BSc (Hons) Design Engineering

Course details On this course you will usually be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry. Year 1 Core units Design Engineering Projects 1: Developing a creative, dynamic and structured approach, you'll solve a series of design problems using project and time planning techniques. This unit is led by Dr Khan and benefits from research informed education through our live project work in collaboration with The Tank Museum. Materials & Processing: Learn about important properties of metals, plastics, ceramics and composites and why and how they're picked for product design. Energy and other environmental issues of materials and their processing are also covered. Design Media: Present two and three dimension drawings, renderings and designs using manual and computer visualisation techniques. You'll learn how to professionally present your design media in an industrial situation. Engineering Principles: The theory and application of a range of mechanical engineering principles relevant to the design of components, structures and machines. You will be expected to apply mathematical analysis to the solution of statics design and dynamic problems and develop realisable solutions of design and engineering problems involving fluids and thermodynamics. Electrical & Electronic Principles: You'll gain practical experience through the designing and using polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for an engineering system. Year 2 Core units Design Engineering Projects 2: Approach complex designs creatively, dynamically and professionally. You'll combine methods from a variety of subjects to complete different projects. Manufacturing & Production: You'll learn about modern manufacturing processes for competitive product development. Visualisation Tools: Learn about applied 3-D modelling techniques to support your design visualisation, realisation and presentation. You'll learn to support your design process by using computer, physical modelling and presentation skills, and colour, texture and light using computer and manual techniques. Management & Commercialisation for Technical Projects: An introduction to business and management. You'll learn to identify and use a company's strengths and evaluate opportunities for competitive products. There will be a focus on consumer marketing, decision making, intellectual property rights, product liability and financial and management accounting. Engineering Simulation: Take part in engineering design practices and learn about new technologies for mechanical and electronic concepts. You'll become familiar with industry standard simulation technologies. Year 3 (Placement) You will complete a minimum 30-week industrial work placement which can be carried out anywhere in the world. You'll get an opportunity to include a period of academic study during this time. The placement year offers a chance to gain experience and make contacts for the future. Year 3/4 (Final year) Core units Design Engineering Projects 3: You'll manage an entire industrial design project through specification, conceptual and detail design and present this through CAD visualisation and digital media. You'll design for the needs of people, industry and society. Business Development: The importance of strategic management in the business development process. You'll raise your entrepreneurial spirit and business decision-making. This will enhance your capacity to recognise and capitalise on competitive and innovative opportunities in a changing business environment. Advanced Mechanics & Simulation: Systematic procedures for analysis, communication of work and ideas, practical and aesthetic aspects in design, and responsible use of technology. There's a mix of applied mechanics, biomechanical engineering, computer simulations, design, and energy science and technology. Research Based Electronics: You'll work in a team on a set of technical problems after individual research. This will help you to develop problem solving skills and effectively communicate solutions in your professional life as a design engineer. Scheduled learning and teaching activities The hours below give an indication of how you can expect to spend your time during each year of this course. You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and practical sessions. Your independent learning could include reading books and journal articles, working on group projects, preparing presentations, conducting library research and writing your assignments. You are taught manual workshop skills in the first year which are further developed in the second year by introducing you to more advanced manufacturing tools such as CNC (Computer Numerical Controlled) milling and rapid prototyping.In the final year you spend your time working on independent projects. You are not expected to produce a prototype for your final year project; many students use simulation tools to demonstrate the functionality of their design. Year 1 – 35% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities Learning and teaching: 389 hours Independent learning: 811 hours Non-credit bearing learning and teaching: 10.5 hours Year 2 – 27% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities Learning and teaching: 295 hours Independent learning: 905 hours Year 3 - Placement year Year 4 - 16% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities Learning and teaching: 222 hours Independent learning: 978 hours 59% of the course is assessed by coursework Year 1: 90% Year 2: 60% Year 3: 0% (placement year) Year 4: 85% Throughout the course you will be assessed by coursework culminating in your final year research project, but you will also undertake group work and written exams. Programme specification Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used. Download the programme specification for BSc (Hons) Design Engineering. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance. All statistics shown are taken from Unistats, Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE), BU institutional data and Ipsos MORI (National Student Survey) unless otherwise stated.