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Professional Practice for Aircraft Engineers

  • Module code: AE5004
  • Year: 2018/9
  • Level: 5
  • Credits: 30
  • Pre-requisites: None
  • Co-requisites: None

Summary

This module is designed to introduce students to the wider issues and challenges associated with being an aircraft engineer in the 21st century. Specifically, the social, environmental and sustainability issues that are shaping our approach to our work. This module also introduces students to the engineering design process: to manage the design process from initial idea generation to the delivery of fully formed product or process to meet customer needs, while taking account of constraints.

A number of scheduled sessions will be used to introduce students to various topics in the module such as research, data collection, academic writing, project planning and network analysis. The engineering design process is introduced through a number of case study tasks. A small group design task will be used to provide students with an opportunity to test their ability to develop a systematic approach to solve an engineering problem, taking into consideration social, economic, environmental and legislative constraints. There will be further sessions to introduce students to the use of statistical methods to maximise reliability in Engineering Design.

However, the majority of this module is delivered as an independent study with tutor support. As with AE4004, students are expected to maintain a study journal and produce a portfolio of evidence that will be used for both the summative and formative assessment of the module. The journal and portfolio will be reviewed regularly by members of the teaching team and personal tutors who will provide guidance, advice and feedback on the contents; although in this module, students will be expected to be more proactive in maintaining the study journal and sourcing material for the portfolio.

Aims

  • Introduce students to the engineering design process and the impact of engineering solutions on society and environment.
  • Introduce students to project planning and network analysis and provide them with an opportunity to develop their planning skills by putting the learning into practice.
  • Provide opportunities for students to develop the soft skills (academic and professional) and personal attributes necessary for further study and employment after the course.
  • Introduce students to the Engineering Council and Professional Engineering Institutes and explain the process and requirements for registration as a professional engineer.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • Analyse projects to identify aims, objectives and deliverables, decompose them to determine tasks and produce network diagrams, activity bar-charts and resource diagrams.
  • Select and employ appropriate research and data collection techniques, critically evaluate data from a variety of sources, present data in different forms and maintain suitable records for long-term use.
  • Apply relevant techniques to systematically design solutions to engineering problems.
  • Use quantitative methods to estimate the reliability of components and systems, taking into consideration cost aspects.
  • Explain the requirements and process for registration with the Engineering Council (ECUK), and discuss the ethical and social principles to which engineers should subscribe and the role they play in sustainability.
  • Identify and reflect on the knowledge and skills gained and/or enhanced during learning and appreciate their relevance to working in an aircraft maintenance environment and their own personal development.

Curriculum content

  • The fundamentals of project planning including project decomposition, task identification, time estimation and identifying aims, objectives and deliverables.
  • Action on node and line network diagrams, analysing network diagrams to produce tabulated and bar-chart representations of project plans and resource levelling.
  • Engineering design process: recognition of the need and constraints, understanding the context of use, methods of establishing the design requirements, methods for developing and evaluating concepts.
  • Reliability of component-based systems.
  • Research skills: collecting and evaluating data, presenting data and maintaining records for long-term use.
  • Reliability of component-based systems.
  • Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs), the Engineering Council, accreditation and registration.
  • Ethics and sustainability in the engineering context.
  • Risk issues: health and safety, environmental and commercial risk.
  • Risk assessment and risk management techniques.
  • Intellectual property rights, product safety and liability issues.
  • Personal development planning.

Teaching and learning strategy

This module is intended to be delivered year-long and is designed to further develop and extend the skills gained from completing AE4004 HE Study Skills and Personal Development in the first year of the programme. Therefore, some overlap can be seen in the content of the two modules. However, the focus of this module changes from helping students transition from college to university, to preparing them for the final year of the programme and employment or further study after the course has finished. And, students will be expected to work with less guidance and prompting; although regular feedback will still be given.

Project planning, network analysis and the other topics identified in the curriculum content will be introduced in scheduled teaching sessions at the start of the module. Students will be introduced to the engineering design process through a series of case study tasks. The sessions will be a combination of lecture, teach-in, presentation, discussion, workshop, or a mixture of these; whatever is most appropriate for the material being delivered. The majority of the module, however, is delivered as distance learning with tutor support.

Throughout the module, students will be expected to maintain a study journal and compile a portfolio of evidence of achievement. The journal will be used to record research, study, laboratory tasks, practical exercises and data etc. and also to reflect on learning, progress and feedback from teaching teams. The portfolio will be used to collate specific examples of different types of work and documents to evidence satisfaction of learning outcomes. Students will be briefed on the types of material required in both the journal and the portfolio, the minimum expected quantities and the expected quality of the work in one of the scheduled learning sessions.

In this module, unlike in AE4004, students will be expected to identify material that can be used to satisfy the requirements of the portfolio and make journal entries with less prompting and guidance. As in AE4004, a large proportion of the material required for the journal and portfolio can be sourced from the other three modules being delivered in the same year. However, students may also be asked to produce specific pieces of work for the portfolio and/or to use the journal for a specific task.

The study journal and portfolio will be regularly reviewed throughout the year by members of the teaching team and personal tutors. Each time the work is reviewed, students will be given written and/or oral feedback on their work and their progress on the module and programme as a whole, guidance on any issues and the opportunity to discuss any matters related to their studies.

Breakdown of Teaching and Learning Hours

Definitive UNISTATS Category Indicative Description Hours
Scheduled learning and teaching Lectures/Tutorials 30
Guided independent study 270
Study abroad / placement
Total (number of credits x 10) 300

Assessment strategy

This module will be assessed by coursework and will comprise an in-class test, a group design exercise and a study journal and a portfolio of evidence produced by the student over the duration of the module. The group design task will be used to provide students with an opportunity to test their ability to develop a systematic approach to solve an engineering problem. The in-class test will be used to gauge student's understanding of the quantitative methods used to estimating the reliability of component based systems. The study journal and portfolio of evidence will be used for both formative and summative assessment of the module.

The formative element will come from written and/or oral feedback given to students by members of the module teaching team who will regularly review the contents of the study journal and portfolio documents throughout the year. Personal tutors are also expected to use the study journal and portfolio during tutorial sessions because they will provide a selection of the students work and a reflective record of their studies.

The summative assessment for the study journal and portfolio will comprise two elements; the effort demonstrated in compiling the material, and the overall quality of the submission. The effort demonstrated will be based on the number of entries in the journal and the number of pieces of each type of work collected in the portfolio. Students will be advised on the types and quantity of entries expected in the study journal and the types of material and quantity of each required to be submitted in the portfolio in a scheduled learning session at the start of the year.

Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment Strategy (Indicative)

Learning Outcome Assessment Strategy
1. Analyse projects to identify aims, objectives and deliverables, decompose them to determine tasks and produce network diagrams, activity bar-charts and resource diagrams. Coursework.
2. Select and employ appropriate research and data collection techniques, critically evaluate data from a variety of sources, present data in different forms and maintain suitable records for long-term use. Coursework.
3. Apply relevant techniques to systematically design solutions to engineering problems. Coursework.
4. Use quantitative methods to estimate the reliability of components and systems, taking into consideration cost aspects. Written Exam
5. Explain the requirements and process for registration with the Engineering Council (ECUK), and discuss the ethical principles to which engineers should subscribe and the role they play in sustainability. Coursework.
6. Identify and reflect on the knowledge and skills gained and/or enhanced during learning and appreciate their relevance to working in an aircraft maintenance environment and their own personal development. Coursework.

Elements of Assessment

Description of Assessment Definitive UNISTATS Categories Percentage
Study Journal & Portfolio of evidence Coursework 60%
Group design exercise Coursework 20%
In-class test Written Exam 20%
Total (to equal 100%) 100%

Achieving a pass

It IS NOT a requirement that the major category of assessment is passed in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.

Bibliography core texts

Stanton, Nicky. (2009) Mastering Communication. 5th ed. Palgrave Master Series. ISBN-13 978-0230216921

Alley, Michael. (2017) The Craft of Scientific Writing. 3rd ed. Springer Scientific + Business media inc. ISBN-13 978-0387947662

Fosmire, M., & Radcliffe, David. (2013). Integrating Information into the Engineering Design Process (Purdue information literacy handbooks). Ashland: Purdue University Press.

Bibliography recommended reading

Cottrell, Stella. (2013) The Study Skills Handbook. 4th ed. Palgrave Study Skills. ISBN 978-1-137-28925-4

Bailey, Stephen. (2015) Academic Writing - A Handbook for International Students. 3rd ed. Routledge. ISBN-13 978-0-415-59581

Ridley, Diana. (2008) The Literature Review - A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. SAGE Publications Ltd.  ISBN 978-1-4129-3426-8

Seely, John. (2005) Oxford Guide to Effective Writing and Speaking. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. ISBN-13 978-019280613-0

Shrives, Craig. (2017) Grammar for Grown-Ups. Kyle Books. ISBN-13 978-0-85783-080-7

Gibbs, Graham. (1994) Learning in Teams - A Student Manual. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford Centre for Staff. ISBN 978-1-873579-20-5

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