2024/25 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

MECH5845M Professional Project

60 creditsClass Size: 230

Module manager: Wassim Taleb
Email: W.Taleb@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

Pre-requisite qualifications

Undergraduate degree in Physical or Engineering Sciences

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

The Professional Project gives MSc students the opportunity to choose a project from an offered project area within the School in which they can carry out research and develop new skills aligned with core engineering science and design.Students will undertake a substantial project, utilizing professional skills such as project planning, risk management. Delivering a final project report and presentation provides a chance for critical analysis, detailed research, and communication skill development.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

- undertake a thorough review of the literature on which they can plan a suitable project and provide context in which this new body of knowledge sits;
- apply an appropriate blend of theoretical, computational and experimental skills to the solution of an engineering problem of direct relevance to the programme of study;
- define clear objectives, plan and execute a schedule of work;
- assimilate and critically assess complex and contradictory knowledge from the literature;
- independently evaluate and analyse results leading to conclusions relevant to the project aims and objectives.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes :

1. apply engineering reasoning and problem solving;
2. perform systems thinking;
3. demonstrate professional skills and attitudes;
4. utilise project and risk management;
5. employ detailed research skills

Upon successful completion of this module the following Engineering Council Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP) learning outcome descriptors (fourth edition) are satisfied:
6. Apply a comprehensive knowledge of mathematics, statistics, natural science and engineering principles to the solution of complex problems. Much of the knowledge will be at the forefront of the particular subject of study and informed by a critical awareness of new developments and the wider context of engineering. (M1)
7. Formulate and analyse complex problems to reach substantiated conclusions. This will involve evaluating available data using first principles of mathematics, statistics, natural science and engineering principles, and using engineering judgment to work with information that may be uncertain or incomplete, discussing the limitations of the techniques employed. (M2)
8. Select and critically evaluate technical literature and other sources of information to solve complex problems. (M4)
9. Communicate effectively on complex engineering matters with technical and non-technical audiences, evaluating the effectiveness of the methods used. (M17)

Skills Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills:

Time management, planning & organising, Problem solving & analytical skills, Critical thinking, Decision making, Self-confidence, initiative and persevrance, Managing uncertainty, ambiguity and risk, Academic writing

Syllabus

Covering two terms, the professional project comprises some or all of the following elements: analysis, design, experimentation or computation.
Each student carries out a professional project, although two or more projects usually have a common theme identified by a project area and may be part of a major investigation, under the supervision of an individual member of the academic staff.
At the beginning of the second term, students are required to present a scope and plan document, which is to clearly identify the scope of their engineering project based on a literature search and project planning. The subject of the project will be drawn from the field of engineering implicit in the student's chosen programme of study. It will reflect an area of current interest and may be linked to industry.
As part of this activity the students have the opportunity to learn a number of transferable skills which, in part, are key to the delivery of good outcomes. These include critical evaluation of the literature, including literature search and retrieval, project planning, and communication skills. These transferable tasks will be largely completed by the end of Semester 2. The principal deliverables are an oral presentation and full report on completion of the project.
Lectures include aspects of health and safety, risk management, project management, engineering and research ethics, literature searching and reviewing, critical thinking. There are optional lectures that include how to make use of high performance computing for projects that are simulation based.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Supervision	14	0.50	7.00
Lecture	13	1.00	13.00
Seminar	5	1.00	5.00
Private study hours			575.00
Total Contact hours			25.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			600.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Through meetings with Project Supervisor and Interim assessment tasks.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Report	Engineering Project Report	45.00
Oral Presentation	Individual Presentation	20.00
Report	Project Scope and Plan Report	15.00
Assignment	Research Ethics Assessment	10.00
Assignment	Conduct	10.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Any student who fails this module will be offered a resit during the next academic session. A new project will be selected and students must re-attend all classes. The resit for the Research Ethics Assessment will be an additional individual piece of coursework to be completed in August. Students must satisfy certain threshold conditions of competence in order to be awarded the credits for this module. These additional competences are specified in the project module handbook, and typically relate to; - Participation in any activities deemed necessary by the university or the project supervisor to undertake work to ethical standards, safely, and competently using workshop or research laboratory facilities - Certain UK-SPEC Engineering Council learning outcomes required for accreditation that are uniquely assessed in this module - Technical writing meeting a minimum standard expected by the Office for Students (OfS) Students must pass the following components to be awarded the credits for this module: Project Scope and Plan Report, and the final project report.

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 13/09/2024

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