MEng Mechanical Engineering with Management

What projects will Mechanical, Civil or Aerospace Engineers work on in the future? This unit takes as its starting point the analysis of a current technology and market and then uses a variety of analysis techniques to extrapolate and predict future directions for the market and technology. The unit looks forward up to 20 years and is concerned with step change and disruptive technology and scientific breakthrough rather than just incremental product and process development. The work involves seeing Mechanical Engineering in the widest context of application to future market, societal and technological influences.

Brief description:

This unit takes as its starting point the analysis of a current product or process technology and its market. The specific product is proposed by the student and agreed with the lecturer. Then a variety of analysis techniques are used to extrapolate and predict future directions for both the market and technology. The analysis looks forward up to 20 years and is concerned with step change and disruptive technology and scientific breakthrough rather than just incremental product and process development. The work involves seeing Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering in the widest context of application to future market, societal and technological influences.

Introduce techniques for the analysis of technology, market and societal influences. Explain how to construct predictions for the future direction of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering inputs to products, services and processes. Apply systematic methods to analyse often incomplete and fragmented data from a variety of sources. Develop processes of informed decision-making about future opportunities and identify the critical steps required to enable those opportunities to be realised. Apply methods of presenting findings and proposals in both a persuasive business document and an oral presentation to a panel. The information, analysis and report writing skills that are developed in this unit are useful to Engineers from any subject. These skills are highly desired by employers and are valuable when undertaking final year project work, job interviews and assessment centres.

ILO 1 - Undertake research and arguments to construct plausible future scenarios for a new product or service.

ILO 2 - Explain how technology and market factors influence development and sustainability of a new product or service.

ILO 3 - Use a range of appropriate information search skills in an integrated way to undertake an investigation to individually present conclusions through a report and orally answer questions from a panel on project findings.

ILO 4 - Produce and reflect on a project plan and execute work for a new product or service.

Syllabus:

The unitwill be delivered as a seriesof lectures with case studies and in- classactivities for students to work on both alone and in small, informal groups.

The lecture will be supported by Blackboard supplied lecture notes, case studies, resource web links and PowerPoint files.

Lecture/ Topics

1.Project briefing and introduction: Introduction to Engineering Foresight and setting of project assessment tasks. Product life-cycle

Influences of Science, Technology, Market and Society

2. Project planning: Planning the project usingGANTT and Networks Information gathering. Construct and submit topic/plan for project assessment

3. Scientific research: Horizon scanning, Patent and research publication trends, barriers to application of new technologies

4. Technological developments: Extrapolation, Step change, Breakthrough, Cost

5. Societal influences: Population, Demographic, Political, Health, Environmental, Sustainability

6. Market research: Secondary market research information gathering and primary market research methods Limitations to market predictions

7. Identifying opportunity: Searching for opportunity Report and presentation tutorial. Preparation for presentation, referencing and proofing Using information to make decisions/ recommendations

8. Ideas generation and rationalisation: Generating ideas, thought shower, matrix, analogy etc Developing future scenarios via iteration

9. Exploiting the opportunity, financial justification: Exploiting the opportunity. Commercial requirements for return on investment. Preparing for individual presentations

10. New Product Development Teams and risks: NPD teams and risk analysis

11. Individual presentation:  Final report and presentation feedback

12. Reflection on professional skills development: Reflection on report and presentation skills development

Report - Week 3
Individual feedback comments via BlackBoard assessment tools

Week 12
Individual feedback comments via BlackBoard assessment tools

Oral presentation -  Immediate oral feedback at end of individual presentation

Week 12 marks via BlackBoard

Innovation management and new product development by Trott, Paul. Pearson, 2017. ISBN: 1292165405

Business strategy: an introduction by Campbell, David J. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. ISBN: 9780230218581

Principles of marketing by Kotler, Philip. Pearson Higher Education, 2018. ISBN: 1292220236