Chemical Engineering Group Design Project

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Evaluate critically your strategy, processes and output
• Generate ideas related to designing new or appropriate solutions, systems, components or processes
• Coordinate a creative and innovative design solution with the effective use of appropriate design methodologies
• Assess the social, economic, political, legislative, environmental, cultural, ethical, technical, environmental and commercial aspects of the problem to be solved in order to develop a comprehensive project brief
• Describe any commercial risks [as appropriate]
• Design a component, system or process using appropriate design techniques and be able to describe key elements of those processes
• Locate, read, understand and review research papers and be able to describe different research and methodological approaches across disciplines
• Research information related to a design solution and discuss within the group
• Gather and synthesise data, contextualise your results, recommend further work, or how work could have been improved
• Apply appropriate quantitative science and engineering tools to the analysis of unfamiliar problems

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate independence as a learner
• Reflect on group processes and own role in team work
• Use (if appropriate) computer based engineering tools and modelling to solve problems
• Locate, read, understand and review research papers
• Manage your time
• Monitor the progress of your design and the project outcomes
• Establish a project plan that is efficient and recognises group strengths and the time frame
• Plan and meet your own deadlines
• Communicate both orally and in writing
• Prioritise competing demands
• Record discussions at supervisory and peer based meetings in such a way that they can be effectively referred to in the future

Key milestones are:

Initial meeting with supervisor(s)

Submission of risk assessments

Submission of extracts from your individual Design Journal at regular intervals

Interim Review

Submission of final design outputs: group report, group presentation, group video, individual Design Journal

Oral presentation.

The main element will be regular meetings, preferably weekly but could be less often, as agreed by all parties between the project supervisors and the students. Initially, these meetings will be used to define the details of the projects and then to review the progress of the group.

An initial meeting with the students and the project coordinator will help to clarify the objectives and methods of assessment of the projects.

Depending on the project and her/his role in the team, each student could be involved in a wide range of learning activities. The following elements will be common:

Self-directed study: given the size of the projects, you may be responsible for several sub-tasks. This could include consulting relevant textbooks and researching papers, consulting members of academic staff for technical support, writing computer programs, and liaising with technicians, external companies or ‘clients’. As part of this process you should maintain an individual design journal, where you record and work on ideas, summarise information and results, outline future directions, etc., using text and sketches or other illustrations as appropriate. The journal could be kept either in the form of a notebook or electronically.)

Group-led work: you will have to synthesise and report your work to the other group members to contribute to the discussions and decision making within the group. Team work will also include organising the project, distributing the tasks between the students and coordinating these tasks.

Reporting: During regular meetings with the supervisors, the students will present their current work. At regular intervals, the students will submit Design Journal Entries summarising their work since the submission of the previous Entry. These Entries will form the basis of the next supervisory meeting. At the end of the first term a presentation describing the project plan and progress of the group will be delivered by each group to the supervisors, project coordinator or external industry sponsor. At the end of the year in May each group will submit a report, a video and a final presentation. Each student will also submit an individual Design Journal Summary, consisting of a summary of his/her contribution to the project with reference to the Design Journal Entries submitted in the course of the year. Each group will deliver their final presentation in early June, during a dedicated event.

Optionally, students may take part in the "Elevator Pitch" to apply for additional funding for the project, also developing further and improving their presentation skills.

Students will be supported by their supervisory team during the project. They should make sure that they use meetings with him or her effectively. It is up to them to also make good use of all resources available within the Faculty and the University.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.