Independent Engineering Project

Module Description

The Independent Engineering Project is a major element of accredited engineering or technical degree. It provides the necessary evidence that you are technically competent and capable of entering the world of work as a professional engineer or technologist.

The aim is to develop your ability to work independently, in a chosen topic, using relevant technical research and design concepts, and analytical, test, measurement and evaluation techniques, in order to produce a finished artefact or product.

You will be expected not merely to collect, analyse and apply information, but also to exhibit other skills such as the ability to plan, manage and produce a significant technical piece of work.

1.Negotiate and execute a realistic plan to deliver to agreed project outcomes, including structured approaches to planning, investigation and research, with due regard to the constraints of time, budget and available resources.

2.Maintain an ongoing record, and write a substantial final analytical technical report containing an extensive critical evaluation of the methods adopted and the final outcome of the project.

3.Present and discuss in a viva voce setting your technical project in depth, clearly communicating the critical issues and key features of the project and be prepared to answer detailed questions.

Definition of a project, project life cycle phases, project planning tools, risk analysis, resource management, managing project delivery.

Applying structured design methods: clarification of need, conceptual design, embodiment design, detail design. Design for civil engineering, manufacture and sustainability.

You will be expected to identify a technical project related to your final year studies. The project could originate from a list provided by the Module Leader or from a relevant personal interest of yours. All projects originating from you must be approved by the Module Leader prior to commencement and be sufficiently technically demanding to justify inclusion in the final stages of an accredited degree.

The project supervisor, allocated after submission of the proposal, is primarily responsible for monitoring your conduct and involvement as well as providing some guidance when deemed necessary.

A second supervisor is chosen to complement the expertise of the project supervisor and to provide internal moderation. You are expected to meet your project supervisors on a regular basis, ideally at least once a fortnight, throughout the year for guidance in strategy, implementation and report writing.

The project proposal, (Learning outcome 1) is based on a preliminary survey of the problem area. It includes an outline of the scope and objectives of the study such as expected project outcomes, a plan of work, an assessment of the resources required for completion and an evaluation of safety and ethical implications (the former expressed as a formal risk assessment).

The project supervisor may ask for revisions to the project proposal and must finally agree to it, within three weeks of it being submitted.  The proposal will form an important part of the subsequent management of the project and will contribute to establishing the criteria for the assessment of the project.

Module Learning Outcomes

A project logbook should be maintained on a continuous basis by you. This forms the agenda for the regular meetings between the project supervisor and you, and may be an e-log or a more traditional record.

During the course of the project, you will meet your supervisor regularly to discuss progress, as evidenced verbally and by the logbook. This allows problems to be dealt with at a retrievable point in the course of the project. It is the responsibility of you to ensure that these meetings occur. Practical work must be conducted in University premises, unless explicitly agreed otherwise by the project supervisor. Any practical work, whether on University or other premises, must not begin before the risk assessment and ethical clearance has been agreed. The final technical report and project logbook evidence will depend on the nature of the particular project.

• An “investigative study” will include experiments or tests on equipment or systems already available. The main item of assessment is the analytical report of the investigation. The prescribed word count is not more than 7000 words (not including appendices or programme listings).

• A “practical project” where the main assessment weighting is for a hardware, software (or hardware/software) artefact, and a technical evaluative report where the conclusion/recommendation should be substantial and analytical.  The report word count is less than that for the ‘investigative study’ and should be no more than 6000 words (not including appendices or program listings).

Purely discursive projects are not allowed as this module forms part of an IET accredited programme and as such any project undertaken must contain significant practical or technical investigative work as the basis of the written report.

All practical work must be completed by the agreed deadline. The project report and project logbook will be submitted on the specified deadline. You are required to submit two bound, word-processed copies of a report of your work, and a version in electronic format.

Before the report has been submitted, you will be required to attend a viva voce session to present and discuss the project in depth, and clearly communicate its critical issues and key features.

The opening lectures will cover

(i) project planning and management,

(ii) investigation and research methods

(iii) design methods, and will review University resources and how to use them.

There will also be occasional lectures during the course of the project period to provide further input as appropriate, for example on writing the final report.

Module Content

To encourage an early start, a seminar for all students progressing to Level 6 will be provided towards the end of Level 5. Project guidance will also be provided during the University Induction Week, which is held at the beginning of the Academic Year.

You will be allocated a supervisor appropriate to your chosen area(s) of study after proposal submission.  As the project should relate to final year studies, there should not be a problem in allocating a supervisor with appropriate expertise. In the rare cases where this is not possible, for example in highly specialised areas, special arrangements will need to be made. Exceptionally, you may be advised to choose another topic.

You will be largely self directed but will be expected to see your project supervisor on a regular basis over the two semesters, with a formal progress meeting in each semester.

Assessment Weighting: 100% Coursework

The assessment is to be conducted through a project proposal, project logbook, final report, and a viva voce session. Guidance will be given on expected report format. Evidence of a literature survey, sound working practices (e.g. adoption of a structured design method), and application of relevant theory is expected.

You will be required to present your work to an assessment panel of two or more academic staff including the project supervisor and may include the external examiner.

You must negotiate your project with your allocated project supervisor by presenting a written project proposal. This will include a literature review, budget outline, risk assessment, and ethical statement (where necessary). You will be given detailed formative feedback on your project proposal. You are then expected to see your project supervisor on a regular basis, at least once a fortnight over the two semesters, during which you will be given spoken and written feedback.

This coursework formally assesses all written elements of the project, including proposal, report and logbook, with marks distributed 10:80:10 respectively. The written technical report incorporates evidence of literature survey, relevant theory, design and project management methods applied application of professional working practices, construction, testing and evaluation.

The length of this report will be dependent on the project type (see above).  The student will maintain a continuous record in the form of a logbook detailing the research, construction, analysis, calculations, methodology of work conducted throughout the year and submit this along with the report.

This assessment consists of a project viva voce giving an opportunity for you to discuss the critical issues and key features of the project.  This will take the form of a 15 minute presentation and a 15 minute period for questioning of the student in terms of their involvement with the project. Due consideration will be given to any hardware or software produced by you during the project; this will have been demonstrated to the supervisor prior to the viva voce. 

1.The Circuit Designer’s Companion. Wilson, Peter, Williams, Tim. Newnes. , 2012.

2.The Project Manager’s Pocket Book. Posner, Keith, Applegarth, Michael, Hailstone, Phil. Management Pocketbooks. 2008

3.Doing Your Research Project Judith Bell and Stephen Waters (2018) earlier editions without Stephen Waters are probably available second hand,.