This module will develop the students' oral and written communication skills and give them an understanding of the ethical implications of design and operational decisions. The lectures and tutorials will guide them through planning a research thesis, writing elements of a scientific paper (particularly abstracts and referencing), and designing effective illustrations and tables. They will also learn techniques for effective oral presentations, including preparation, achieving focus, organising the presentation, using language effectively, achieving speaking excellence, and the use of visual aids.
Students will put these skills into practice in teams. They will undertake activities to facilitate the development of the team ethos, where the team are given progressively challenging scenarios which require team member participation through planning, delegation, team working and problem resolution for the achievement of a task. They will develop strategic, time, and project planning and management capabilities and present their results to their assessors and peers, and be evaluated jointly by them.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Use acquired and developed skills as appropriate to an engineering management environment
Plan, delegate, and manage a piece of project work
Plan a presentation as a team, with relevant visual aids
Make an effective presentation appropriate to the occasion, keeping to time
Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of others' presentations
Evaluate and address ethical implications of the engineering decision-making process
Assessment
38904-01 : Coursework : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment:
100% coursework. Presentation & Communication Skills: Satisfactory completion of tutorial exercises (summary and practice presentation). Ethics (20%): A short essay on a set topic Team Skills Development (80%): Presentation by each team, peer-assessed by another participating team and the module lead