FINAL YEAR PROJECT

AND DISSERTATION
Mechanical Engineering (ME4700)
Automotive Engineering (ME4701)
BSc Engineering – Batch 03

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGY

Presentation 01 CINEC CAMPUS

1
FINAL YEAR PROJECT AND DISSERTATION

➢ Runs through Semester 7 and semester 8

➢ Level 6

➢ Credit Value : 8

2
 WHAT IS A PROJECT
➢ A project is a typical requirement in the final year of
any undergraduate programme in engineering.

➢ Students carrying out final year projects are applying

knowledge from different areas or courses which they
have studied in their curriculum.

➢ However, through performing the project they may also

acquire new knowledge in topics not covered in the
curriculum or, more often, extend their knowledge in
areas they have already studied.
3
 WHAT IS A PROJECT …
➢ The final year project gives the student an opportunity to
use and implement methods, tools and techniques, which
they learned to a real-world scenario that an engineer
may be expected to face upon graduation.

➢ Normally, it should be a design project or at least should

have an element of design.

4
AIM OF THE PROJECT

To specify, research, and complete a project

related to the theme of your course,
thus utilising material taught
while developing independent research skills
that enable a dynamic work plan to be generated
and followed;
producing results from which
conclusions can be drawn and presented.

5
What is Research
Research is the systematic investigation into and study of
materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach
new conclusions.

6
 AIM OF THE PROJECT ….
Assimilation of relevant theory, generation of
original data, critical analysis and innovation
to arrive at logical conclusions.

Nature of the project : Experimental,

computational or a novel design or a mixture
thereof.

7
Learning Outcomes
LO1

➢ Develop;

❑ Problem Identification,

❑ Problem solving,

❑ Communication,

❑ Usage of general IT facilities,

❑ Information retrieval skills,

❑ Planning self-learning and improving performance.

8
LO2

➢ Adapt the ability;

❑ To apply mathematical methods and tools proficiently

in the analysis and solution of Engineering problems

❑ To apply and integrate knowledge and understanding

of other Engineering disciplines

9
LO3

➢ Develop an understanding of;

❑ Commercial and economic context

❑ Management techniques.

❑ Requirement for Engineering activities to promote

sustainable development and ability to apply sustainable
development concepts

❑ Framework of relevant legal requirements

❑ Need for a high level of professional and ethical conduct

10
LO4.

➢ Adapt the knowledge of

❑ Characteristics of particular materials

❑ Equipment

❑ Processes or products

❑ The existence of quality issues

11
LO5.

➢ Develop understanding and use of

❑ Technical literature and other information sources

❑ Appropriate codes of practice and industry standards

12
Expectations
On completion of the module, the student is expected to
be able to demonstrate his knowledge on:

➢ Underpinning Science and Mathematics

➢ Engineering Analysis

➢ Design

➢ Economic, social and environmental context

➢ Engineering Practice

13
Underpinning Science and Mathematics
o A comprehensive understanding of the scientific
principles of mechanical and related engineering
disciplines.

o An understanding of concepts from a range of

areas including some outside engineering, and the
ability to apply them effectively in engineering
projects.

14
Engineering Analysis
o Ability to apply mathematical and computer-based
models for solving problems in engineering, and the
ability to assess the limitations of particular cases.

Design
o Use creativity to establish innovative solutions
o Ability to generate an innovative design for products,
systems, components or processes to fulfil new
needs.

15
Economic, social and environmental context
o Knowledge and understanding of commercial and
economic context of engineering processes
o The ability to make general evaluations of commercial
risks through some understanding of the basis of such
risks

16
Engineering Practice
o A thorough understanding of current practice and its
limitations and some appreciation of likely new
developments
o Understanding of contexts in which engineering
knowledge can be applied (e.g. operations and
management, technology, development, etc)
o Understanding use of technical literature and other
information sources

17
Final Year Project & Dissertation

Project Definition or
Project Proposal

Progress
Report

Draft
Dissertation

Final
Dissertation

18
 Activity Schedule (Tentative Dates)

No. Task Due Date

Identification of Project Topic, Identification of a

01 15 Sept. 2023
Supervisor, Submission of Project Proposal
Will be informed
02 Individual Proposal Presentation
later
Will be informed
03 Submission of Progress Report
later
Will be informed
04 Progress Report Presentation
later
Submission of Draft Dissertation and Interview Will be informed
05
or Oral Presentation later
Will be informed
06 Submission of Final Dissertation later
19
HOW TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT
➢ Decide upon a project to undertake during the
final two Semesters of your course.
All projects must meet the aims and learning outcomes
of the module, as explained earlier.

➢ Identify a Supervisor

Supervisor can be from the Faculty Academic Staff or an

experienced Graduate Engineer from your workplace or
known to you

20
➢ Consult your Supervisor Regularly

o You are expected to consult/meet your supervisor as the

need arises.
o The frequency of meetings will much depend on the
student and the chosen topic and to some extent on the
supervisor.
o However, it is expected that the student will meet with
the supervisor on a minimum of three occasions
throughout the module.
o The onus is on the student to determine the exact
frequency timing and agendas for these meetings.
21
PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION
Plagiarism
The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and
passing them off as one's own.(Oxford English Dictionary)
Synonyms : copying, infringement of copyright, piracy,
theft, stealing
Collusion
Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy in order to
deceive others. (Oxford English Dictionary)
Synonyms : connivance, complicity, intrigue, plotting,

22
PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION
➢ Very Serious Offences

➢ Can Result in Expulsion from the University

Why they are categorized as offences

Anybody found guilty will:
✓ Not only have attempted to represent someone else’s
work as his own
✓ But also seeks to gain an unfair advantage over the
fellow students

23
HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION
o You should make it very clear what sources of
information have been used;
o Where material/information from these sources is
quoted it must be clearly referenced using the
Numbered Referencing System. (will be discussed later)

o Never attempt to copy or paraphrase another

student’s work

24
Important:

➢ All Reports should be written in clear UK

English, without spelling mistakes.
➢ A word processor should be used to prepare
the report. This will allow corrections to
spelling, layout and content to be made easily.
➢ Under no circumstances should sources like
Wikipedia be used as reference points in the
final dissertation.

25
HOW TO INCLUDE THE REFERENCES
IN THE REPORT
All the information in your report comes from somewhere;
it must be clear to the reader where everything has
originated, e.g., your data and calculations, your
interpretation of those results, someone else's results or
opinions etc..

26
References must be included in your Thesis to:

a. Support a statement, making it clear that the

statement, if not based on evidence you have
presented, is based on someone else's evidence.

b. Show how your work relates to that of others,

demonstrating that by knowledge of other work, you
have used existing knowledge and not duplicated the
work of others.

27
c. Allow readers of the report to find out more
information by accessing the sources to which you
refer.
d. Acknowledge your sources, thus not claiming
others' ideas or words are your own.

o All references given in the text should appear in

the References section.
o References should not appear in this section
unless they have appeared in the text.

28
You must use the Numbered system (also known as the
chronological method or the historical method) for citing
references and your list of references should be in
Harvard format.

References in the text should appear as a number in

square brackets, immediately following the information to
which they refer. The numbers are in numerical order
throughout the text.

Each source is given a unique number when it first

occurs and any further references in the text to it use this
same number.
29
Examples :
1.Simple citation without mentioning author’s name:

The speed and accuracy of a number of unwrapping

algorithms has been investigated [1] to show that …

This citation would then be given in the full list of

references as follows:

[1] Baldi, A., Bertolini, F. and Ginesu, F. (2002) On

the performance of some unwrapping algorithms.
Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 37, pp.313-330

30
2.Single author cited in text:
Theologis [2] has reported on ...

This citation would then be given in the full list of

references as follows:

[2] Theologis, T. (1991) Quantification of the

cosmetic effects of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
using the ISIS scan. M.Sc. Thesis, Worcester
College, University of Oxford.

31
3.Two authors cited in text:
One paper by Chi-Fang and Chih-Yang [3] claims
there is …

This citation would then be given in the full list of

references as follows:

[3] Chi-Fang, L. and Chih-Yang, L. (1999) A new

approach to high precision 3-D measuring system.
Image and Vision Computing, 17, pp.805-814.

32
4.Three or more authors cited in text:
Gdeisat et al. [4] reported a method of …

This citation would then be given in the full list of

references as follows:
[4] Gdeisat, M.A, Burton, D.R and Lalor, M.J.
(2006) Spatial carrier fringe pattern demodulation
using a two-dimensional continuous wavelet
transform. Applied Optics, 45(34), pp. 8722-8732.

Note : et al.” is a scholarly abbreviation of the Latin

phrase et alia, which means “and others.”
33
Source: Harvard Referencing: Internet/websites
(Basic format to reference material from the web)

The basics of a Reference List entry for a Web page or Web

document:
• Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
• Year.
• Title (in italics).
• Publisher. Where there is a corporate author, the
publisher and author may be the same.
• Date viewed.
• Web address <in angled brackets>.

34
 Example:
Cancer Council 2017, Causes of cancer, Cancer Council,
viewed 21 May 2018, <https://www.cancer.org.au/about-
cancer/causes-of-cancer/>.

• Include author(s) name(s) for internet/website references where

possible (an author may be a corporate body
or organisation responsible for creating, producing or publishing a
webpage or website.
• Where there is no identifiable author or authoring body, use the title
of the webpage or website
• The year is the time of the last update of the web page or document.
35
 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF YOUR
RESEARCH PROJECT
Aim - what you hope to achieve.
Objective - the action(s) you will take in order to achieve the aim.
Aims are statements of intent. They are usually written in broad
terms. They set out what you hope to achieve at the end of the
project.
Objectives, on the other hand, should be specific statements that
define measurable outcomes, e.g. what steps will be taken to
achieve the desired outcome.
When writing your objectives try to use strong positive
statements.
36
Objectives should also be S.M.A.R.T. - which means
they should be:
Specific
Measureable
Achievable

Realistic

Time constrained

37
Specific – Be precise about what you are going to do
Measureable –You will know when you have reached your
goal, Quantifiable
Achievable – Don’t attempt too much – a less ambitious but
completed objective is better than an over-ambitious one that
you cannot possibly achieve.
Realistic – Do you have the necessary resources to achieve
the objective – time, money, skills, etc.
Time Constrained - It is very important that objectives have
a target date, or a time frame for when they should be complet-
ed — hence time-bound.
38
Examples of SMART objectives:

➢ 'To achieve a 15% net profit by 31 March’,

➢ ‘To generate 20% revenue from online sales before

31 December’

➢ 'to recruit three new people to the marketing team

by the beginning of January'.

39
Example of aim and objectives
Aim:
To investigate the relationship between tectonic-plate
movement and the gravitational effect of the alignment
of the major planets.

40
 Objectives:

• Data sets will be extracted from the known

historical record of tectonic-plate movement

• Data sets will be extracted from astronomical tables

detailing the various alignments of the major planets
covering the same period as data from the geological
record

• The data from both sets will be synthesised to

establish if correlation points exist between major
geological events and planetary alignments.
Ref: SOLENT on line learning
41
END

42