The School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering maintains strong links with industry. There are four main aspects to this:
An integral part of the second year for students on our degree programmes is an investigation of a product from a local company. This involves a visit to the company followed by an analysis of the design and manufacture of one of the products they have seen. In recent years we have been guests of the full range of manufacturing companies in the area, including household names such as Nissan, Black & Decker and Flymo, and a host of less well known companies.
Newcastle University does not offer a sandwich course in any subject related to mechanical engineering. Nevertheless, students are strongly encouraged to obtain industrial experience during their courses, either by taking a "year out" or by working during the summer vacation.
This is a good way to earn some money - companies pay good salaries to attract our students - as well as obtaining vital industrial experience.
A full year out is by far the best way for students to obtain industrial experience because there is time to undertake a significant project. Companies much prefer to take students in this way and there is always plenty of choice of well paid placements on offer. Currently we have students working at British Energy, Ford and United Biscuits. In recent years our students have obtained placements in such major companies as Rolls Royce, General Motors and Shell.
Competition for work during the summer vacation is fierce as relatively few companies are prepared to offer it. Despite this, our students have recently spent summers working at Jaguar, Siemens, Triumph and Hoganas (Sweden) as well as various less well known local firms.
Every Stage 3 student undertakes a major project. This may be an experimental investigation, a theoretical analysis, a design or a combination of these activities. Many of these projects come directly from local and national companies. Current examples include:
Click here for details of current projects.
Much of the research work that goes on is sponsored by industry. A fuller description of our research is given in the research page, but examples of industrially funded research include:
In addition, all academic staff have their own industrial contacts and these links inform our teaching by maintaining its industrial relevance.