INDIVIDUAL PROJECT - 2020/1
Module code: ENG3135
Module Overview
The module provides an opportunity for students to undertake, guided, individual research into a subject related to their programme of study. Students are required to take independent ownership of their project and demonstrate this through their management of the available resources, including meetings with project supervisor(s), the timely acquisition of relevant information/experimental results. They must prepare and submit a formal, written, report to a specific deadline and subsequently present and defend their work at an oral examination.
Module provider
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Module Leader
BEHNEJAD Alireza (Civl Env Eng)
Number of Credits: 30
ECTS Credits: 15
Framework: FHEQ Level 6
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Overall student workload
Independent Learning Hours: 282
Lecture Hours: 4
Seminar Hours: 12
Tutorial Hours: 2
Module Availability
Year long
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
N/A
Module content
The Individual project forms the basis for a concentrated study of a topic and may involve: a laboratory investigation; the design of a structure or scheme; a computer-based study such as a finite element study or hydrological predictions; a mathematical analysis; a comprehensive critical literature survey or any combination of these activities. Projects should usually include a critical review of published data and in ALL cases a certain amount of individual research is required that should discussed in relation to the relevant background literature.
Assessment pattern
| Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | PROJECT REPORT, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ORAL DEFENCE | 100 |
Alternative Assessment
None.
Assessment Strategy
The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate: that they learned to undertake a sizeable research project and manage it from inception to completion; that they managed to study their topic of choice to a depth that allows an informed academic discussion; and that they are capable of defending their conclusions based on evidence and justifying their steps in arriving at these conclusions.
Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of the following:
- Assessment of the management of the project (20% - LO4 & LO5)
- The quality of the report (40% - LO1 & LO2)
- The ability to communicate and justify the choices made in an oral examination(40% - LO3).
Formative assessment and feedback
Each project is assigned an academic supervisor. The supervisors are available for individual discussion and feedback sessions for 20-30 minutes per week. It is the students responsibility to make use of this availability. The supervisors do not proofread the report, but give detailed feedback on the project plan in November and one full chapter in February.
Module aims
- To enable the student to undertake an in-depth study of a topic which interests him/her and that is relevant to their degree programme and future career.
- To allow scope for students to demonstrate initiative, perseverance and common sense.
- To encourage students to develop a critical appreciation of a topic and its broader context.
- To give students the opportunity to write a detailed, professional, report within a fixed page limit, that sets out the aims, objectives, details and conclusions of the work undertaken.
Learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Undertake individual and original work on a specific topic that is informed by the available literature and which is appropriately managed from inception to completion. | KCPT | EA1B, D2, D3B, D4, P3, P4, P8, P11B, G1, G2, G3B, G4, EA1M, EA3M, EA4, D3M, P9M |
| 002 | Write a detailed, professional, and properly referenced report within a given page limit and to a specific deadline. | KCPT | D3B, D6, P4, G1 |
| 003 | Present, and subsequently defend, their work at an oral examination. | KCPT | D6 |
| 004 | Health & Safety considerations, risk identification and the application of risk mitigation strategies for both, theoretical and experimental research. | KCPT | EL6B, EL6M |
| 005 | Understanding of the need for ethical conduct in engineering research and the ability to self assess the ethics for their own project. | KCPT | EL1, EL1M |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Methods of Teaching / Learning
Learning is achieved by guided individual research and study, making full use of all the appropriate resources. The learning process is supported through an introduction to research methods, information sources, and time management and through regular, time restricted, meetings with academic supervisors (20-30 minutes per week).
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.
Reading list
https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ENG3135
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.