Aims:

To give students the experience of undertaking and completing a substantial and challenging individual project running over both teaching terms, applying knowledge learned throughout their degree programme, including the skills of research, analysis, design, implementation, testing and evaluation. To document the results to a high academic standard via a written report. The project work should incorporate advanced ideas and methodologies derived from 3rd and 4th year modules, as well as emphasise research and evaluation skills.Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of the module, a student will be able to:

Work individually to undertake a major project.
	Plan and coordinate the project activities to meet the deadlines.
	Make realistic work commitments.
	Write a substantial report to document the project results.
	Demonstrate good research and evaluation skills.
	Investigate and identify solutions to one or more challenging problems.
Content:

There is no set syllabus. Students identify their chosen project topic and find a member of the academic staff who will act as the project supervisor. The project begins in October and runs in parallel with normal teaching during terms 1 and 2. The submission deadline is early in term 3. Students are responsible for organising and carrying out their project, and are expected to attend weekly tutorials with their supervisor during term time. Tutorials allow the supervisor to monitor the progress of the project, providing advice and feedback as necessary.

There are two formative milestones, (i) the Project Plan submitted in mid-November, outlining the project aims and objectives, providing a work plan, and confirming that the project has started successfully, and (ii) the Interim Report submitted in late January outlining what has been achieved so far and what is required to complete the project. These documents are prepared with advice from the supervisor and must be approved by the supervisor to confirm the project is proceeding properly.

Project goals:

A MEng project is expected to have significant challenge and depth, reflecting that it is a Masters level project. The student is encouraged to do a research-oriented project and it is possible to submit a research paper in place of a standard project report;
Project report:

The final report documents the results of the project, and is expected to be a substantial and properly structured document, or a properly constructed research paper. Obtaining a higher module mark depends on both submitting a good quality report or paper, as well as successfully undertaking the project work. The project guidelines available on Moodle give detailed information about the required content.
	As every student undertakes a distinct project, there is no indicative reading list available. The student is expected to locate relevant information sources themselves with advice from their supervisor.
Requisites:

To be eligible to select this module, a student must be registered on a programme and year of study for which it is formally available.