The Consumer Data Research Centre has run the Masters Dissertation Scheme for over ten years. The programme offers an exciting opportunity to link students on Masters courses and their university supervisors with leading retail companies, via projects which are important to the retail industry.
The scheme provides the chance for students to work directly with industrial partners, and to link students’ research to important retail and ‘open data’ sources. The project titles are devised by the partners, and are open to students from a wide range of disciplines.
How to Apply
The projects for the 2025 version of the Scheme are now closed, but are still are listed below as examples of the kinds of options that are made available under the Scheme. We will post details of the 2026 Scheme towards the end of 2025.
If you are interested in applying for a project in 2026 when the project details are available, please complete the application form, and send it as an attachment to projects@cdrc.ac.uk, along with a copy of your CV. Both documents should be in PDF format. Applications will be forwarded to the industry partners for consideration until all the projects are filled successfully. Students may apply for maximum of three projects. Any questions about the process or the Scheme can be sent to Richard Arnold.
2025 Projects
Project 2025A: Global CLV Dynamics: Understanding Geographical Variations in the Prediction of Customer Lifetime Value
Partner: Entain
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025B: Analysing Cross-Boundary Bus Services in the West Midlands
Partner: Transport for the West Midlands
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025C: Rooftop solar power potential in the Middle East
Partner: Knight Frank
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025D: UK market consumer stress and arrears forecasting
Partner: Experian
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025E: The benefits of real-time data reporting for UK consumers and lenders
Partner: Experian
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025F: Adding Value to residential units through the ground floor.
Partner: CACI
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025G: Calculating Residential Build-to-Rent Catchments in London
Partner: CACI
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025H: Leveraging Open Points of Interest (POI) Data to Segment Urban Areas by Affluence and Activity
Partner: Geolytix
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025I: Social Value measurement framework and tool development
Partner: Temple Group
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025J: Enhancing Transport Resilience in the South East Region
Partner: East Sussex County Council / Transport for the South East
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025K: Exploring regional demand for supported living and extra care housing in Liverpool City Region
Partner: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025L: Reconciling building heat models to understand decarbonisation potential across Liverpool City Region
Partner: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025M: Transit-oriented development: modelling sustainable transport accessibility for new housing developments in Liverpool City Region
Partner: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025N: Towards a Multi-modal Urban Function Region Classification and Area of Interest Delineation
Partner: CACI
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025O: Understanding the impact of weather on how people interact with places
Partner: CACI
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025P: Understanding the impact of retail composition on residential house prices in London
Partner: Green Street
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025Q: Identifying and classifying multi-modal hubs
Partner: Transport for the North
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025R: Evaluating the Regeneration Impacts of New Transport Scheme: A Critical Review of Appraisal Methods and Case Studies
Partner: Transport for the North
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025S: I-AM-HUMAN: Zero-knowledge digital identity from geo-fingerprinting
Partner: Locom!zer
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025T: Clustering online services used by UK users to inform Ofcom’s online safety work
Partner: Ofcom
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025U: How AI Challenges Company Missions
Partner: Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025V: Mapping the Global Impact of Corporate Environmental Externalities
Partner: Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025W: Linking Women’s Interests to Development and National Success: A Geo-Referenced Data Approach
Partner: Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025X: Enhancing Place Attachment through Context-Aware Mobile Audio Experiences
Partner: Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025Y: Use of affinity profiles as a utility function to understand and predict dynamics of spatial segregation of populations
Partner: Locomizer
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025Z: Government Property Profession Accreditation Evaluation
Partner: Cabinet Office
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025A2: Leveraging Predictive Analytics to Anticipate Engineering Challenges: Enhancing Operational Efficiency and Elevating Customer Experience
Partner: Virgin Media 02
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025B2: Developing Insights from the West Midlands Migrant Rough Sleeping Census
Partner: West Midlands Combined Authority
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025C2: Tourism in the Heartland: Considering the sustainable transport option to access key trip attractors – and the impact of East West Rail on access to tourist destinations
Partner: England’s Economic Heartland
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025D2: Spatial and Temporal Embeddings of H3 Hexes for Urban Insights and Location-Based Analyticsism
Partner: Virgin Media / GHD
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025E2: Predicting Youth Provision across England
Partner: Social Investment Business
Status: CLOSED
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Project 2025F2: Survivability of Charities
Partner: Social Investment Business
Status: CLOSED
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