MEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Industrial Experience

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT

Students are placed into teams to solve a engineering problem that has been identified by academics and/or industry. Students will put into practice the hardware and software skills they have developed in the first three years of their undergraduate onto projects across the broad spectrum of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The projects also challenge students to develop their project management, communication and planning skills in preparation for their future careers.

The style and challenges of the projects vary, but one aspect remains constant; namely, the theme of a team working closely together to achieve a common objective. These terms of reference are open to wide interpretation and, in theory, the objective may cover the spectrum from being largely of a research nature, evaluating novel techniques or components, through the development stages of a prototype system, up to the production of an actual product. Regardless of the scope of each project and the final deliverables, all projects have a common assessment scheme and timetable.

Project assessment is based on a wide range of criteria in the form of reports, a presentation and a demonstration delivered throughout the project.

This unit aims to: Help students develop professional engineering skills, both technical and managerial, by placing them in teams to solve real life engineering challenges. Provide students with a platform to develop project management, communication, planning, technical design and implementation skills. Place students in a dynamic and diverse team environment, where they will be assessed across multiple criteria.

On successful completion of the course, a student will be able to:

ILO 1: Value the benefits and importance of supporting equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility by agreeing a set of guidelines for working practices to ensure own team members can deliver to the best of their ability.

ILO 2: Apply and evaluate most appropriate methods to communicate effectively across multiple medium, including formal discussions, technical reports, a presentation, a demonstration, a poster and a promotional video.

ILO 3: Use project management skills to plan and run a team engineering project, identifying ethical concerns and making reasoned choices informed by professional codes of conduct while adopting a proportionate approach to the mitigation of applicable security risks.

ILO 4: Analyse individual and peer performance, and evidence own contribution and personal skills development throughout the course of the team project.

ILO 5: Plan and execute group work with consideration of applicable health and safety, codes of practice and industry standards.

ILO 6: Design solutions for broadly-defined problems that meet a combination of user, business and customer needs as appropriate, and evaluate the environmental and societal impact of these solutions in order to minimise their adverse impacts.

Grant Pack

A word processed report as defined by the Project Handbook. Assessed by supervisors and 2 independent markers, moderated by an independent moderator. Feedback provided within 2 weeks of submission. 

The statement forms 15% of the unit assessment.

Project Pitch

A presentation by members of the project team as defined by the Team Project Handbook. Assessed by supervisors and 2 independent markers, moderated by an independent moderator. Feedback provided within 2 weeks of submission.

Duration 30 minutes + approximately 15 minutes Q&A.

The Team Presentation forms 10% of the unit assessment.

Final Report

A word-processed report as defined by the Project Handbook.

Report length 25,000 words maximum.

Submitted by Friday, Week 15, Semester 2. Assessed by 2 independent supervisors, moderated by an independent moderator.

The Final Team Report forms 35% of the total unit assessment.

Final Demonstration

A demonstration of the project by members of the project team as defined by the Team Project Handbook.

Duration: 30 minutes + approximately 15 minutes Q&A.

The Project Demonstration is on Thursday, Week 16, Semester 2. Assessed by 2 independent supervisors in attendance, moderated by an independent moderator in attendance.

The Project Demonstration forms 30% of the total unit assessment.

Management & Handover Mark

An Individual Management Mark is awarded as defined by the Team Project Handbook.

The mark is allocated by continual assessment of project supervisors (50%) and assessment of the final technical handover package (50%). 

Assessed by Project supervisors at the end of the project.

The Individual Management Mark forms 10% of the unit assessment.

Interim Statement

Assessed by supervisors and 2 independent markers, moderated by an independent moderator. Feedback provided within 2 weeks of submission. 

Interim Presentation

Assessed by supervisors and 2 independent markers, moderated by an independent moderator. Feedback provided within 2 weeks of submission.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team [electronic resource]: a leadership fable by Lencioni, Patrick M, Wiley, 2007.