Electronic Engineering (Top-up) BEng(Hons)

Final Year Project

This module is driven by you. It gives you the opportunity to undertake a project on a topic appropriate to your course, which may be focused on an industry based problem (previously some students have brought a project back from their placement company). Your project should consist of in-depth study of an engineering problem requiring a degree of initiative and result in a written report. This aims to help you extend your intellectual abilities by, enabling you to apply and increase your knowledge in a chosen field and demonstrate your professional engineering capabilities.

Digital System Integration

This module aims to build on the digital electronics knowledge you gained in your second year; covering system and circuit design, modeling, layout, fabrication and test of integrated circuits (ICs). You’ll be encouraged to investigate the various stages of design and techniques used to improve system performance and function: from top-level specification using hardware description languages, (typically VHDL) through to transistor level layout. Throughout this module the compromises required to achieve an optimum design solution will be considered.

Project Quality and Production Management

Engineers have a responsibility to ensure that they deliver projects on time and within budget. With this in mind this module covers the scheduling of project activity, with appropriate consideration of resource constraints and the costs required for undertaking successful projects. You’ll study financial analysis in the justification of projects and approaches to risk analysis. To support this you’ll be introduced to project management software used by industry. The module also includes total quality management, introducing tools and techniques such as statistical process control, improvement programmes and maintenance management.You’ll explore how to effectively manage the manufacture of products and the decision making processes required with regard to people, machines, materials and finance.

Parallel Computer Architecture Clusters and Grids

In this module you will be introduced to Computer Cluster, Cloud and Grid technologies and applications. Term one focuses on the fundamental components of Cluster environments, such as Commodity Components for Clusters, Network Services/Communication software, Cluster Middleware, Resource management, and Programming Environments. In term two you will study the fundamental components of Grid environments, such as Authentication, Authorization, Resource access, and Resource discovery. The hands-on laboratory exercises will provide the necessary practical experience with Cluster and Grid middleware software required to construct Cluster and Grid applications.

Analogue System Integration

This module covers the design and analysis of analogue integrated circuits (ICs) structures, incorporating Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), Junction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs), Metal-Oxide Semiconductor FETs (MOSFETs), Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS), and Bipolar-CMOS (BiCMOS) technologies. Advanced op-amp based IC systems will be developed through the design, analysis and integration of fundamental building blocks (differential input, gain and output stages, current mirrors and biasing circuits, etc). Low distortion and high-output power capability audio IC designs will also be considered along with complete integrated system case studies.