Course structure
Core modules
Advanced Practice
Advanced Practice is normally undertaken over a one semester period and has been developed to enable a student to gain real-world practical experience to enhance their employability and academic learning. Students will receive preparatory sessions to enable them to apply to internship opportunities, which normally include:
Vocational internships with external organisations based offsite
Research or development internships based on campus
Employer-led internships based on campus
Students will undertake an appropriate advanced practice opportunity to meet their skill set and aspirations, related to their course.
All students will be assigned an academic supervisor to provide academic and pastoral support throughout their internship. Students will be assessed through a reflective report on a pass/fail basis. This module does not count towards the overall classification of the degree.
Advanced Project Planning and Visualisation
In this module you explore engineering project planning problems and solutions and learn to develop knowledge in emerging technologies used in advanced project planning. You develop planning skills and knowledge of the key concepts and tools used in traditional and advanced project planning. In particular, you familiarise with: principles of project planning, multi-constraints project planning techniques, and advanced 4D visualisation techniques.
Engineering Research Project
You investigate an area of engineering and work independently to a level recognised to be at the forefront of the discipline. The topic can be in the form of a research project or a design project. Key skills in research and in knowledge application and creation will be developed through keynote lectures and self-managed independent study. You are required to demonstrate the capacity for a comprehensive and objective analysis, and for developing innovative and constructive proposals for the solution to the project topic.
Managing Projects with PRINCE2®
This module explores in detail an established and widely recognised governance standard method called PRINCE2®. Students will work on simulated project brief in order to build their understanding and critically review the governance methodology.
The module will focus on the structure, processes, documentation, terminology but also tailoring of the governance method in order to plan for a particular project.
The students will be assessed by two in-course assessment elements (60% and 40%) requiring them to work as part of a team.
PRINCE2® is a registered trademark of AXELOS limited
Procurement and Contract Strategies
This module aims at developing your knowledge and critical understanding of the types of procurement arrangements and contract strategies that are commonly used in the engineering sector, including construction, oil and gas, heavy civil engineering and production. It also provides an introduction to Contract Law to allow you to better understand the legal framework in which engineering companies and projects are managed.
Project Management Philosophies and Tools
Contemporary project management is an evolving and extensive discipline that has grown substantially to meet the needs of modern project management demands. This module cultivates detailed and critical awareness of this domain and its expanding range of philosophies, tools and frameworks.
The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the expanding discipline of project management and familiarise them with modern and contemporary project management modalities and the importance of effective project management to organisational functioning, enterprise growth and development.
Risk Management in Projects
We provide you with an advanced level of study in risk management in projects. You explore a range of tools and techniques used in risk identification, qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, risk-planning responses, PERT and risk monitoring. You learn about financial risk, project-appraisal methods and the application of a decision tree within a project.
You gain awareness of probability theory that represents the corner stone of risk management. Invited speakers from the industry give an overview of risk management in different projects; for example IT, finance, construction, and oil and gas. You work in groups on project case studies which apply risk management theory. In addition, you gain hands-on experience in applying the @RISK© tool to a variety of scenarios of risk factors. You develop a deep understanding of the systematic process of risk management and application of @RISK© software.
The Management of Change
This module develops your critical understanding of change management and the role of the change manager.
Key and relevant concepts, thinking and theories are integrated along with how managers manage in the context of change.
We also address the emergence of managers as leaders of change.
