Research Project

Overview

Facilitation Of Research Practice:
 Within this module, students will carry out a research project under the supervision of an academic and/or industrial supervisor, within an applied area of Chemical Engineering. Students participating within this module will be required to undertake a significant amount of research activity as part of their timetabled activities across both semesters 1 and 2.

 Assessment structure
Assessment within this module will constitute five elements each of which will assess students’ skills and abilities within key aspects of research activity. These themes, along with their associated assessments, are outlined below.

 Initial project report (15% of module assessment):
Students will be required to submit a report without exceeding 4000 words (excluding title pages and references).


 Assessment of submissions will take place early in Semester 2, with feedback subsequently being provided via a student-supervisor meeting. Attendance at this feedback meeting is compulsory and will be arranged with you (via email) by your academic supervisor.

b) An initial report is expected to have the same content structure as the final thesis which is to be submitted later in Semester 2. It is composed of the cover page, abstract, content list, introduction and literature review, research objectives, experiments (methodology), results and discussion, conclusions, future work, references, and appendix (if applicable). Completion of the initial report will allow students to be familiar with writing the final thesis through effective communication with supervisor and receiving constructive feedback.]

 Poster presentation (10% of module assessment):
Students are required to prepare and present a poster of A1 size which will be assessed by two assigned academic markers (not including your academic supervisor), with an average of the awarded marks being used to assign a final mark for the poster presentation.

 Oral presentation (15% of module assessment):

Students will be required to attend a 15-minute oral examination, consisting of two sections, namely a five-minute oral presentation, and ten minutes of questioning/discussion from the academic panel made up of two (or more) allocated members of academic staff. An average of the marks awarded by each of the panel members will be used to assign a final mark for the oral presentation.

 Final research project thesis (50% of module assessment)

Students will be required to submit a thesis for an MEng degree without exceeding 8000 words (main contents, excluding title pages, references, and appendix), which will be assessed by both the supervisor and an assigned second marker, with an average of the awarded marks being preliminarily used to assign the final mark for the thesis. The third-party assessment could be introduced to determine the final marks. This report must take an orthodox structure, with the general structure described in the “Initial research report” section above. The project supervisor will provide detailed guidance.

 Overall performance (10% of module assessment)

The academic supervisor will provide an assessment of students’ overall performance throughout the project, with this assessment to include aspects relating to behaviour within the research environment, engagement with the research project, data management etc. Students will be required to submit their experimental records (including lab books, and electronic copies of supplementary data, where appropriate) to the supervisor. Data management includes the use and maintenance of experimental records including the quality of results and level of work conducted.

It is critical that students clearly and unambiguously identify their own work within their records. Any work which was shared by or with another student or researcher must be marked as such to avoid collusion or plagiarism investigations taking place, in line with University regulations.


Assignment Submission:
The following documents must be submitted online, via Canvas, using the system’s assignments functionality:

a) Initial report
b) Poster
c) Oral presentation slides
d) Final thesis

Please note that submissions a) and b) will be processed using the University’s originality checking system, in order to ensure that submitted work has not been plagiarised. Students must be aware of the University’s regulations in relation to plagiarism, in addition to other forms of academic offence, and ensure that these are considered ahead of submitting their work.

For submissions b) and c), students are, however, responsible for the production and availability of presentation resources at the time of assessment. This includes the printing and display of poster presentations on time, and the provision of presentation slides, if required, during the viva voce examination.

The research work including lab books and supplementary electronic data, must be submitted to the supervisor for overall performance assessment. Students should ensure that electronic data is provided in a standard portable data format (i.e. a USB-compatible device). Please note that any alternative form of laboratory notes, apart from the actual original physical copies of these components, may not be accepted by the supervisor.

Deadlines:
Deadlines for each of the detailed assessment components above, in addition to details relating to poster presentation and oral presentation sessions, will be provided, in due course, via assignment briefing information provided on Canvas, by the module coordinator. Students are reminded that it is their responsibility to be fully aware of such deadlines. Apart from submissions b) and c), late submissions a) and d) will be penalized in line with the appropriate University regulations, to a maximum deduction of all marks. If exceptional circumstance prevents students from meeting the submission deadlines, students are required to contact their Advisor of Study and the module coordinator or the supervisor.





 

Learning Objectives

On completion of this module a learner should have:

 Carried out an advanced research project within an applied area of Chemical Engineering, commensurate with professional research standards (M12, M13);
 Carried out a significant level of consultation with, and critical analysis of research and commercial literature, and/or other appropriate data sources (M4);
 Developed an advanced level of understanding in relation to feasibility assessment of research and development projects (M4, M5);
 Designed and implemented novel research approaches, via the application of theoretical knowledge and problem-solving skills (M1, M2);
 Successfully planned and delivered a research proposal (M5, M17);
 Demonstrated notable competence in experimental and/or computational techniques needed to generate new findings (M1, M2, M3);
 Shown proficiency in collection, validation, and analysis of research data (M2, M4);
 Carried out complex mathematical and/or statistical analysis of research data, and reported the methodology and results obtained (M1, M2);
 Effectively communicated background information and research outcomes at a professional level via formal written reports, poster presentations, and oral routes (M16, M17);
 Developed skills in working with academic and/or industrial research teams (M18);
 Demonstrated a high-level understanding of a key research area within Chemical Engineering, including an awareness of the current state-of-the-art (M1, M2);
 Provided evidence of significant experience, knowledge, and expertise in the identification of risks within laboratory/engineering working environments, and implemented safe working practices, via awareness of appropriate health and safety legislation (M5).

The learning outcomes are align with the description in Engineering Council’s Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes V4.0 (AHEP 4)
 M1: Apply a comprehensive knowledge of mathematics, statistics, natural science and engineering principles to the solution of complex problems. Much of the knowledge will be at the forefront of the particular subject of study and informed by a critical awareness of new developments and the wider context of engineering.
 M2: Formulate and analyse complex problems to reach substantiated conclusions. This will involve evaluating available data using first principles of mathematics, statistics, natural science and engineering principles, and using engineering judgment to work with information that may be uncertain or incomplete, discussing the limitations of the techniques employed.
 M3: Select and apply appropriate computational and analytical techniques to model complex problems, discussing the limitations of the techniques employed.
 M4: Select and critically evaluate technical literature and other sources of information to solve complex problems.
 M5: Design solutions for complex problems that evidence some originality and meet a combination of societal, user, business and customer needs as appropriate. This will involve consideration of applicable health & safety, diversity, inclusion, cultural, societal, environmental and commercial matters, codes of practice and industry standards.
 M12: Use practical laboratory and workshop skills to investigate complex problems.
 M13: Select and apply appropriate materials, equipment, engineering technologies and processes, recognising their limitations.
 M16: Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader of a team. Evaluate effectiveness of own and team performance.
 M17: Communicate effectively on complex engineering matters with technical and non-technical audiences, evaluating the effectiveness of the methods used.
 M18: Plan and record self-learning and development as the foundation for lifelong learning/CPD.

Skills

Learners are expected to demonstrate the following on completion of the module:

 Location and utilisation of academic and other applicable types of literature;
 Practical/experimental research;
 Effective utilisation of sophisticated laboratory equipment;
 Project planning and time management;
 Critical thinking;
 Problem solving;
 Application of theoretical knowledge;
 Independent working;
 Team working;
 Safe and healthy working;
 Effective utilisation of software packages, where appropriate;
 Communication and argument construction;
 Effective dissemination of research findings through writing and oral presentation.

Assessment

Assessment Profile
Element type Element weight (%)
1. Initial Project Report 15
2. Poster Presentation 10
3. Oral Presentation 15
4. Final Thesis 50
5. Overall Performance 10

Assessment criteria for each component of assessment within this module are provided within the appendices at the end of the module synopsis– students are encouraged to ensure that they are fully aware of these, referring to them regularly as they complete their work, ensuring that queries/concerns about these aspects are discussed with their academic supervisor where necessary.
See CHE4012 on Canvas for detailed Appendices.

Course Requirements:

Module Pass Mark (overall average). 40 %

Students should note that completion of ALL assessed components is COMPULSORY. Failure to complete these aspects will normally result in automatic failure of the module.