This module will be offered in Year 4, (Semester 8) of the M.E. in Electronic and Computer Engineering. It will prepare students so that they are ready to undertake a significant design and implementation project in Year 5 of this programme.

The student will be expected to develop their own project title and description over the course of the module and will complete background reading, research community engagement, and project planning tasks. The subject of the projects will range from design and build to theoretical analysis. Students will be strongly encouraged to liaise closely with Departmental research centres or an approved list of industrial collaborators to enable the development of a project Specification that satisfies the Academic objectives of the programme and that is also relevant to industrial or societal needs. The student will be expected to:- (i) Develop a specification document for their chosen project that provides a clear statement of the work that will be carried out during the project. This document will outline timelines, deliverables, and milestones regarding the successful achievement of project outcomes. (ii) Identify suitable background material for a literature survey, and develop the literature survey to a high standard. (iii) Present and answer questions on the project specification in front of a panel of academics. (iv) Write a project abstract that describes the requisite detail of their project proposal. (v) Attend several seminars on research practices, presentation skills, and report writing, as well as industry guest talks. This module also introduces the student to the concept of peer review. The student will be required to share the outputs of many of their tasks with other students in the module, and they are required to critically appraise the work of other.

Upon successful completion of this module the student will have :- Used the research literature and other resources to determine the state of the art in the Student's chosen field of Electronic and Computer Engineering. Selected a research topic, developed an in-depth background understanding of that topic and to be able to demonstrate its significance to broad areas of Electronic and Computer Engineering. Critically evaluated and assessed existing design approaches to the chosen topic. The student should base this assessment on peer reviewed literature in the field.

The student will identify how their project outcomes can address societal challenges through Engineering Innovation.

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The student will work as an individual, or as part of a team, with ECE and/or industry support that draws on existing knowledge and experience to demonstrate how large engineering challenges can be solved. Students will be expected to work closely with ECE Researchers or industrial practitioners from an approved list of collaborators to articulate a project specification that is of Masters standard.