Detailed module information
Module information on this degree can be found below, separated by year of study.
The module information below applies for the current academic year. The academic year runs from August to July; the 'current year' switches over at the end of July.
Students select optional courses subject to rules specified in the Mechanical Engineering Student Handbook, for example at most three Design and Business courses. Please note that numbers are limited on some optional courses and selection criteria will apply.
Professional Engineering Skills 3
Module aims
This module is comprised of two parts: (a) Engineering in a commercial environment which aims to provide an awareness and basic understanding of some of the non-engineering aspects that will be encountered by professional engineers working in a professional environment. The main topics include: engineering finance; project management;ethics; sustainability; security; professional responsibillity and intellectual property. (b) A literature research project which aims to develop efficient use of the extensive facilities available for research on a given subject, to develop a critical attitude to information sources, an ethical attitude to attributing them and a systematic method for citing them and to stimulate interest in a given engineering-related, technical subject by studying it in depth.
ECTS = 10
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Explain the importance of ethical standards and be able to discuss some example ethical situations.
2. Explain the principles of sustainability and methods for applying them in practical situations.
3. Choose and apply appropriate tools to the management of projects and project teams.
4. Justify and apply different methods for assessing the financial implications of decisions and projects.
5. Explain the importance of intellectual property and methods for its protection and exploitation.
6.Explain the importance of physical and electronic security, especially of data, and methods to implement it.
7. Critique the overall state of knowledge on a topic of direct relevance to mechanical engineering.
8. Summarise the ideas of others in original language and with full attribution in standard (e.g. Harvard) form.
9. Differentiate between literature of reliable and unreliable provenance.
10. Synthesise information from a wide range of sources, selecting key information to arrive at appropriate conclusions on a technical subject of relevance to Mechanical Engineering into a coherent written review.
Module syllabus
Introduction to professional engineering roles and responsibilities
Financing organisations; financing projects and appraising investment
Pricing products and contracts
Projects and their challenges; phases of a project; project teams; project management tools
Engineering ethics; systems of ethics; ethics and responsibility in engineering practice
Principles of sustainability and methods for applying them in practical situations
Physical and electronic security and methods of implementation
Intellectual property and its protection
Innovation strategy
Literature Research Project (LRP)