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ADVANCED INSTITUTE FOR SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH (AISCR)

Vocational Training Centre of AISCR (VTC-AISCR)

Prepared for submission to the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOP), Republic of Cameroon

AISCR L3-D — PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Advanced Institute for Supply Chain Research (AISCR) / Vocational Training Centre of AISCR (VTC-AISCR)

Course Description

This Professional Diploma extends the AISCR Advanced Professional Certificate in Operations and Production Management into strategic, research-grounded practice. Building on the certificate's operations, demand-planning and risk competencies, the Diploma develops the financial acumen, elective specialisation, and independent applied-research and workplace capability required of senior operations leaders. Learners complete a compulsory financial management unit, a free-choice strategic elective, a substantial Capstone Research/Consultancy Project addressing a live operations and production challenge, and a supervised workplace practicum.

Course Duration and Credits

Specification Details
Qualification Level Level 3 (Professional Diploma), AISCR-NPQF
Duration 12 Months, delivered on a blended basis, following completion of the prerequisite Advanced Professional Certificate
Entry Requirements Successful completion of the AISCR Advanced Professional Certificate in Operations and Production Management (L2-C2), or an equivalent qualification recognised through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Foundation (Carried Forward) L2-C2 — Operations and Production Management: 33–34 Credits, already earned at entry
New Diploma Credits 35–37 Credits (Compulsory Unit + Elective + Capstone + Practicum), within AISCR's standardised 30–40-Credit band for new content at each qualification stage
Cumulative Credits (Foundation + Diploma) 68–71 Credits on exit
Delivery Mode Blended — in-person or virtual contact days combined with guided self-directed study and workplace practicum, delivered in English and French
Award AISCR Professional Diploma in Strategic Operations and Production Management

Course Outline

The Diploma builds on the 33–34-Credit foundation already earned in L2-C2 — Operations and Production Management, which is recognised on entry and not retaught. New Diploma-level content comprises a compulsory financial management unit, a free-choice strategic elective, a Capstone Research/Consultancy Project, and a supervised workplace Practicum.

Foundation (Recognised on Entry, Not Retaught): L2-C2 — OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT + Click to expand Credits: 33–34 | Full unit-level detail is set out in the AISCR Level 2 Qualification Catalogue

This prerequisite Advanced Professional Certificate serves as the operational foundation for the Professional Diploma and is fully recognised upon admission.

Compulsory Diploma Unit

Compulsory Unit (F1): FINANCIAL AND COST MANAGEMENT FOR PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to a sourcing decision.
  • Prepare basic cost and budget estimates for a procurement requirement.
  • Apply should-cost modelling to a supplier quotation.
  • Interpret basic financial statements relevant to supplier evaluation.
  • Apply cost-benefit analysis techniques to a procurement decision.
  • Build a simple business case with cost justification.

Free-Choice Elective — Choose 1 of 4

Learners choose one of the following four strategic units, each drawn from the AISCR Level 1 Qualification Catalogue, to broaden their strategic competency beyond their core specialisation:

Elective Option (D1): SUPPLY CHAIN LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply appropriate leadership styles to different team situations.
  • Lead a team through a defined change initiative.
  • Apply stakeholder engagement techniques.
  • Manage team performance and development conversations.
  • Apply delegation and empowerment practices.
  • Manage resistance to change and build team motivation and morale.
Elective Option (D3): SUPPLY CHAIN GOVERNANCE, ETHICS AND CORPORATE COMPLIANCE + Click to expand Duration: 3 contact days | Credits: 5 | Notional Learning Hours: 50

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply corporate governance frameworks to supply chain decision-making.
  • Identify and manage conflicts of interest.
  • Apply corporate compliance and anti-bribery/anti-corruption principles.
  • Support internal governance reporting requirements.
  • Apply ethical decision-making frameworks and whistleblower-protection principles.
  • Identify governance risk indicators and basic compliance-programme components.
Elective Option (B5): SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYTICS AND DIGITALISATION + Click to expand Duration: 5 contact days | Credits: 7 | Notional Learning Hours: 70

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply data visualisation principles to build spend and performance dashboards.
  • Interpret common procurement and supply chain KPIs.
  • Apply digital analytics tools to a procurement dataset, including data-quality and cleaning basics.
  • Interpret spend analysis reports.
  • Present data-driven recommendations to stakeholders.
  • Use analytics to support sourcing and operational decisions.
Elective Option (C6): SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Identify common categories of supply chain risk.
  • Apply risk-assessment tools and matrices to a supply chain scenario.
  • Apply business continuity planning basics.
  • Develop risk mitigation and contingency plans.
  • Monitor supplier and risk indicators on an ongoing basis.
  • Communicate risk to stakeholders and build supply chain resilience.

Capstone Research/Consultancy Project

CAPSTONE RESEARCH/CONSULTANCY PROJECT — STRATEGIC OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT + Click to expand Engagement: Independent research/consultancy work, AISCR workshops, and panel defense | Credits: 12 | Notional Learning Hours: 120

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this component, learners will be able to:

  • Formulate a well-defined research or consultancy question addressing a live strategic operations and production management challenge.
  • Conduct a structured literature and practice review relevant to the chosen problem.
  • Apply appropriate research or diagnostic methods to gather and analyse evidence from the practicum placement or a comparable organisational context.
  • Develop actionable, evidence-based recommendations for the host organisation or sector.
  • Produce a professional-standard capstone report meeting AISCR's academic and presentation standards.
  • Defend the capstone project's methodology, findings and recommendations before an AISCR review panel.

Supervised Workplace Practicum

SUPERVISED WORKPLACE PRACTICUM + Click to expand Engagement: Minimum 3-month supervised workplace placement | Credits: 12 | Notional Learning Hours: 120

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this component, learners will be able to:

  • Apply classroom-acquired competencies to real workplace tasks under professional supervision.
  • Maintain a structured practicum learning log documenting tasks, decisions and reflections.
  • Meet performance expectations set jointly by the host supervisor and the AISCR practicum coordinator.
  • Identify and propose improvements to at least one real process or practice within the host organisation.
  • Receive and act on structured feedback from a workplace supervisor.
  • Prepare a final practicum report summarising achievements against the practicum learning plan.

Assessment and Evaluation

Formative Assessment

  • Class participation and attendance for the Compulsory Unit and Elective (minimum 80% attendance required).
  • Individual assignments and case study analysis for the Compulsory Unit and Elective.
  • Capstone research proposal and progress reviews.
  • Practicum learning log, reviewed periodically by the AISCR practicum coordinator.
  • Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) documenting achievement of each component's Learning Objectives.

Summative Assessment

Conducted across the Diploma year to evaluate learners' overall achievement of strategic, research and workplace competencies.

  • Written examination for the Compulsory Unit and Elective.
  • Capstone Research/Consultancy Project report, evaluated against AISCR's academic and professional standards.
  • Capstone defense presentation before an AISCR review panel.
  • Practicum performance evaluation, jointly assessed by the host workplace supervisor and the AISCR practicum coordinator.
  • Final practicum report.

Learning Resources

Recommended Textbooks

  • Operations Management — Nigel Slack, Alistair Brandon-Jones and Robert Johnston
  • Operations and Supply Chain Management — F. Robert Jacobs and Richard B. Chase
  • Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation — James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones
  • Research Methods for Business Students — Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill
  • Business Research Methods — Alan Bryman and Emma Bell
  • Forecasting: Principles and Practice — Rob J. Hyndman and George Athanasopoulos

Supplementary Resources

  • AISCR Capstone Research/Consultancy Project Handbook and practicum placement guidelines.
  • Sample capstone proposals, research ethics checklists, and panel defense rubrics.
  • AISCR practicum learning log and supervisor evaluation templates.
  • Case studies and field material from AISCR's African and international engagements.

Delivery Methods

  • Onsite Training: face-to-face lectures, practical sessions and hands-on training for the Compulsory Unit and Elective.
  • Online Training: virtual classrooms, webinars, interactive modules and online assessments.
  • Workplace-Based Learning: supervised practicum placement with a host organisation, coordinated by AISCR.

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