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Engineering (MSc by Research)

2024-25 (also available for 2023-24, 2025-26)

This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

1 October 2024

13 January 2025

14 April 2025

Duration

The maximum duration for an MSc by Research is 1 year (12 months) full-time or 2 years (24 months) part-time with an optional submission pending (writing-up) period of 4 months.

Sometimes it may be possible to mix periods of both full-time and part-time study.

If studying on a part-time basis, you must establish close links with the University and spend normally not less than an average of 10 working days per year in the university, excluding participation in activities associated with enrolment, re-registration and progression monitoring. You are also expected to dedicate 17.5 hours per week to the research.

Application deadlines

For September 2024

07 June 2024 for International and Scholarship Students

28 June 2024 for Home Students

For October 2024

07 June 2024 for International and Scholarship Students

28 June 2024 for Home Students

For January 2025

18 October 2024 for International and Scholarship Students

15 November 2024 for Home Students

For April 2025

24 January 2025 for International and Scholarship Students

21 February 2025 for Home Students

About the research degree

A Master of Science (MSc) by Research allows you to undertake a one-year (full-time) research degree. It contains little or no formal taught component. This type of study gives you the chance to explore a research topic over a shorter time than a more in-depth doctoral programme.

Our research degrees are available as full-time, part-time and some are offered distance learning.

Research Master's students choose a specific project to work on and have a greater degree of independence in their work than is the case with a taught Master’s course.

You’ll be expected to work to an approved programme which you will develop in conjunction with your supervisor within the first few months of starting your studies. Whilst undertaking the research project you will also develop your research skills by taking part in training courses and events.

You will be appointed a main supervisor who will normally be part of a supervisory team, comprising up to three members. The research supervisor will advise and support you on your project. At the end of the project, you write up your findings in the form of a short thesis of around 25,000 words, which will then be examined.

On successful completion, you will be awarded your degree and if you have enjoyed this taste of research, you may then decide to apply for the full research doctoral degree (PhD).

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirements for enrolment on a MSc by Research is an upper second honours degree (2.1) from a UK university or a qualification of an equivalent standard, in a discipline appropriate to that of the proposed programme to be followed.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Why choose Huddersfield?


There are many reasons to choose the University of Huddersfield and here are just five of them:

  1. We were named University of the Year by Times Higher Education in 2013.
  2. Huddersfield is the only University where 100% of permanent teaching staff are Fellows of the Higher Education Authority.
  3. Our courses have been accredited by 41 professional bodies.
  4. 94.6% of our postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within six months of graduating.
  5. We have world-leading applied research groups in Biomedical Sciences, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities.

What can I research?

There are several research topics available for this degree. See below examples of research areas including an outline of the topics, the supervisor, funding information and eligibility criteria:

Outline

Wind farm efficiency is somewhat determined by turbine efficiency, which in tum depends upon wake effects. Turbines situated wholly or partially in the wake of leading turbines are severely restricted in their efficiency, according to size, wind speed and direction and spacing between turbines. The aim of the project is to create a semi-analytical model of air flow behind a horizontal axis wind turbine, principally for use by wind farm designers in the industry. Current models are either too crude to be of certain value or too sophisticated (or time­ consuming) to be incorporated into iterative turbine placement design schemes or software. The most common and crudest model still in use was devised in 1983. Applicants will need a sound Mechanical or Energy Engineering background and a good understanding of the near field aerodynamics of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The project requires a very numerate approach and a good background in applications of mathematics would also be required. For calibration and validation of the model a number of simulations using Computational Fluid Dynamics will be necessary and applicants should be well versed in this type of work, preferably using ANSYS Fluent or similar software.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

The development of co-simulation procedures has led to the development of sophisticated numerical dynamic analysis tools. These are able to couple two different simulations or more, running alongside each other. Such methods allow for the study of more complex systems by coupling different sub-systems or coupling different phenomena in the same system. The aim of this work involves the study and investigation of co-simulation methodologies and its application in numerical dynamic analysis tools. Different approaches are to be implemented and tested under a series or different case scenarios and benchmarks. The final objective of this work includes the development and implementation of a new co-simulation framework on a state-of-the-art Pantograph-catenary dynamic analysis tool. This is able to handle the numerical analyses of pantograph-catenary interaction, where the pantograph is modelled as a multibody system in interaction with finite element OLE model.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Pantograph-OLE Interaction plays a fundamental role in the traction of electric railway vehicles. The sliding contact between the overhead line and the pantograph contact strips must be as smooth as possible and uninterrupted. The study of this interaction under aerodynamic loads has become a key factor on the development of new overhead lines and current collection systems. The employment of numerical dynamic analyses tools to study pantograph-OLE interaction is now being accepted by the industry, as these types of software are becoming more reliable and accurate. Though, added model complexity is sought after in order that more complex problems can be analysed. One of these aspects is the inclusion of aerodynamic effects in these types of numerical studies, which today have an impact in the design of new pantographs and overhead line systems. This work aims to study the aerodynamic effects on the pantograph and the overhead line, and the development of a modelling methodology to include them in pantograph-OLE interaction numerical analyses. These methodologies are to be incorporated in a state-of-the-art dynamic analysis tool already developed, so its capabilities are augmented.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Multi component and multiphase mixture flows take place through a number of industrial stems and contribute to a number of processes. Some practical examples of such flows are solid-liquid flow, solid-gas flow, solid-liquid-gas flow, oil - water flow etc. Some of the most common industries where these flows are encountered are Nuclear Industry, Mining Industry, and Chemical Industry etc. The operation, monitoring and control of these flows need detailed knowledge about the flow characteristics of individual components and individual phases. The problem becomes especially complex if the flows are taking place through complex geometries for example helical pipes, elbows valves etc. Through this project novel techniques will be developed to understand local flow features associated with individual components and phases and integrating this information to develop design tools/standards for these processes. The special computational/experimental techniques developed will enable quantification of interphase interaction mechanism. It is expected that the work carried out under this project will enable removal of empiricism embedded in design methodologies to a large extent. It will further allow development of methodologies to trouble free operation and energy use optimisation for such systems.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

A prilling tower is an integral part of any fertilizer plant. A hot fluid (normally urea) is sprayed from a nozzle at the top of the tower forming droplets of urea. These droplets fall under the action of gravity, releasing their energy content, and hence, forming solid prills of urea, which is extensively used as a fertilizer. It is often seen that a lot of the prills formed at the base of the tower doesn't have enough strength to remain in the form of a prill; hence, they disintegrate into powder, wasting an excessive amount of the product. This happens because of ineffective cooling in the tower. The current research work will look into the dynamic of vortex rings for effective cooling purposes within a prilling tower. Vortex rings are inherent in nature and have been a topic of interest for almost a millennium. The urge to utilise vortex rings for multi-purpose applications, such as in cooling of urea droplets in a prilling tower, has led to the development of various types of vortex rings. However, in-depth analysis of the flow phenomena associated with vortex rings is still very little known. This study will investigate the dynamics of a vortex ring's generation, propagation and its ultimate dissipation within a prilling tower. The effect of the geometrical, flow and fluid parameters on the rolling—upof the fluid's shear layers will be analysed using a number of analytical, experimental and numerical techniques. It is expected that this study will result into a practical device that can be installed on the top of the prilling tower, which can enhance the cooling process, hence substantially reducing the waste powder.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

In recorded and mixed form, the history of metal music has involved a broad focus on achieving greater heaviness (Berger & Fales 2005). Importantly though, there is a broad lack of detailed understanding of what heaviness actually is. Changes in performance approaches (especially performance speed), levels of down-tuning - and aspects such as design developments in guitar and bass amplifiers - have impacted our perceptions of heaviness. However, regardless of how these characteristics might or might not inform a given production, a valuable parameter of effective heaviness is clarity. “Sonic clarity can enhance the energy, intensity and impact of each and every sound in a metal production, collectively strengthening the power and drive of the music’s rhythm structures.” Mynett, 2016. With this in mind, by focussing on the mix stage of the music production process, this project sets out to gain a detailed understanding of the correlation between heaviness and clarity.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Infrastructure systems consist of a number of sub-systems carrying a wide variety of solid-liquid-gaseous materials. Failure of one of the sub-systems may result in release of these materials in an uncontrolled manner. Risk mitigation strategies need to be designed keeping variety of leak scenarios. Furthermore, an array of sensors is needed to provide dispersion characteristics through a well-developed formulation. The information provided through such methods is limited in scope and accuracy in the present work a CFD based solution algorithm will be developed that integrates pre-developed flow scenarios with sensor array information to provide qualitative and quantitative pollutant dispersion characteristics. The developed system will be capable of informing real time pollution dispersion characteristics and will help in developing risk mitigation strategies.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

In the oil-gas fields, slurry flow, gas-in-water two phase flows, and oil-gas-water three phase flows are frequently encountered. Generally, the measurement of volumetric flow rate for each phase is of most interest, especially in subsea oil-gas production applications, where it is essential to obtain oil, water and gas flow rates in inclined oil wells. The problem of how to accurately measure these flow parameters for such complicated flow phenomena, without using expensive test separators and intrusive technique, is a major challenge for the industry. Most conventional multiphase flow meters have severe limitations regarding types of flow and their measurement reliability. Some useful techniques containing radioactive sources are available but they are expensive and potential harmful to humans. Thus, the new developed system will be capable of measuring the local volume fraction local distribution and local velocity distributions of each phase based on tomographic techniques that does not contain a radioactive source.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

A major challenge of additive manufacturing (AM) technology is that AM processes are not robust enough and AM production machines lack sufficient process control, which consequently bring various shortcomings that are commonly seen in AM products, such as poor as-built surface finish, porosity, and mechanical properties not equivalent to those of bulk materials. X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) is often employed to inspect the porosity of AM parts, providing more information (e.g. size, location, morphology) in comparison to the traditional Archimedes method. However, the accuracy and performance of XCT on AM porosity inspection need to be verified. This research project will conduct an experimental study to target the optimum scanning configuration for AM porosity measurement and compare with other porosity inspection methods, e.g. Archimedes, scanning electron microscope and ultrasonic. XCT simulation will complement to experimental work, which allows investigate the impact of major scan parameters on XCT porosity measurement. Physical and virtual AM artefacts will be developed. The project will be based on the Future Metrology Hub, Centre for Precision Technologies. The selected student will be provided with the training of XCT and simulation software.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

The employment of finite element methods in engineering plays a large role in the analysis of structures. With the advancements in computer resources, dynamic analysis applications based on this method are able to analyse large and complex systems. This work aims on the development and implementation of novel finite element modelling methodologies, able to handle the dynamic interaction between the overhead line and the pantograph in railway systems. Focusing on the construction of finite element models of the overhead systems and its dynamic analysis. The newly developed modelling methods are to be incorporated in a state-of-the-art dynamic analysis tool already developed, so its capabilities are augmented. The new methodologies are to be validated using experimental line tests in collaboration with industrial partners of the railway sector.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

In this project the use of aerodynamic bearings to support the rotor shaft in automotive turbochargers will be investigated. The proposed bearing is supported by a metal foil structure when the shaft rotation is insufficient to generate the aerodynamic forces required to make the bearing self-supporting. The project will include:

• Investigation of the operational requirements for automotive turbocharger rotor bearings comprising load, stiffness and damping characteristics, operating conditions including temperature, shaft speed, gas and inertial loading and importantly, bearing and shaft sizes.

•Development of the multi-physics numerical models required to simulate the aerodynamic effect, the interaction of the generated air film with the metal foil support structure and the damping characteristics provided by friction between the components of the foil support structure.

•Generation of experimental data to validate the numerical models including the design and manufacture of a bearing test rig.

•Production of characteristic load, stiffness and damping curves for foil backed aerodynamic bearings using the validated numerical model.

•Use of a constrained optimization approach to identify the range of feasible bearing designs for automotive applications.

•Modification of an existing hydrodynamic turbocharger bearing housing to use an example aerodynamic bearing and demonstrate the bearing’s feasibility on an engine test bed.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Hardware-In-the-Loop (HiL) is a novel simulation technique where a physical system interacts within a simulation in realtime. This technique is employed in the development and testing of complex systems. It allows mechanical systems to be tested, avoiding real tests which would otherwise be costly or unfeasible. There are challenges in setting up these types of simulation frameworks. The simulation program is required to be efficient and able to be evaluated in real-time. A robust control system is also necessary to acquire sensor data and control the response of all actuators accordingly. The development of this work is set on the development of a HiL framework for pantograph testing, in interaction with a numerical model of the overhead line. A fully equipped, world class, £ 3.5M pantograph test bench is available to procced with this works. Industrial partners in the transport and railway sector are to be involved in this work.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

This project aims to explore the use of internet of things (IOT) connected wearables in a care home setting to improve early diagnosis of health problems while minimising contact for observations in a post-COVID healthcare environment. The research will determine if automatic periodic measurement of temperature, heart rate and blood pressure and transfer of data to the cloud will allow proactive not reactive treatment of certain conditions, with an aim to reduce resident admission to hospital and hence improve quality of life while reducing care costs and unnecessary risks to patients.

This research will investigate the technology and data management strategy necessary to track long-term health data of residents while considering what architecture is necessary to gain wide acceptance and achieve compliance. Usage of the technology by both residents, care givers and management staff will be analysed and appropriate technology chosen or developed to minimise care disruption while maximising potential benefits. The MSc by research will focus on research and demonstration of appropriate technology and development of a demonstrator and plan to implement it in UK care homes as an early warning system for virus outbreak and resident health challenges.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

This project will deliver a code for inverse design of blade surface for different climatic conditions. The wind turbine systems incorporating these blades will be expected to be effective in extreme weather conditions. The main benefit of this work will be to increase the efficiency of operation of wind turbines in cold regions which will also contribute to the improvement of turbine safety and lifetime.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

This research wishes to investigate ways in which new developments in audio measurement can be utilised in the mixing and mastering process. The study will look at the design and implementation of key developments in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) both from a historical and technical perspective. In addition, recent developments in such areas as touch screen technology will be explored along with visualisation and parameter control. Proposals for new visualisation strategies will be developed along with working prototypes where applicable. The developed ideas could be implemented in C/C++ and/or MATLAB and consequently some of these skills are required. Experience of GUI programming and/or embedded systems and interfacing would be highly desirable but not essential.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Multibody dynamics methods have established the grounds for advanced dynamic analysis applications, able to simulate mechanical systems. Multibody models are generally composed by a set of interconnected, rigid or flexible, bodies which undergo large translational and rotational displacements. Hence, large and complex mechanical systems are able to be analysed and studied in a computer-aided environment. The aim of this work involves the development and employment of multibody methodologies to produce realistic and accurate railway pantograph models. The pantograph is today a critical mechanical system in the operation of electric traction trains, both at conventional and hight speeds. The models developed are to be validated with experimental data obtained from line tests and/or test bench tests. The work here developed will allow to produce more accurate, realistic, and robust pantograph models, and better understand its mechanical behaviour when interacting the electrified overhead line.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Development of methodologies for the assessment of wheel rail friction management products. Methodologies will be developed for both solid stick and liquid forms of gauge corner lubricants and other friction management products used within the wheel rail interface. The developed methodologies will likely utilise both the Twin Disc machine and HAROLD full scale bogie test rig at the Institute of Railway Research.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

This project will address the following hardware constraints of 5G mm-Wave system:

• The mm-Wave band allows us to pack more antennas in the same place which reduces the antenna aperture, resulting in less power captured by the receiver. • The wider bandwidth makes the multipath profile sparse, resulting in a large number of resolvable multipath at the receiver. The complexity of the receiver will be extreme if all these multipaths are resolved. • This wider bandwidth requires an analogue to digital converters (ADC) of higher resolution resulting in a large amount of energy dissipated.

The project will tackle the above issues by designing new signal processing algorithms.

• Proposed signal to noise ratio (SNR) algorithms and the 30 channel will allow rejecting the nearby interferers by the help of angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) improving the power captured by the receiver. • New techniques will be proposed where multipaths with higher energy are selected and resolved, resulting in reduced complexity and similar performance. • ADCs will be designed that will not operate at the Nyquist rate resulting in less power dissipated.

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

Outline

Weather Forecasting and Climatology is an important topic as it helps determine future climate behaviours. By providing latitude, one can determine the likelihood of solar energy, heat, snow and hail reaching the earth's surface. Ancient weather forecasting methods usually relied on observed patterns of events, also termed pattern recognition. In this project, the Data mining technique would be used to predict the weather based on parameters such as temperature, humidity and wind. Data mining has its foundation comprised of three intertwined scientific disciplines: statistics (the numeric study of data relationships), artificial intelligence (human-like intelligence displayed by software and/or machines) and machine learning (algorithms that can learn from data to make predictions).

Funding

Please see our Research Scholarships page to find out about funding or studentship options available.

Deadline

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more.

Supervisors

How to apply

We offer supervision to PhD level in a wide range of areas where we are carrying out state of the art research.

The School of Computing and Engineering has three institutes and a number of research centres and groups that cover a diverse range of topics within Mechanical and Electronic Engineering an example of these is featured below:

To find out more about the research we conduct, take a look at our Research, Innovation and Skills webpages, where you will find information on each research area. To find out about our staff visit ‘Our experts’ which features profiles of all our academic staff.

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Researcher Environment

Our postgraduate researchers contribute to our thriving research culture at Huddersfield, in return we provide an experience that enhances your potential and inspires you to think big and become a globally competitive researcher.

Join our community of like-minded people who are passionate for research and gain access to world-leading facilities, advanced research skills training, and expert careers advice.

Reduced inequalities

We recently ranked 6 out of 796 global institutions for reduced inequalities in the Times Higher Impact ratings – this recognises our research on social inequalities, policies on discrimination and commitment to recruit staff and students from underrepresented groups (THE Impact Rankings 2022).

World-leading

We are in the top 50 UK universities for research power, and nearly two thirds of our research environment is classified as world leading and internationally excellent (REF2021).

As a researcher, you’ll gain access to our Researcher Skills Development Programme through the Graduate School, to help broaden your knowledge and access tools and skills to improve your employability. The programme is mapped against Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework (RDF), you’ll benefit from Vitae’s career support as well as our own programme. We also have a team dedicated to improving the academic English needed for research by our international PGRs. Our training is delivered in a variety of ways to take advantage of online platforms as well as face-to-face workshops and courses. You can access a range of bespoke training opportunities and in-person events that are tailored to each stage of your journey, including: * sessions on PhD thesis writing, publications and journals, post-doctoral opportunities, poster and conference presentations, networking, and international travel opportunities * opportunity to work and study abroad via the Turing Scheme through The Graduate School * externally accredited training programme with Advance HE (HEA) and CMI * online research training support accessed through a dedicated researcher module in Brightspace, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment * We also hold a series of PGR focussed events such as 3 Minute Thesis * PGR led research conference * informal events throughout the year.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

When you are offered a place on a research degree, your offer will include confirmation of your supervisory team, and the topic you will be researching.

Whilst the University will use reasonable efforts to ensure your supervisory team remains the same, sometimes it may be necessary to make changes to your team for reasons outside the University’s control, for example if your supervisor leaves the University, or suffers from long term illness. Where this is the case, we will discuss these difficulties with you and seek to either put in place a new supervisory team, or help you to transfer to another research facility, in accordance with our Student Protection Plan.

Changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, for example the University being unable to access its buildings due to fire, flood or pandemic, or the University no longer being able to provide specialist equipment. Where this is the case, we will discuss these issues with you and agree any necessary changes.

Your research project is likely to evolve as you work on it and these minor changes are a natural and expected part of your study. However, we may need to make more significant changes to your topic of research during the course of your studies, either because your area of interest has changed, or because for reasons outside the University’s control we can no longer support your research. If this is the case, we will discuss any changes in topic with you and agree these in writing. If you are an international student, changing topics may affect your visa or ATAS clearance and if this is the case we will discuss this with you before any changes are agreed.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by the University’s Terms and Conditions and a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.