What will I learn on this module?
This module is the culmination of your degree programme; it provides an extended opportunity for you to bring together your specialist knowledge and skills within an industry or development-based project. You will work with the guidance of a tutor to direct your learning and develop your abilities in areas such as team planning and management, detailed design of the proposed method, prototype fabrication or virtual system modelling and critical evaluation and identification of further developments. You will be provided with the opportunity to demonstrate to potential future employers the breadth and depth of your ability by not only using your specialist abilities, but also through the demonstration of your planning, organisational and team working skills. You will be expected to incorporate unfamiliar knowledge as well as the wider social and environmental considerations of the engineering profession.
How will I learn on this module?
You will be guided through a process of individual reflection where both what you learn and how you learn will be recorded and supported by peer and supervisor feedback. During the project you will use your research and critical evaluation skills to investigate an engineering problem and design a methodology for continued investigation of the topic through your team activities and therefore organisational tools will be provided for planning, recording and sharing through the eLP. Fundamentally the process of undertaking this project offers the mechanism for experiential learning.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
During the project, support for your learning will be provided by an academic mentor who will provide regular guidance. You will be working in a team, and formative use will be made of self and peer assessment enabling feedback on your contribution to be given and received. Contact with academic tutors and your peers outside formal teaching hours is encouraged through discussion boards and messaging systems within the eLP. Professional support staff, such as Ask4Help, provide the first point of contact for a range of queries, including, for example, those concerning assessment submission, late submission/extensions, and other administrative issues.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
MLO1. Select and critically evaluate technical literature and other sources of information to solve complex problems.
MLO2. Apply knowledge of engineering management principles, commercial context, project and change management, and relevant legal matters including intellectual property rights
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
MLO3. Apply an integrated or systems approach to design solutions for complex problems that evidence some originality and meet a combination of societal, user, business and customer needs as appropriate.
MLO4. Use a risk management process to identify, evaluate and mitigate all types of risk associated with a particular project or activity.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
MLO5. Apply creativity and curiosity to formulate and analyse complex problems to reach substantiated conclusions.
MLO6. Evaluate the ethical, environmental and societal impact of solutions to complex problems and minimise adverse impacts.
MLO7. Adopt an inclusive approach to engineering practice to function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader of a team. Evaluate effectiveness of own and team performance.
MLO8. Plan and record self-learning and development as the foundation for lifelong learning/CPD.
How will I be assessed?
Formative Assessment
Formative feedback on your project progress will be provided through weekly meetings with your project mentor.
Summative Assessment
Component 1. An individual project planning report that will meet MLOs 1, 2 and 4 and partially meet MLOs 3, 4, 7 and 8.
Component 2. An individual investigative project report that will meet MLO 5 and partially meet MLOs 2, 3 and 4.
Component 3. An individual reflection that will meet MLO 6 and partially meet MLOs 7 and 8.
Feedback will be provided electronically through the eLP or student email within 20 working days of the date of submission.
Pre-requisite(s)
N/A
Co-requisite(s)
N/A
Module abstract
This module is the culmination of your degree programme; it provides an extended opportunity for you to bring together your specialist knowledge and skills within a multidisciplinary industry or development-based project. You will be given the opportunity to demonstrate the high-level skills that will enhance your employability and prepare you for lifelong learning. You will work in teams on a project from inception to completion, and you will be involved in the design and production of technical solutions to a problem before delivering a critical analysis of the solution. Each team will take responsibility for its own management, enabling you to showcase your ability to plan, organise and work with others.
Course info
UCAS Code H3P6
Credits 40
Level of Study Undergraduate
Mode of Study 4 years Full Time or 5 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad
Department Mechanical and Construction Engineering
Location City Campus, Northumbria University
City Newcastle
Start September 2025
All information is accurate at the time of sharing.
Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.
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