Commercial and Industrial Experience and Individual Project (BEng/MEng) - 2019 entry

This module will provide you with extensive practical work experience in a business or commercial setting that is of direct relevance to your development as an experienced professional.
 

You will get the chance to apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired from taught modules to authentic problem solving in the work place. Collaborating with your work placement employer, you will identify an engineering-based project that will constitute your stage three individual project. Ideally, this individual project should be based on the work that you will undertake during the placement, but this need not be the case.

Placements will involve a substantial technical role in the host organisation, in line with your degree programme. Individual placements are subject to availability and approval by the programme coordinator.

This module is made up of a work placement component constituting 30% of the module and a stage three individual project component constituting 70% of the module.

Both the work placement and the individual project will give you the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that you have obtained from taught modules to real engineering situations at a professional level. For both module components you will be expected to use your own initiative and creativity to integrate the knowledge that you have gained in several areas of your degree programme to deliver appropriate technical solutions in a professional manner. 

This is a constituent module of one or more degree programmes which are accredited by a professional engineering institution under licence from the Engineering Council. The learning outcomes for this module have been mapped to the output standards required for an accredited programme, as listed in the current version of the Engineering Council’s ‘Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes’ document (AHEP-V3).

The work placement element of this module contributes to learning outcomes: D1p, D4p, D6p, ET1p, ET3p, ET5p, ET6p.  The individual projects element of this module may be design or research oriented with different mixtures of experimental or analytical work, therefore mapping to intended learning outcomes (ILOs) depends on the emphasis of the project to design, experimental and analytical work.

ILOs G1m, G2m, G3m apply to all projects.  Science and Mathematics ILOs SM1m apply to all projects while SM2m and SM5m apply (but not exclusively) to projects of an analytical nature.  Engineering Analysis ILOs EA4m apply to all projects.  Engineering Analysis ILOs EA1m, EA5m apply to all projects while EA2m and EA3m apply (but not exclusively) to projects of an analytical nature.  Design ILOs D2m and D6m apply to all projects while D1m, D3m, D4m, D5m, D7m and D8m apply to projects of design nature where a physical system is created or evolved.  Economic, legal, social, ethical and environmental ILOs ET1m, ET4m-ET6m may apply depending on the individual project.   Engineering practice ILOs EP1m, EP4m, EP5m, EP7m, EP8m, EP9m and EP10m apply to all projects while EP3m and EP6m apply (but not exclusively) particularly to projects with a high degree of practical and experimental work.

A full list of the referenced outcomes is provided online: http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/emps/studentinfo/subjects/engineering/accreditation/

A full list of the referenced outcomes is provided online: http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/emps/subjects/engineering/accreditation/

The AHEP document can be viewed in full on the Engineering Council’s website, at http://www.engc.org.uk/

On successful completion of the work placement, you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge: D1p, D4p, D6p, ET1p, ET3p, ET5p, ET6p

1 demonstrate the acquisition of new knowledge and practical skills, the specifics being dependent on the particular work placement undertaken.

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge: D6p, ET1p, ET3p, ET5p, ET6p

2 apply academic skills from the degree programme to analysis and solution of problems in a workplace setting;

3 write a concise technical report.

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge: D6p, ET1p

4 keep a reflective journal;

5 present information visually for non-experts;

6 discuss the key features of a learning experience;

7 work constructively as part of a team;

8 appreciate the constraints imposed in a work situation;

9 respond positively to work appraisal;

10 reflect critically on your experience.

 

On successful completion of the individual project, you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge: SM1m, SM2m, SM5m, EA1m, EA2m, EA3m, EA5m, ET3m

11 explain in depth the rationale and specification for your chosen engineering project;

12 use project management software, to plan and manage the progress of the project, from generation of the idea to finished product;

13 showing creativity construct prototypes or experimental apparatus to design specifications;

14 apply practical solutions to engineering problems to investigate new and emerging technologies, based on understanding of mathematical, scientific and/or computer based principles, and assessing the limitations of particular cases.


Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge: D2m, D4m, D5m, D7m (for design-oriented projects), EA2m, EA3m (projects of an analytical nature) EP3m (for experimental projects), EA1m, EA4m, EA5m, EP4m-EP10m (all projects)

15 wide knowledge and comprehensive understanding of design processes and methodologies and the ability to adapt them in unfamiliar situations also identifying constraints including environmental and sustainability limitation;

16 assess and manage risk, demonstrating wide knowledge and comprehensive understanding of codes of practice, health and safety requirements and other professional practices;

17 select and use ICT based tools for analysis, design and communication of designs;

18 select and use laboratory instrumentation correctly;

19 critically analyse and present data to support decision making.
 
Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge: ET1m, ET3m-ET6m, G1m, G2m, G3m

20 demonstrate self management skills, identifying and meeting targets within time constraints (with very little guidance required from project supervisor);

21 critically analyse and implement problem-solving approaches;

22 produce a written report conforming to a specified format and to a professional standard.
 

The work that you will carry out during the work placement and individual project phases depends on the nature and type of placement you are undertaking. However, it is mandatory that your employer gives you the opportunity to work on a substantial piece of work, which you will write about in the placement project report. You should also collaborate with your employer to come up with an engineering-based project that will constitute your stage three individual project.

The syllabus plan for the individual project is by negotiation with academic supervisor.

If a module is normally assessed entirely by coursework, all referred/deferred assessments will normally be by assignment.
 

If a module is normally assessed by examination or examination plus coursework, referred and deferred assessment will normally be by examination. For referrals, only the examination will count, a mark of 40% being awarded if the examination is passed. For deferrals, candidates will be awarded the higher of the deferred examination mark or the deferred examination mark combined with the original coursework mark.

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk

Other Resources:

Neugebaur, J "Making the Most of your Placement" , Sage Publications (2009), ISBN: 978-184787

Web based and electronic resources: RMIT University. “Reflective Journals”,

https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/2_AssessmentTasks/assess_tuts/reflective%20journal_LL/index.html [Accessed 09 May, 2012]

Reading list for this module: