Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• To provide opportunities for students to acquire vocationally relevant knowledge and understanding, and to develop appropriate skills, values and attributes such that they are able to usefully contribute to sustainable product and process design at a professional level upon graduation.
• To advance the understanding of sustainable engineering and its application to improvements in process efficiency and product design that enhance physical and economic performance, and improve business, environmental and sustainability performance.
• To develop and foster both analytical and creative abilities through individual and team-based experiences and learning.
• To enable students to develop effective communication skills, including those required for verbal, visual and technical presentation.
• To provide opportunities for students to develop and apply appropriate skills to the improvement of process efficiency and in the creation of sustainable product designs.
• To enhance students’ careers and employment opportunities.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

Benchmark statements for Engineering.

Industry input to steer programme content and delivery has been through an Industrial Liaison Committee which meets annually.

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The nature of the Innovation process.
• The generic nature of design and the phases and activities within the overall design process.
• The role of human mental processes in design.
• Sustainable development, resource conservation and design for the environment in a company context.
• The principles and practice of environmental policy, legislation and management.
• Sustainable product design, design strategies, quantitative- and qualitative design guides and related concepts
• Design for disassembly, recycling, re-use, re-manufacturing and serviceability
• The principles and application of life-cycle assessment (LCA).
• Demonstrate their knowledge of different types of business models and the implications these have on the consumption of resources
• Explain the fundamental requirements of sustainable business models and evaluate existing business against these criteria
• Analyse the difficulties in making a transition to a sustainable business approach and formulate solutions for these problems
• Demonstrate understanding of the role society in new business approaches
• Types of waste, waste management legislation and directives, product assessment for end of life opportunities
• Energy measurement and modelling, renewable and non-renewable energy systems
• Energy management and efficiency in manufacturing
• Carbon offsetting and carbon seuestration

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Appreciate the creative and intellectual basis of design and problem solving
• Appreciate the broad range of influences and activities within the design process and explain their significance.
• Develop solutions to problems through the application of engineering knowledge and understanding, including technical- and commercial risk
• Innovate through the synthesis of ideas from wide ranging sources
• Create, define, explain and apply criteria and parameters that contribute to environmental impacts
• Analyse products and processes, identifying their environmental impacts
• Define and apply solutions to problems through application of engineering knowledge and understanding
• Analyse problems and synthesise solutions to environmentally detrimental business activities using gained knowledge and tools
• Apply life-cycle assessment to reduce product and process environmental impact.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Use the design process to plan and carry out projects.
• Apply engineering techniques taking account of industrial and commercial constraints
• Explain the business implication and necessity to meet environmental standards
• Produce an environmental policy for a commercial purpose
• Apply life-cycle assessment methodologies to improve product and process environmental performance.
• Select and use appropriate design tools to support sustainable product design.
• Perform basic energy and modelling processes
• Compare and contrast business models
• Research for information to develop ideas further
• Apply engineering techniques taking account of industrial and commercial constraints

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Plan and monitor multi-disciplinary projects.
• Appreciate the central role of design within engineering.
• Access, organise and analyse information from a range of sources.
• Communicate effectively and make presentations of a technical/business nature to achieve maximum impact.
• Indentify methods to assist in innovation, team-working and engineering communication.
• Demonstrate competence in using computer based engineering techniques, specifically for LCA and sustainable product design.
• Analyse and understand complex and unfamiliar engineering problems.
• Use team-working skills.
• Solve general problems through systematic analysis and design methods
• Assess given information, make value judgements about it and use it in the solution of an unfamiliar problem

4. Programme structure

4.1 Degree Modules

The modules comprising the Programme are: 

4.1.1 All full-time students take the Project module MMP501. Part-time students take the project module MMP504.

4.1.2 The School reserves the right to withdraw or make amendments to the list of subjects at the beginning of each session.

4.1.3  Students must take modules MMP437, MMP409, MMP420 and MMP421 to be eligible for the award of the MSc in Sustainable Engineering but may exchange any of the other taught modules listed above with modules from another Programme with the agreement of the Postgraduate Programme Director. 

4.2  Projects

4.2.1 The taught modules are normally prerequisites for the Project module, which is an individual project under the direction of a supervisor nominated by the Programme Director.

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 In order to be eligible for the award, candidates must satisfy the requirements of Regulation XXI.

5.2 Candidates who have the right of re-assessment in a module may be offered an opportunity to be re-assessed in the University's special assessment period.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification