Study guide
Click on the headings below to expand the study guide.
| Week | Section | Activities |
| 1 | Introduction to Engineering Project Management |
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| 2 & 3 | Planning and Scheduling Projects |
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| 4 | Budgeting |
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| 5 | Tutorial |
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| 6 |
Types of Business Organisational Structures |
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| 7 |
Money & Business: The Basics |
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| 8 |
Quality Sampling |
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| 9 |
Example Management Techniques Entrepreneurship |
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| 10 |
Business Plans Legal Requirements |
Draft Business Plan Legal Obligations of Company |
| 11 |
Ethics and Engineering |
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| 12 |
Exam Revision |
| Week | Section | Activities |
| 1 | Engineering Design |
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| 2 | Reverse Engineering |
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| 3 | Materials Selection |
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| 4 | Coursework Guidance |
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| 5, 6 & 7 |
Personal Development Planning |
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The remainder of the semester will be used for coursework.
Introduction
This part of the module is based on learning materials provided by the Personal Development partnership, a collaboration between several professional bodies involved in engineering:
As you work though these learning materials there are questions to answer as part of the activities. These questions will help you with coursework where you asked to prepare your own Personal Development Plan.
Activity 1
The working life of a professional engineer may be 40 years or more during which time technology will have changed dramatically. An engineer is likely to have several jobs and will learn many new skills throughout her/his career.
Read the following page:
1.1 Why should a professional engineer have a Personal Development Plan?
1.2 What benefits do you think you might gain personally from having a PDP?
Activity 2
Personal development is continuous throughout the career of a professional engineer. Read this page and have a look at the PD cycle:
Read the following page:
2.1 How long do you think a PD cycle should last?
2.2 What input do you think an employer could have in the PD cycle?
Activity 3
Planning personal development is essential otherwise it might be forgotten about in the day-to-day working life of an engineer. Broadly speaking, planning involves reviewing your current situation, identifying short-term and long-terms goals and deciding how to meet these goals. Read the pages on planning:
Read the following page:
3.1 What should be included in a PD plan?
3.2 How can professional engineers keep up-to-date with developments in technology?
3.3 How should PD planning be carried out?
3.4 What are the tools used in PD planning?
Activity 4
Understanding how you learn is important if you are going to make the most of learning opportunities as they arise. People learn in different ways and learning styles have been categorised as: Activist; Reflector; Theorist and Pragmatist.
Read about this here:
4.1 Many people have a mixed learning style. How would you categorise yours? What evidence do you have for this?
4.2 How does the course you are currently studying suit your learning style?
Learning opportunities arise in different ways. Read about this here:
4.3 Other than the degree programme you are studying at the moment, what are your current learning opportunities?
4.4 Where do you think learning opportunities will come from in the future?
4.5 In terms of learning opportunities, would you categorise yourself as passive or active? What evidence do you have for this?
Activity 5
An important part of PD planning is to record what you have learnt. Good records are very helpful when you review progress towards your goals. Learning activities can be recorded in the form of a log.
Read about this here:
5.1 Draft a Learning Log with 2 or 3 entries for recent learning activities.
A learning log provides only limited information on your learning. A potential employer or a professional body may require detailed documentation of your skills and competences, such as may be provided in a portfolio of evidence:
5.2 What could you currently include in your evidence portfolio?
5.3 In 5 to 7 years’ time, what would like to have in your evidence portfolio?
UHI students, like those at other universities, have free access to Mahara, an electronic portfolio system with social networking features. It is easily accessible from the UHI website:
5.4 Have a look at Mahara. Do you think it’s useful?
Activity 6
Review is a crucial part of the PD cycle. This is when you assess your progress towards your short, medium and long-term goals.
Read these pages:
6.1 When should you review your PD? What should be included in the review?
6.2 If you wanted to be registered as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng), what must be included in the review of your learning? What are the educational requirements for IEng?
The Engineering Council has produced the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC).
Have a look through the UK-SPEC third edition.
6.3 What are the five competences required for IEng registration? (A to E on pages 16 to 23)
6.4 How do the competences for Chartered Engineer differ from those of Incorporated Engineer? What are the educational requirements for CEng?