Aims and Fit of Module

Industrial Awareness and Group Project is designed to equip students with essential knowledge, experience, and skills in engineering product development, project management, teamwork, and leadership.

The module is structured around project-based learning (PBL) pedagogy, where students work in groups to complete an engineering product development project. These projects span a wide range of applications across various sectors, including automatic driving vehicle, intelligent manufacturing, smart household technologies, and health care applications. Students can gain fundamental knowledge, experience and hands-on skills to cutting-edge engineering technologies, such as sensing, actuation, and control systems for intelligent applications, as well as the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI.

In addition to subject-specific technical skills, the module emphasizes the development of project planning and management skills, as well as transferable skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, and presentation. These competencies are crucial for success in both academic and professional settings.

Learning outcomes

A. Understand, apply and integrate knowledge from engineering and non-engineering disciplines to support project development.
B. Assess an engineering problem, then apply relevant engineering techniques, justifying a selection of ideas while taking account of a selection of commercial and industrial constraints.
C. Develop, prototype and test on relevant engineering solutions. 
D. Write, structure and present technical reports and specifications communicating effectively on complex engineering matters with technical and non-technical audiences.
E. Adopt an inclusive approach to engineering practice and recognize the responsibilities, benefits and importance of supporting equality, diversity and inclusion.
F. Evaluate the environmental and societal impact of solutions to complex problems (to include the entire life-cycle of a product or process) and minimise adverse impacts.
G. Identify and analyse ethical concerns and make reasoned ethical choices informed by professional codes of conduct.
H. Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader of a team.
I. Plan and record self-learning and development in industry-relevant projects as the foundation for lifelong learning and continuous professional development.

Method of teaching and learning

Industrial Awareness and Group Project utilizes a diverse range of teaching and learning methods to support students in mastering advanced engineering technologies and project planning and management skills. These include interactive lectures to introduce key concepts and theories, hands-on laboratories for practicing typical engineering technologies.  Most importantly, students engage in collaborative group work to explore real-world engineering project development scenarios typically for product development, where students receive personalized guidance during tutorials to refine their individual engineering projects. Independent study is emphasized, with students tasked to research on user needs, review existing products/solutions through literature, existing products information, market survey, etc., design engineering project proposal, implement detailed design, prototyping and testing, launch their project demonstration through group presentation and prototype demonstration, and, finally, write up a final report detailing their projects.