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School of Engineering and Materials Science
Research and Design Team project handbook for students on the 4
th
- MAT - 2019-
- Overview of the MEng project p. Year MEng programme
- 1.1. Project Key Stages .....................................................p.
- 1.2. Details of structure & methods of assessment ...........p.
- 1.3. Overview of taught component ...................................p.
- Project management p.
- 2.1. Project history files .....................................................p.
- 2.2. Lab book ....................................................................p.
- Student Support p.
- 3.1 Support and training workshops .................................p.
- 3.2 Technical ....................................................................p.
- 3.3 Manufacturing ...........................................................p.
- 3.4 Finance .....................................................................p.
- Reports.............................................................. p.
- 4.1 Layout of State of the Art report ...............................p.
- 4.2 Layout of the final technical report ...........................p.
- 4.3 Use of Appendices ...................................................p.
- 4.4 Preparation and submission of all reports ................p.
- 4.5 Plagiarism ................................................................p.
- Publicity p.
- Viva.................................................................... p.
- Learning Outcomes & assessment criteria p.
1. Overview of the MEng project.
Welcome to the fourth year and the MEng project! Your project should be the exciting
culmination of your degree, allowing you to apply the knowledge you have gained
during your studies to a real research or industrial problem.
The project provides you with the opportunity to further develop and showcase your
skills in project management, teamwork, and identifying and solving problems with an
engineering approach.
Your project supervisor is your primary resource to help you progress your project,
but this is not a passive process. You are now Masters students, and you must drive
your project and take responsibility for its progression and success.
This handbook outlines the range of taught sessions provided to support you in the
management of your group work and crucial detailed information on the way in which
you will be assessed and other administrative aspects of the project.
Please read this handbook carefully, keep a copy to hand and refer to it during
your studies.
Remember: The project has a value of 4 course units (60 credits) and therefore
should account for half your working time this year.
In order to make sufficient progress you should spend around 18 hours per
week engaged in project work.
1.2. Details of the structure and methods of assessment: Note the breakdown for individual and team marks
Date Assessment Assessors Expected content Component Weighting as % Plus [total marks / 400] Overall contribution
Individual / team breakdown Individual Team
1 † Sem A; wk 5
Group presentation
Supervisors Presentation of project rationale / motivation, teams aims and objectives and project plan breakdown of tasks and timeline)
[ 20 ]
[ 20 ]
2 *****^ Sem A; wk 10
Project Progress Report [1]: Project Overview & SOTA
Supervisors Part A: Short overview (3-4 pages) Introduction, overall aims & objectives, individual projects & Gantt chart, key outcomes Part B: A short State Of The Art (SOTA) report / literature review. Format as best suits your project covering all necessary background research. It is crucial you discuss this with your supervisor
[ 52 ]
[31.2]
[20.8]
3 † Sem A wk 1 2
Project Progress Report [ 2 ]:
Supervisors Individual presentations of the work you have completed to date towards your project goals (15 minutes each; 5 - 6 min presentation plus 9 - 10 min questions and feedback)
[40]
[40]
4 *****^ Sem B; wk 1 3
Final Technical Report
Supervisors Part A: 2-3 page summary of key project outcomes Part B: Detailed report of team outcomes in most appropriate format Supervisors define format of both sections – it is crucial you discuss this with your supervisor to clarify what they want
[1 6 0]
[1 12 ]
[ 48 ]
5 † Sem B; wk 12
Vivas Supervisors 30 - minute viva covering individual project contributions 25% [100]
[100]
6 * Sem B;
wk 12
Peer review Peer (supervisors moderate)
Online peer review of each other’s contribution 2 % [ 8 ]
[ 8 ]
7 SemB wk 12
Effort, Initiative & Teamwork
Supervisors Supervisor provides review of effort and initiative shown during the project and gives a mark for these components; mark split 50/50 for individual effort/initiative & how the team has worked together effectively
[ 20 ]
[ 10 ]
[10]
Total 100%
[400]
[30 1 .2]
[ 98 .8]
† To be arranged at a mutually convenient time with supervisors. * Exact dates for coursework submission will be made available on SEMS website (^) See section 4 for further details on report formatting
Note: failure to submit work by deadlines will result in enforcement of the SEMS late coursework penalty. The late penalty will apply if you do not succeed in arranging presentations or viva in the time frame too. It is your responsibility to allow sufficient contingency time before each deadline.
1.3 Overview of taught component
There is a two hour weekly “lecture” slot associated with MAT7400. You would be right in thinking these are not usual lectures, but workshops
and support sessions to help you build the skills set you need to succeed in your project and future lives. We do not run activities every week,
but they are concentrated at the start, then morph into drop in help sessions. The schedule is outlined below, with learning outcomes from each
session. Please use this table to see what is coming up.
NOTE: There is a column on progression tasks for the next week – these are things you need to do and prepare each week to make the
most of the taught sessions. They should not be time consuming or arduous, they should be things you are doing anyway! Please follow this
to assist your progress.
Week Focus/Topic Session plan
(2 hours) Taught Session
Outcomes for MEng Group
1 Group work
General Intro to projects
Beginning your RAO
Managing group work
Mini task circuit to consider key group skills. Introduction to MEng : project aspects and what to expect Getting started – RAO: importance of clarity and identifying goals Introduction to Belbin - implications for team development and project outcomes.
Some fun getting to know each other and thinking what is important to make a team functional. Understanding team work & your team : An introduction to teamwork continued in more depth during week 1 Leave thinking about the potential impact of your MEng project and what you can contribute. Start work towards a one-page draft of the project Rationale, Aims and Objectives (RAO) to submit to supervisors to discuss. Understanding of group dynamics; individual & team strengths and weaknesses;
2 Project Management
Team Meetings, Project Files and Recording Progress
Importance of meetings - how to conduct them and manage actions Importance of meetings with supervisors – how to run these to get most out of the time Tools to assist project management
Being prepared for meetings with supervisors and conducting team meetings; asking the right questions; recording progress and identifying next steps successfully. Generate clear and focussed queries and questions for the supervisor. First Gantt chart, thinking about whole project, individual roles and combining the two to reach objectives 3 Research, literature reviews and managing data as a team
Research for your SOTA; using the library and successfully integrating group resources
Clarity of best practise with research and reference Understanding the use of library facilities and support to assist with literature reviews, research and projects
2. Project management
2.1 Project history files
You will be able to setup a team directory on QM+ Hub. Please use this, or a system
you prefer to organise all your files so that they cover documents on:
- Project management e.g. agendas & action points from meetings;
Gantt charts
- Administration e.g. financial planning; risk assessments
- Literature e.g. papers and reports you find pertaining to the project
- Draft submission documents
Please ensure you keep all your documents together and up to date.
Not only is it appropriate project management, but your supervisors, the company
you are working with, or even the external examiners for our degree programmes
may all ask to see these as evidence of how your project is progressing.
The files will be reviewed as part of the assessment of your team working skills and
project management.
2.2 Lab book
You should keep a record of all your project work in a hardbound A4 book. It should
include for example, concepts, sketches, equations, illustrations, calculations,
protocols, optimisation/methods, raw data and results. You may wish to include
discussions from papers you have read and record the outcomes of meetings with
your supervisors or others from whom you seek advice.
You should carry this book with you all the time! You should be referring to it in
meetings, showing your supervisors and you will be expected to bring the lab book to
the viva as evidence to showcase your project activities.
Keeping a detailed laboratory book / design book is standard industrial practise and
increasingly important in academia also. It is evidence of how you completed any
practical work, and demonstrates the procedures and processes you followed.
3. Student Support
3.1 Support and training workshops
The timetable for workshops (taught component) is within this handbook and
additionally available on QM+.
3.2 Technical
Members of the technical support team are available to discuss the technical and
practical aspects of your project. The team will explain procedures for requesting
technical support during the taught workshops.
Before practical work can commence risk assessment forms should signed off by
your supervisor and presented to the technical team, along with your project
proposal.
Contact details for the technical staff and their areas of responsibility/expertise can
be found on the SEMS Intranet at https://admin.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/ps
3.3 Manufacturing
Requests for manufacturing will be given priority depending on staff’s workload and
should follow the procedure detailed as follows:
Consult with the technical team during the drop-in-sessions
The components must be clearly defined in drawings produced to the
standards recommended in the Design lectures.
Drawings must be approved by supervisors and accompanied by an online
work request.
Complete the online work request at:
https://admin.sems.qmul.ac.uk/forms/workrequest
Work request forms must be agreed by the supervisor and technician
involved before work commences.
3.4 Finance
3.4.1 Ordering
Consumables for all projects must be ordered by using the online SEMS Project
Consumables Request form:
https://admin.sems.qmul.ac.uk/forms/consrequest/
Please complete the form making sure all appropriate areas have been filled in.
Ensure you provide clear details of exactly what you want to order and how
many in the free text box, including the appropriate web link to the desired
item.
Wherever possible, we will purchase items through the SEMS list of
preferred suppliers. A list of suppliers has been attached to the order page.
Please check that list, and either identify which company we can buy the item
4. Reports
For support and podcasts on writing Masters level projects, visit:
http://www.thinkingwriting.qmul.ac.uk/wishees/collections/universitymenu/57070.html
4.1 Layout of State of the Art report
The State of the Art (SOTA) report should give enough information on previous and
new research to let the reader understand the rationale for the project. The report
should be written in a coherent and logical manger with arguments justified and
supported by relevant references.
In general, the SOTA consists of a review of the research/technologies and ends by
posing the aims and objectives. The review sets the context for the research/design
technologies drawing together existing information from published sources. It should
review the research/technologies and discuss and compare earlier work (where and
why of the research/designs) and explain why the research/designs are necessary
(the gap in the current knowledge). This report should explain what the work is trying
to achieve and ends by asking the research questions (A&O).
The SOTA report should include a content page and references, and all sections
must be attributed to the relevant main author, in the main text as well as in the Table
of Contents.
It should contain a maximum of 3000 words per student (~12 pages per student).
You are additionally asked to submit a PART A: Short overview of your project with
your SOTA. This should include an introduction / overview which is roughly 3-
pages long:
1-2 page introduction
overall aims & objectives (finalised from your RAO presentation)
details of the breakdown of your project into individual components
key outcomes and Gantt charts for each component.
4.2 Layout of the final technical report
The Technical Report is a concise document used to demonstrate each students
contribution and whether the group has fulfilled the project aims and objectives, met
deliverables/milestones, satisfied project outcomes, discussed findings and drawn
relevant conclusions. There is no specific format for the technical report. However, it
should include the sections:
Part A: 2-3 page summary of key project outcomes. This should introduce the
research problem, define the aims and objectives of the project, outline the methods
adopted followed by principal findings, outcomes and conclusions.
Part B: Detailed report covering work completed by the team in the most appropriate
format for your project
It is crucial you discuss this with your supervisor to clarify what they want.
Commonly the report may include:
Contents page: A list of key headings and subheadings with the
corresponding page numbers to describe each section in the report.
Work package flowchart (allocation of work distribution)
Contribution statements: During your literature search, you may come
across articles that disclose at their end the specific contributions of each
author to the body of research presented. Science is hardly ever an individual
effort, and in your project you will receive support, materials or even
experimental data from postgraduates and postdoctoral fellows working in
your supervisor’s laboratory. In this section, you will need to provide a full
declaration of what experiments were done (or shadowed) by you, and which
were done by others (please indicate who abbreviating with initials). Also
explain whether results were provided to you as raw or fully processed data
and whether you were responsible for data extraction/analysis.
Technical chapters: Each student should present technical chapters as
either experimental, computational or design with sections corresponding to
the literature and referenced appropriately. In general, the experimental
chapters consist of author[s], introduction, aims and objectives, methods,
results and discussion. If the project is largely design, the report should
describe how the students have evaluated the final designs and justified the
design process.
Final discussion and future work: The technical report should end with a
short discussion which summarises the overall key findings of the teams
work. You may wish to include a section on future work.
Acknowledgement: Acknowledge anyone who has assisted in the work
References
Important points to consider:
The technical report should end with a final discussion chapter which critically
evaluates the key findings.
The technical report is not a repetition of the SOTA.
Any non-essential information, which can be referred to by the reader, will be
submitted as a separate appendix.
The technical report should contain an absolute maximum of 7500 words
per student.
All sections must be attributed to the relevant main author, in the main text as
well as in the Table of Contents.
4.3 Use of Appendices
A report should be both concise, from the point of view of the reader (examiner), but
also complete so that someone can pick up the work easily in a continuing project.
Appendices are used to tackle this particular dilemma. This gives a choice as to
whether a reader wants (needs) to read the detail or not. Appendices should include:
- Developments of previous research that are crucial to your work and
need recording
- Raw data, processed data
- Data from test runs that could be archived for further analysis
5. Publicity
Each project must engage in promotional activities.
- All projects will be showcased at the School’s Industrial Liaison
Forum events. You need to prepare a poster and stand for the event. This
is one of your best opportunities to meet and talk to potential future
employers and show them what you are capable of.
Take the opportunity to make flyers showing your project progress and use
these to engage in discussion with industry.
- There will be a prize at the ILF event for the best overall
presentation / display from a group and the details will be
released on the School's plasma screen and/or SEMS website.
- Projects will also be showcased at UCAS Admission days and you will also
need to be involved in at least one admission day event.
- Yu could also consider creating a webpage or Facebook page for your
project. Create a group name and logo and see how well you can advertise
it
6. Viva
You will be expected to organise the timetable for the individual viva examination for
your group. You should start the organisation process early eg. Feb and send details
of when the project team will undertake the viva to Professor Screen by the last day
of semester B.
It is your responsibility to ensure this process is organised in advance of the viva date
and attend at the time specified. The late penalty will apply if you do not succeed
in arranging the viva examination before the beginning of June, because you
did not manage to co-ordinate the process early enough. It is your responsibility
to allow sufficient contingency time before this deadline.
An absence has the same consequences as an absence from an examination with
the award of ZERO MARKS for this component.
This is an individual viva examination where the supervisors will usually see each
team member consecutively, and assess your comprehension of the project by
asking you questions for ~30 min. The questions will not be confined to just the
material you wrote in the dissertation.
You should therefore be familiar with the contents of the whole report and it
would be unwise to include material that you do not understand.
7. Learning Outcomes, accreditation and assessment criteria
A pass of a 60 credit group project is a prerequisite for the award of an accredited
MEng degree. Details of the descriptors (skills and outputs) expected to be achieved
are detailed in Table A.
The grade-related assessment criteria for a 60 credit project are detailed in Table B,
explaining what you need to demonstrate to achieve different grades.
Table B: Grade-related assessment criteria for a 60 credit project
Degree class
(Grade)
Generic criteria Presentation criteria Computational report
criteria
Research report criteria Design report criteria
1 (A)
Displays a critical approach to an extensive range of literature with clear and logical presentation Uses the structure of the report to enhance the presentation of argument rather than simply as a framework from guidelines Uses taught courses as a starting point for development of advanced comprehension of complex issues and shows originality in either approach or analysis Conclusions drawn are relevant, valid, appropriate and critically evaluated The report is appropriately and clearly written The student has developed the project independently, using the supervisor for advice and regular reporting of progress
Writes an appropriate and clear report. Uses the structure of the report to enhance the presentation of arguments, rather than simply as a framework from guidelines Uses illustrations and diagrams to enhance the report and verbal presentation. Shows excellent judgement in the choice of written and verbal material for presentation, and the level of detail. Presents clear and accurate engineering drawings. Integrates presentational techniques and the information to be presented for maximum impact.
Successfully deploys a suitable computer programme and shows critical insight into the way in which the programme works. Draws valid conclusions from outputs
Moves beyond a comprehensive literature review to draw novel conclusions or to present comparative data in an innovative way Selects and applies appropriate mathematical methods for modelling and analysing novel situations. Displays analytical insight in the presentation of experimental data. Adapts test and measurement techniques for unfamiliar situations. Draws conclusions that are relevant, valid, appropriate and critically evaluated.
Presents an analytical and detailed understanding of the benefits and limitations of the design using a range of presentational devices Presents a well-argued conclusion with discussions about the implications and relevance of the design Develops and tests a prototype for the proposed design through experimentation, design modelling or design simulation methods Demonstrates a realisation of design concepts by means of a scaled representation in an appropriate format Proposes a manufacturing and business plan for the production, sales and marketing of the new design
2.1 (B)
Uses material covered in taught courses to develop comprehension of the issues involved in the project and applies this material to the approach and analysis of the problem Presents a comprehensive literature review
Writes an appropriate and clear report. Uses the framework for the report appropriately Uses appropriate illustrations and diagrams Is able to select appropriate verbal and written material Presents clear engineering
Successfully deploys a suitable computer programme and shows understanding of the ways in which the chosen programme works and of the Critical inputs.
Presents a comprehensive literature review Applies mathematical models appropriately to project situations Conducts accurate analysis of experimental data Uses appropriate tests and measurement techniques
Presents high quality 2D and 3D drawings and assembly diagrams for the proposed design Presents characteristics of the design such as material, proposed manufacturing process, life span, energy produced and viability.
Applies mathematical models appropriately to project situations Successfully deploys a suitable computer programme Conducts accurate analysis of experimental data Uses appropriate tests and measurement techniques Draws relevant, valid and appropriate conclusions
drawings Integrates presentational techniques and the information to be presented appropriately
Draws relevant, valid and appropriate conclusions
Presents some information towards the business viability such as cost of the prototype and mass produced product Performs further assessment on the design such as Product Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) or Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
2.2 (C)
Uses material covered in taught courses to develop comprehension of the issues involved in the project and applies this material to the approach and analysis of the problem Includes a literature review which covers the suggested sources Attempts to apply mathematical models for the project Is partially successful in deploying a computer programme Uses suggested tests and measurement techniques Draws some relevant and valid conclusions
Writes a coherent report Report fits guidelines produced Uses adequate illustrations and diagrams Is generally able to select appropriate verbal and written material Presents adequate engineering drawings Integrates presentational techniques and the information to be presented adequately
Is partially successful in deploying a computer programme without understanding its operation and without relevant result
Includes a literature review which covers the suggested sources Attempts to apply mathematical models for the project Uses suggested tests and measurement techniques Draws some relevant and valid conclusions
Presents 4 or 5 ideas for a new design and studies the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. Identifies best designs by means of decision matrix Redefines and develops ideas further and identification of an optimal design Presents fair 2D and 3D drawings and assembly
To be awarded a D (3rd^ class) grade, students would have shown significant weaknesses in a number of the areas covered at C grade above.
To be awarded a fail, students would have shown significant weaknesses in the majority of the areas covered at C grade above.
