Cloud Hosting

Teaching and learning methods

The main element will be regular meetings, preferably weekly but could be less often, as agreed by all parties between the project supervisors and the students. Initially, these meetings will be used to define the details of the projects and then to review the progress of the group.

An initial meeting with the students and the project coordinator will help to clarify the objectives and methods of assessment of the projects.

Depending on the project and her/his role in the team, each student could be involved in a wide range of learning activities. The following elements will be common:

Self-directed study: given the size of the projects, you may be responsible for several sub-tasks. This could include consulting relevant textbooks and researching papers, consulting members of academic staff for technical support, writing computer programs, and liaising with technicians, external companies or clients. As part of this process you should maintain an individual design journal, where you record and work on ideas, summarise information and results, outline future directions, etc., using text and sketches or other illustrations as appropriate. The journal could be kept either in the form of a notebook or electronically.)

Group-led work: you will have to synthesise and report your work to the other group members to contribute to the discussions and decision making within the group. Team work will also include organising the project, distributing the tasks between the students and coordinating these tasks.

Reporting: During regular meetings with the supervisors, the students will present their current work. At regular intervals, the students will submit Design Journal Entries summarising their work since the submission of the previous Entry. These Entries will form the basis of the next supervisory meeting. At the end of the first term a presentation describing the project plan and progress of the group will be delivered by each group to the supervisors, project coordinator or external industry sponsor. At the end of the year in May each group will submit a report, a video and a final presentation. Each student will also submit an individual Design Journal Summary, consisting of a summary of his/her contribution to the project with reference to the Design Journal Entries submitted in the course of the year. Each group will deliver their final presentation in early June, during a dedicated event.

Optionally, students may take part in the "Elevator Pitch" to apply for additional funding for the project, also developing further and improving their presentation skills.

Students will be supported by their supervisory team during the project. They should make sure that they use meetings with him or her effectively. It is up to them to also make good use of all resources available within the Faculty and the University.

Potential resources. The projects within this module are diverse and are supported by a wide range of potential resources, including Design Studios and workshops, time allocated within specialist laboratories and testing facilities, and specialist software. Each project group is allocated a budget which can be spent to support the project (e.g. materials for manufacture, travel), as well as time within our Engineering, Design and Manufacturing Centre (EDMC) for the production of professionally manufactured components. Many projects have additional sponsorship from industry.You will be given a budget that you must manage to deliver your design to cost. Each project qualifies for funding at a level determined by the core project funding and the number of students in each group. Funds will cover the costs of travel expenses, materials and hospitality for project sponsors. This budget per GDP is, for 2018/19, 300 plus 80 per student. Each group should appoint a treasurer who is responsible for ensuring that the budget is properly managed. Teams who exceed their budget will be expected to settle the difference personally. With the exception of funds awarded via a successful bid to the elevator pitch, no additional Faculty funding will be available, except in extreme and unavoidable circumstances.

Read more:

Group Design Project | FEEG6013 | University of Southampton