• Offered for Year: 2025/26

• Module Leader(s): Dr Simon Lambert

• Owning School: Engineering
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

•       To provide students with an opportunity to self-direct their learning under the supervision of an experienced academic by undertaking a research study project related to a current topic within the research profile of the supervising academic.
•       The student will develop their skills in technical engineering, communication and research through a combination of practical work, software development, independent study and dialogue with supervisors.
•       The mix of practical work and software development depends upon the project topic and will reflect the student’s final year specialism.
•       To enhance the student’s to apply their engineering expertise to investigate a complex problem via:-
o       Production of a technical Report
o       Production of a Poster
o       Presentation based on a Poster
o       Production of a Proposal to include Aims, Objectives, Justifications and Timescales
o       Demonstration/presentation of the project’s product

Outline Of Syllabus

Prior to enrolling on the module students are presented with a catalogue of projects, each linked to an Electrical and Electronic Engineering discipline academic and are given the opportunity to select a prioritised list of preferred projects.
Students are individually assigned a project based on their preferences and academic performance to date. Each project is an individual assignment leading to the design and development of an original system or device and involves multi-disciplinary skills suitable to the project topic. The project supervisor regularly meets with the student and guides their project scope based on continuous assessment of project progress. It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to manage the project aims and objectives as well as to set milestones and deliverables in which they will be supported through available project management resources and learning.
Assessment of the project, undertaken by project supervisor and second examiner, is via presentations, demonstrations, and a final report.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The underpinning purpose of the individual project is to demonstrate the student’s engineering professionalism in their chosen area of focus. To that end the project is designed to promote adaption of the factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge acquired from a wide range of modules to a specific problem and to enhance their strategic knowledge by undertaking a project for which they are wholly responsible. Furthermore, the project aims to expose the student to realistic challenges preparatory to those they may expect to encounter in their careers and as such the broader context of the project is considered in the societal, ethical and environmental impact of their work.

The project catalogue, containing projects designed by academics in their own area of research, from which students prioritise choices, promotes work in a technical area which is active in current research and therefore relevant to the current technology landscape. The freedom allowed to the student to select a project gives them agency to pursue a project which they will be able to be engaged with and which they believe will ultimately be useful to their career by being technically relevant.

The generation of the project plan, which is initially formatively assessed and ultimately summative assessed as part of the final written submission is designed to be a living document which is revised regularly by the student under the guidance of their supervisor. This gives the student experience of both generating and working within a formal project structure with the accountability and assessment of progress.

The research mythologies for the literature review and design phases of the project will to a large extent be a function of the technical scope of the project, however, in each case the student will be directed in good practice by their academic supervisor who is an expert in the chosen area. The regular supervisor meetings offer an opportunity for the student to access this expertise and for them to discuss areas of difficulty or potential as they see fit. Students are expected to take ownership of their projects and develop a professional working maturity in their attitude to their work, however, the meetings also offer the supervisor insight into the student’s progress and they can intervene where lack of progress or where the technical aspects of the project are outside the beyond the student’s capability.

Finally, students receive guidance in the preparation of their assessed work through the VLE, interactions with their supervisor and formal taught sessions (e.g. on good research practice). A series of thorough rubrics are published to establish the assessment criteria for all assessments clearly for students and supervisors. The assessments are designed to function as exemplar submissions that students may expect to experience in future careers either beyond university or within further study/research.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Project Proposal (formative):
This will provide an opportunity to gauge the student’s understanding of the project. The student will be required to explain the project with reference to its current place in industry/society and its impact on shareholders. They will need to break down the project into aims and measurable objectives, showing a grasp of the scope of the project and provide a Gannt chart to show they have considered the timeframe of work for the project and how it can be done in the window allowed. The project is open-ended and can develop along different lines depending on where the student’s work takes them and forms a body of work towards the achievement of the initial project’s title and scope.

First demonstration (formative):
This is an informal demonstration of the project in its early stages, allowing the student to show presentation skills and describe their work so far. Questions from the assessor will allow the student to check their understanding of their work and guide their thinking as the project progresses.
The project is open-ended and can develop along different lines depending on where the student’s work takes them and forms

Poster:
This takes place in early semester 2 and is a snapshot of the technical work done to date. The poster is explained by the student to the second examiner and marks awarded for technical content, visual impact & response to questions. The rationale is to make the student crystallise their work so far into a relatively small block of content, to sort and prioritise the work done so far and place in context of the project as it progresses. This is to focus the student and provide an opportunity to reflect on the work done so far and “course-correct” depending on the outcome of the presentation. The presentation aspect of the assessment requires the student to consider how their work is viewed by others and develop their own skills of oration and descriptive powers. M3, M5, M6, M7, M11, M12, M14, M16 M17

Technical report:
his is a 6000-word report written in a proscribed format and requires to student to concisely describe their project. This is a formal piece of work that reflects their work on the project. It requires them to “own” their project and show their level of skill and knowledge in describing their outcomes. They are required to research their specific area, showing their library skills and their ability to rate various sources and place their work in the wider context. They are required to assess their own results, reflecting on how they could be made differently and discussing reasons for this, thus showing an understanding of their work. The report must also demonstrate the project management aspects of the task building on the organic project plan document and should include reflective reference to personal performance against the plan. M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8, M9, M10, M11, M12, M13, M16, M17, M18


Final Demonstration:
The student is required to show their project to both assessors. This is an opportunity to demonstrate the project as it works and field questions from assessors. This will require the student to show an understanding of their project and the technologies that have been used to do the project. It also will allow the student to demonstrate their presentation/oral/descriptive skills. These instances of assessment will cover a wide range of subject specific, core and cognitive skills and are intended to test the student’s abilities including written, practical, and personal. M5, M9, M10, M12, M13, M17

Reading Lists

• EEE3094's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• EEE3094's Timetable