Unit information: Research Project Proposal in 2014/15

Unit name	Research Project Proposal
Unit code	MENGM6021
Credit points	10
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Alemzadeh
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering

Description including Unit Aims

The unit assists students to put into practice a ten credit module in Research Methodology & Project Management, EFACM0004, from the MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering. Students carry out two tasks related to their research project following completion of their Literature Review (MENGM6041): The two tasks will be agreed with the supervisor and each will comprise 5 credits. Task 1 could typically be a design study, lumped parameter analysis, manufacture of prototype models and preliminary experiments specifically related to the major research project. Task 2 will be the proposal proper featuring, typically, a description of a technical problem, shortlist of approaches, evaluation of each approach, choice of approach for the research project, costs of equipment and project plan. The student can submit either two separate reports for each of the two tasks or one report for both tasks.

Aims:

The unit aims to teach the student how to make a feasibility study of a chosen research project, to include a costed proposal in the context of mechanical engineering projects generally. Professional engineers and scientists use the same skills in making proposals to government organisations, research funding bodies and industrial clients.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The student should be able to:

1. use project management methods effectively.
2. use databases to find specific sources of information.
3. learn autonomously how to use technical information and data in the design of experiments.
4. learn autonomously to use methods such as metrics or morphological charts to assess different courses of action.
5. present a logical, coherent argument for a programme of work that addresses a specific technical problem.

Teaching Information

Tutorial sessions to support tasks 1 and 2.

Assessment Information

Separate reports (10 pages each) for task 1 (50%) and task 2 (50%), or a 20 page report for both tasks (100%). 10 or 20 page reports to include all images, diagrams and appendices. Report/s marked by allocated supervisor.

Reading and References

• Project Management, 3rd edition, Harvey Maylor, (Prentice Hall), 2002

• Writing Successful Science Proposals, A.J. Friedland & C.L. Folt, (New Haven: Yale University Press), 1999