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Summary of Key Points

1. This module requires a major commitment from you. To complete it successfully it is likely you will need to complete approximately 200 hours of work – in addition to your timetabled classes.

2. The general aim of this module is to provide you with the opportunity to integrate and extend knowledge relating to your programme of study by exercising skills of initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, innovation, analysis, project management, technical report writing and communication.

3. Assessment methods used in this module are:

   • Project Initiation Document (PID) - maximum word count of 1000

   • Interim Report, poster and interview - maximum word count of 1000

   • Final Report - maximum word count of 7000

   • Oral presentation followed by question & answer session.

Marking rubrics to be shown in Appendices.

The weightings applied to the assessments are:

• Project Initiation Document (PID) - 15% of overall module mark

• Interim Report, poster and interview - 15% of overall module mark

• Final Report, Presentation & Logbook - 70% of overall module mark

4. Approximate submissions dates are:

   • PID – Early October Sem 1

   • Interim Report –January Sem 2

   • Final Project Report –April Sem 2

Introduction

The Engineering Project 3 module is an integral part of each engineering programme, which must be successfully completed if you are to receive the award of a degree. The module contributes 40 out of the total of 120 level 9 SCQF credit points required. This module requires a major commitment from you as, to successfully complete it, you will need to undertake over 200 hours of work – in addition to your timetabled classes. The Project may provide useful evidence to a prospective employer of your involvement and competence in areas of mutual interest and is required for membership of professional institutes.

The project management elements of the module will be delivered in addition to the project requirements but will be embedded throughout the project and assessed in your PID and final project report.

This Handbook aims to:

1. Describe the procedures for selection, registration, and supervision of projects.
2. Identify the responsibilities of the Project Student and role of the Project Supervisor.
3. State the procedures and criteria for assessment of the project.
4. Offer advice on the practical conduct of a project.
5. Summarize the guidelines for the preparation and publication of the project report.
6. Provide details of the project management elements
7. Provide details of the PDP
8. Provide details of the Poster Presentation.

Initial steps in project selection include:

• reviewing this handbook
• discussions with the module tutor
• discussions with employer (for day release students)
• discussions with relevant company/companies if the project is company based
• discussions with the likely supervisor.

Tutor(s) may advise you on the selection of a suitable area of work and will act as supervisor(s) to provide support and monitor the project work and the writing of the report. The supervisor will eventually assess it (in conjunction with another tutor acting as moderator).

Due to the significance of the project it is allocated 40 SCQF credit points and consequently is normally delivered over 2 semesters.

Assessment Modes and Weightings

Assessment methods used in this module are:

• Project reports – PID, Interim and Final Report
• Oral presentation followed by question & answer session
• Poster presentation.

The weightings applied to the assessments are:

• Assessment 1 - Project Initiation Document = 15% of overall module mark
• Assessment 2 - Interim report, poster, and interview = 15% of overall module mark
• Assessment 3 - Final report, oral presentation & logbook = 70% of overall module mark

To pass this module all assessments must be attempted, and you must attain a minimum mark of 30% for each, and a minimum overall module mark of 40%.

Details of Project Marking Scheme are given in Appendices B, C, and D.

Aim of the Engineering Project 3 Module

The general aim of the Engineering Project 3 module is to provide you with the opportunity to integrate and extend knowledge relating to your undergraduate programme of study by exercising skills of initiative, resourcefulness, innovation, creativity, analysis, project management, technical report writing and communication.

Many UHI BEng. graduates in engineering employment will not be involved in blue-sky design but rather in improvements, development, modifications, and technical problem solving, on the edge between production and maintenance functions. This module aims to give students experience of working in this environment and practice at integrating technical skills and applying project management techniques.

Selection and Registration of Project

This phase involves consultation with a prospective Project Supervisor as well as discussions with employer/industry and subject specialists within or out with UHI.

Responsibilities of the Project Student

The project belongs to you. The prime responsibility for the management of the project lies with the student, and you must maintain dialogue with your supervisor.

You are expected to:

1. manage the relationship with your supervisor, keeping in regular contact with him/her according to College policy/arrangements agreed.
2. discuss with the supervisor the type of guidance and comment that you find most helpful.
3. agree a schedule of discussions with your supervisor for reports/briefing on progress, ensuring the agreed schedule is adhered to and any deadlines met.
4. take the initiative in discussing any problems with the project work and/or its supervision so that these can be resolved as soon as possible.
5. maintain a formal record of progress of work and achievement of objectives in a project logbook. This would include: notes on discussions/correspondence with supervisor(s) and any other internal/external specialists; literature read and comments; ideas/designs; results of tests/experiments; problems found and solutions; equipment details and settings; project costs; resources used; diagrams, plans, sketches, photographs; raw data; memory sticks/CDs etc.
6. prepare and present the project results and findings via the final Oral Presentation and initial and interim interviews.
7. submit the Final Report and/or other items in the specified format, on time and according to the relevant process.

Role of the Project Supervisor

The role of the supervisor complements the responsibilities of the student. The supervisor confirms the suitability of your project proposal, with special regard to resource support, monitors progress and provides advice compatible with the general aim of a degree project. Feedback on performance during the period of the project work can be expected; unsatisfactory progress may result in interviews with your supervisor and Studies Adviser.

Apart from acting as ‘customer’ from the point of view of defining the project specification, the supervisor may frequently review the progress of the project, but not control or direct it. The student is responsible for running the project but should seek the supervisor's advice and discuss decisions which have been made and affect the conduct of any practical investigation.

A supervisor is not the fount of all knowledge. Students may need, and are encouraged, to consult other members of staff, e.g. other teaching staff, research staff and technicians.

When in doubt, find out which of them may be able to help and ASK. Supervisors should be kept informed at all times when things are not going as well as expected.

Supervisors will normally arrange to have a series of meetings with you (not normally less than one contact discussion every second week), but they will want to know as soon as possible if you run into difficulties. Remember that supervisors have other commitments, and you may not be able to have a long meeting without an appointment. Be prepared to use e-mail, and to leave written messages.

Note: If you have any problems contacting your supervisor, you should contact the Programme Leader as soon as possible.

The specific responsibilities of the project supervisor will, to some extent, depend on the nature of the project, the level and duration of the project and whether projects are college generated and allocated or student generated and self-selected. Typically, a supervisor will help to:

• assist a student to clarify the topic, to be clearly focused and not over-ambitious, and to advise on the viability of ideas
• direct a student to relevant areas of information, literature sources and specialised internal/external help
• advise on appropriate methodologies/techniques
• advise on referencing style and the problem of plagiarism
• maintain regular supervisory contact and set up a series of discussion sessions
• regularly monitor the student's work. Supervisors often keep a written log of the opportunities for formal contact offered to students and the actual occurrences of formal contact. You are encouraged to keep a written record of all supervisory contact/support, noting key points of discussion
• assist a student in managing the timetable of the project
• assist a student in identifying when problems are liable to be encountered and how they might be tackled
• ensure that a student is made aware of inadequate progress and/or standards of work below the expected level
• read and comment on drafts of the Reports, where this is requested by the student and return such work with constructive criticism and in reasonable time. Supervisors should not be correcting spelling mistakes and effectively editing the Report.
• ensure any external communications are appropriate and will not reflect badly on the College
• participate in assessment of the project.

Project Assessment

There are a number of elements in the assessment of your project:

• PID, including Introduction, Aims, Scope etc.
• Meetings with project supervisor;
• Project Logbook;
• Your “ownership” of the project
• Final Project Report;
• Project Oral Presentation
• Laboratory investigations.

To ensure standardisation of assessment, marking rubrics will be used; details are given in Appendices B, C and D.

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Design Methodology

It is difficult to define precisely the way in which a project should be tackled since it may be part of a current research field, in which case you may be breaking genuine new ground and a more "scientific" approach is called for. Alternatively, the project may contain a large proportion of practical work, or perhaps the development of an existing idea or piece of equipment. In general, however, the major elements of the projects can be considered to be:

1. Definition of aim and objectives
2. Literature survey
3. Project specification
4. Investigation phase
5. Design phase
6. Project report.

Definition of Aim and Objectives

The success of any project depends upon having an overall strategy carefully worked out at the very beginning. A systems approach takes into account the many influences which can range from the application of scientific principles to their social consequences. In simplistic terms, it can be reduced to five steps:

1. Defining the aim - to specify what is required and to what standards.
2. Identifying the objectives - to produce and compare alternative solutions for the achievement of the aim.
3. Designing the solution - to develop and specify the optimal solution with the available information and expertise.
4. Implementing the solution - to execute the solution within the planned resources and to measure the results.
5. Evaluating the results - to analyse the results and to compare the performance with the original aim.

There may be several ways of achieving the aim of the project and each should be explored, and decisions made on the way forward. In considering each choice the availability of resources may be a deciding factor, investigations may need the assistance of specialist technicians. Only after all the factors have been carefully considered and decisions made will it be possible to refine the outline programme into a timetable of events which can be achieved.

Literature Survey

Projects should always begin with a survey of relevant literature in order to put the project into perspective and to ascertain the extent of work carried out by other investigators. It has a considerable bearing on the practical work you perform and the way in which you interpret any results you obtain. Perhaps a market survey or manufacturers' sales literature, product catalogues or trade journals may help. It is even possible to arrange visits to commercial firms in cases where your project is in some way linked with industry.

UHI has considerable library resources, in a range of formats. Seek the advice of the library staff: they are there to help you. UHI’s referencing requirements are detailed in the ‘UHI Student Referencing Guide’. Further information pertaining to referencing, plagiarism and academic misconduct can be found at the UHI online resource here:

• https://induction.uhi.ac.uk/Effective-Learner/Referencing-and-Plagiarism/index.html

Remember, a literature survey carried out well, in the early stages of the project, is extremely useful later, especially in the writing up stage when it often supports significant sections of the project report. The report of the literature survey should be suitable, with appropriate modification, for use as part of the main text of the project report. A literature survey is not just the production of a list of books and journal papers for references.

Project Brief (specification)

The project specification is a critical element of the project and is a yardstick by which the success of the project can be measured. It is a detailed listing of the aim(s) and objectives of the project and represents a form of contract between student and supervisor.

The Project Brief is developed by you in conjunction with the Supervisor. It then goes through the process of ‘moderation’ to ensure that:

• the Project Brief is relevant to the course aims and objectives.
• the project aims are feasible.
• the subject has sufficient potential and an appropriate challenge (in terms of level and volume) for a degree.
• suitable supervisory arrangements are in place.
• the resources required to support the project are available within the Colleges, or accessible elsewhere.
• any confidentiality and ethics issues have been considered.

Note - under no circumstances should students purchase materials or equipment without prior agreement in writing that UHI will reimburse them

Much of the above will be included in your P.I.D. – please refer to PID guidance notes, given in section 6.1.

Investigation

Once the aims of the project are firmly established then an in-depth investigation can commence. The execution of the project is much easier if the work has been planned carefully to avoid either too many activities being attempted at the same time or long delays due to the incorrect scheduling of any critical activities.

7.5.1 Logbook

You must keep a Logbook throughout the project. Its function is to record the progress of the work, including all the decisions made, the reasons for the conclusions reached, computations, drawings, field tests, and of course the results obtained (whatever the quality). Include graphs, diagrams, photocopies and photographs, etc in the logbook, as long as they are firmly and permanently attached to the pages. Logbooks represent the complete record of project work and must be available for inspection by the Project Supervisor and the External Examiner. There is no definite format for the Logbook but it should be reasonably legible and each entry should be dated. A properly kept Logbook allows the project report to be written with a minimum of effort, since most of the details, results, and references, etc. are already recorded.

The logbook is a working document which is used to log any and all work done on the project.

Under no circumstances should the logbook be completed retrospectively.

7.5.2 Plan

Large projects often require the use of Programme Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT) or similar techniques to optimize the scheduling of activities. BEng level projects might be considered relatively straightforward to plan and a simple Gantt chart could suffice.

The timescale chart allows you to indicate key dates to be met, such as the dates of the interim and final presentations etc; it is also a performance indicator. It should be reviewed regularly by both student and supervisor and revised when necessary. Retain copies of the timescale in the logbook so that a complete and accurate record of the progress of the project is maintained. This means that if you rewrite your Gantt chart, keep copies of previous ones as a record of how you have accommodated changes.

Preparation of Projects Reports

Guidance on the format, style and presentation of Project Reports can be found on many web sites.

The UHI provide detailed online resources at https://induction.uhi.ac.uk/, with particular guidance at:

• https://induction.uhi.ac.uk/Core-Skills/tools_writing/index.html
• https://induction.uhi.ac.uk/Core-Skills/induction-academic-writing/index.html

Project Management Aspects

This module uses the management and investigation/solution of a technical project to allow you to acquire/develop many of the project management skills and expertise relevant to a graduate engineer.

Additionally, you are required to complete a Personal Development Plan (PDP).

The PDP will be assessed by compiling a report of 10 pages, maximum.

Personal Development Plan

Personal Development Planning (PDP) is a process designed to enable you to think about, and plan for, your own personal, academic and career development. Throughout your degree you will be encouraged to reflect on your progress and achievements, and to identify areas you wish to develop and improve on.

Personal Development Planning means:

• reflecting on your own learning, performance and achievements
• planning your all-round personal, educational and career development
• recording your achievements.

PDP can help you to:

• increase your self-awareness – who you are and what you want
• identify the skills and experience that you already have, and those that you need
• create a plan to acquire the skills you may need for your academic studies or your chosen career path
• keep a record of your achievements that you can draw on when you apply for further study or employment
• improve your employability and plan for your future career.

Indeed, professional institutions such as the IET and IMechE require you to submit a PDP during the application process.

Detailed guidance on the PDP process and the writing of your PDP will be provided by your tutor.

Note that whilst the PDP is a key element of this module the marks awarded do not contribute to your overall module mark.

PDP details can be found at: https://www.theiet.org/career/professional-development/continuing-professional-development/

Appendices

Appendix A.1 - BEng PID

Appendix A.2 - PID Guidance

Appendix B - PID Marking Rubric

Appendix C - Interim Report & Presentation Marking Rubric

Appendix D - Final Report Marking Rubric