Unit name | Group Industrial Project |
---|---|
Unit code | MENGM5000 |
Credit points | 40 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Dr. Lawrie |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering |
Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
In this unit students will undertake an advanced engineering team project combining technical and commercial aspects at a level of sophistication representative of that within an industrial environment. Many projects are run in association with industrial companies, and arise from real company or user needs with team working and project management playing important roles. Aspects such as marketing, interpreting customer requirements, producing technical specification, design, experimentation, manufacture, costing, safety and evaluation of performance are covered. Communication skills are an important aspect to the course.
Aims:
The aim of the project is to enable students to grasp the essentials of an open-ended problem and apply themselves to its solution, organise their own work and integrate it with the overall activities of the team, as well as coordinate the overall direction of the team, and communicate their work through a group technical report and group presentation.
The objectives are that the students should be able to:
Each team is allocated an academic supervisor at the beginning of the year. He or she is responsible for advising the team and students on how they might progress with the project. The content and methods of the project are negotiated between the team (students) and the supervisor. A project specification that will be a broad outline of aim, objectives, methods of the project should be completed within the first three weeks. This form must be signed by both the supervisor and the student. Over the course of the year it is recommended that the students and his or her supervisor should meet regularly to assess progress and plan future work. Toward the end of semester 1 there will be a formal progress meeting between each student and supervisor and a further form will be completed that will summarise the main discussion points/requirements/ problems/change of work plan with respect to the project. This review document must be signed by the student. Part way through the second semester there will be a mid-project review and feedback session between the team and their assessors. This is also an opportunity for the team to prepare and give a short presentation. The aim of this session is to provide further feedback and assistance to the team. These documents will be required for the end of project assessment. It is expected that a draft copy of the group technical report be produced before Easter so that the supervisor can give detailed feedback on its content.
Project teams are usually comprised of 4-6 students. Students are expected to study in detail different aspects of the same problem. Students are encouraged to support one another and they will produce a single coherent technical report. However, students will be assessed individually and they must ensure that they work on, and report, distinct areas at the end of the project. Supervisors will advise students on this.
Assessment of each project will be made by two assessors whose marks account for 75% of the final mark. The remaining 25% is assessed by the supervisor who considers student performance throughout the unit. In making their assessment the assessors will agree a mark based on the following:
The important points for students to note are:
Guidance on the preparation of the technical report and the web site or poster will be given in supporting lectures.
Specified by project supervisor.