MEng Chemical Engineering with Energy and Environment

The dissertation involves an extensive research study, commencing with a research report (Semester 1) followed by a poster presentation (Part 2) and a final formal report (the dissertation, Part 3) on the work undertaken.  Students choose a research topic from a selection of laboratory-based and computational projects offered by different academic supervisors, and often work closely with a postgraduate or postdoctoral researcher or industry.

For this 40 credit unit, a student must describe the project in the form of full dissertation report, with a maximum of 40 pages in length (excluding appendices and list of contents). This will be assessed by the supervisor and a second marker. The final mark will be an average of the two marks, if the difference between them is less than 5%. Otherwise the two markers will agree the final mark between them.

This report must contain an abstract, an introduction to the project which motivates the research, a brief critical literature survey, a description of the practical work, a critical analysis of the results and their relationship to previous work and a suitable conclusion and suggestions for future work. More guidance is given elsewhere. Note that there should be no duplication of the Semester 1 report.

Encourage students to engage deeply with the literature relevant to the subject of their research project.

Develop students’ understanding of the methods of research through the execution and reporting of an appropriate research project in a chosen subject area.

A combination of specialised lectures (e.g. on library skills), regular meetings arranged with the supervisor, self-directed learning and hands-on practical experience.

As given by the project supervisor to help direct the research.