Aims

The aim of this module is to enable students to put their specialist skills, knowledge, and understanding into practice through the medium of a significant individual research project and written dissertation.

Outline Of Syllabus

The project is a chance for students to specialise, and is a challenging and rewarding experience. Students carry out their research in our well equipped Environmental Engineering laboratories, UK field sites, in industry or overseas.

Project related training sessions including presentation skills, critical writing skills, and literature searching hints, laboratory requirements, risk assessment, plagiarism, data presentation and basis statistics will take place in the co-requisite module CEG8110. Specific laboratory training sessions will also be arranged as necessary.

Students are required to attend an assessed interview near the start of the project, discussing the project aim, objectives, methodology, expected outcomes and the time plan, and to produce a laboratory dossier before commencing any laboratory work. A dissertation is submitted at the end of the project.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Students practice and develop their discipline related skills and knowledge, and their generic skills, through the medium of an individual research project. They gain the skills and knowledge delivered by the module mostly by “learning through doing” as they undertake the project. They are, in addition, supported by one or more academic supervisors who advise on methodologies and interpretations.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The specialist and generic skills, and the knowledge and understanding practised and developed during this module are assessed primarily through examination of a written dissertation. The assessed interview is designed to ensure that students have made a satisfactory start to their projects, ensure that feasible objectives have been agreed, and for students to receive formal feedback at an early stage.