Developing students' academic and professional skills through skills development exercises and project planning on a 'Field and Enterprise Skills' module.

This case study has been developed as part of the LTSN Engineering Teaching Awards 2003-2004, from data gathered through a demonstration of the teaching and learning materials available, interviews with the tutor and a student focus group. A novel approach has been taken to incorporate key skills development and PDP into the 'Field and Enterprise Skills' module for first year civil engineering students at Coventry University. The case study introduces the background, students' perspective, benefits, issues etc of this approach

Design, build, test, float, fly and race – the School of Engineering Sciences induction week

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2005-2006, from data gathered through a demonstration of the teaching and learning materials available, interviews with the tutor and a student focus group. In order to provide a focus for students within induction week, the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton introduced a group-based, hands-on design, build and test activity for all first year students. Prizes were awarded at the end of the week

Teaching sustainable product design

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2004-2005, from data gathered through a demonstration of the teaching and learning materials available, interviews with the tutors and a student focus group. 'Sustainable Product Design' is a final year module on the MEng Product Design and Manufacture degree at Loughborough University. This case study describes how the tutor introduced the concept of sustainable development by combining formal lectures with practical work, case studies and interaction with industry

Using story telling, drama, costume, poetry, music and performance art as part of engineering lectures

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2009, from data gathered through observations of the teaching component; interviews with the tutor; a questionnaire to students and a student focus group. The Professional Studies module is taken by around 230 first year students primarily from mechanical or manufacturing engineering. The sessions are timetabled weekly in a 2 hour block in a large tiered lecture theatre. The majority of the students enrolling on the degree programmes have come from a more traditional A Level background with over 35% international students. The tutor took over the module in 2001 and has developed the module over time, responding to increases in class sizes, for example from seminars to lectures, and an emphasis on Engineering in Society and Sustainability from the professional institution. The tutor chose to introduce the use of story telling, costumes, videos and props to make it more interesting for the students

Developing an understanding of the design process to promote creative problem identification and problem-solving

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2005-2006, from data gathered through a demonstration of the teaching and learning materials available, interviews with the tutor and a student focus group. The report examines how students engage with ‘The Design Process’, part of the first year undergraduate Professional Practice module for all civil engineering and construction students within the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester. Seven workshops are delivered during Semester 2 aimed at giving students an understanding of the design process

Case study of using students as topic 'gurus' to provide teaching materials for their peers on an 'Engineering in Society' module

This case study is the winning essay from the LTSN Engineering Teaching Awards 2003-2004. It has been developed from data gathered through an observation of the teaching component; interviews with the tutor; and student questionnaires and focus groups. All students in the School of Engineering at the University of Exeter study ‘Engineering in Society’. A novel teaching method has been introduced that incorporates the use of real world case studies and short, focused presentation opportunities. This case study introduces the background, students’ perspective, issues and benefits from this approach

Engagement of academic staff with UK-SPEC

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2010, from data gathered through interviews with the tutor and departmental colleagues. Motivated by a forthcoming accreditation visit, Jane Horner, Departmental Teaching Co-ordinator in the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University, introduced a series of structured departmental meetings to develop the module mappings to the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC) and in turn encourage colleagues to review module content

21st Century engineering with historical perspective

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2004-2005, from data gathered through a demonstration of the teaching and learning materials available, interviews with the tutor, student questionnaires and focus group. 'Fluids Mechanics with Historical Perspective' is part of a series of modules covering the broader subject of thermodynamics at the University of Bath. At the start of each hour long lecture the tutor gives a 15-minute input on an aspect of the discoveries and developments related to flight. This historical background usually consists of a five-minute power point presentation, followed by a short video clip providing the context for the formulae and calculations that are to be explained in the lecture

Boosting creativity, design and prototyping skills for Engineering Innovation

This case study has been developed from data gathered through observations of the teaching component; interviews with the tutor and recent graduates; and a student focus group. In this unit, final year MEng mechanical engineering students can opt to conduct a masters-level design project instead of completing a research dissertation. This year, 18 students have chosen the unit from the 120-strong cohort. The students work on their own open-ended design brief for a whole academic year; part-time in the first semester and full-time in the second semester

Placing students at the centre of their own learning: bringing 'Project Management' alive by getting students to research and reflect on their own materials

This case study has been developed as part of the LTSN Engineering Teaching Awards 2003-2004, from data gathered through a demonstration of the teaching and learning materials available, interviews with the tutor and a student focus group. ‘Project Management for Information Systems’ is an elective module for 3rd and 4th year students studying a variety of courses within the Information Systems and Computer Applications Department, University of Portsmouth, including Computer Science and Business Information Technology. A student centered learning method has been introduced for this module that motivates students by asking them to investigate a topic and, with guidance, discover a wealth of materials and information. The case study introduces the background, students' perspective, issues and benefits to this teaching method