this call from its students. Speaking on the launch of the programme, CIRO CEO Phil Sherratt commented:
“ This is an exciting expansion to the CIRO offer and is a fantastic partnership between two Staffordshire-based organisations.
46 CIRO | Bulletin 55