The Research Project is a key element of the Master of Aeronautical Engineering Programme as it allows students to apply the knowledge learned from the taught element of the programme to a research problem or challenge in their chosen field of study. The research project will provide the student with relevant skills to tackle practical engineering challenges in the aerospace industry or for a potential career as a research engineer. This Research Project will be carried out during the 5th academic year of the programme and will be worth 18 ECTS credits. This module (6 ECTS credits) is scheduled for the Autumn Semester and is M graded with RESEARCH PROJECT 2 (12 ECTS credits), scheduled for the Spring Semester.

The research project should be on an advanced topic of current or potential future relevance to field of aeronautical engineering. It should demonstrate the student's ability to perform independent research and self-directed learning on an unfamiliar problem, while utilising some of the major concepts and ideas encountered in earlier taught modules and project work. While original and publishable work is not a requirement, a major aim of the research project is to provide students with experience in producing work aimed at publication in a public forum (journal, conference, academic or industrial seminar, trade show etc). The research project will normally commence with a literature review. The main part of the research project may require the use of advanced computer analysis, theoretical calculations and/or experimental analysis. The final outputs will be journal/conference style paper (minimum 6000 words) and a substantive presentation to a specially convened symposium.

1. Assimilate and integrate information from literature, or from experiments, on an unfamiliar problem (oral presentation and written paper) 2. Demonstrate the ability to develop creative solutions to problems of an advanced nature in aeronautical engineering (oral presentation and written paper) 3. Determine deficiencies in knowledge needed for realisation of an advanced project in the field of aeronautical engineering, and plan and execute self-directed continuing professional development needed to address such deficiencies (oral presentation and written paper) 4. Demonstrate understanding of the theoretical bases, limitations and range of applicability of the mathematical methods and engineering science underpinning certain aspects of aeronautical engineering (oral presentation and written paper) 5. Handle complexity and formulate judgements with incomplete or conflicting nformation (oral presentation and written paper) 6. Create mathematical models, where needed, with appropriate assumptions and level of detail to enable analysis of new and ill-defined problems, using numerical solution techniques as needed (oral presentation and written paper) 7. Design and conduct experiments, where relevant, to contribute to the development of scientific/technical knowledge for the problem addressed (oral presentation and written paper) 8. Incorporate codes of practice and industry standards, where available for the problems dealt with in the project (oral presentation and written paper) 9. Interact with experts and incorporate knowledge, as needed, from fields within and outside the discipline of aeronautical engineering (oral presentation and written paper)

10. Interact with technicians, technologists and engineers to understand how they ogether constitute an engineering team (oral presentation and written paper) 11. Identify and assess problem constraints related to environmental, sustainability, ethical, health and safety issues (oral presentation and written paper) 12. Identify the contributions of research in the field of aeronautical engineering to the well being of society at large (oral presentation and written paper).

13. Select and apply appropriate communication tools to facilitate a deeper understanding of the problem addressed and create maximum impact on a given audience (oral presentation) 14. Summarise key information related to advantages and disadvantages of developed techniques or approaches in terms which will be understandable to a lay audience (oral presentation). 15. Write a technical paper in a format suitable for publication, with an abstract that provides a clear executive summary of the work performed (written paper).

There are no formal lectures, tutorials or laboratories for this research project module. The student will learn by applying their knowledge gained from taught module and other projects as well as interaction with their project supervisor. The module is aligned to the following UL graduate attributes: Knowledgeable: The student will develop their taught discipline knowledge by applying it to a relevant research problem in their field of study. Proactive: The student will manage their own research project and will take charge of managing the research resources available to achieve the goals of the project. Creative: The student will create innovative solutions to problems encountered while Trying to achieve the goals of the project. Responsible: The student will be personally and professionally responsible for achieving the output of the project, while conducting the research in a safe and ethical manner. Collaborative: To achieve the goals of the research project, the student will have to engage and collaborate with fellow researchers, laboratory technicians and the project supervisor. the level of success of the project will depend on the students ability to work proficiently with others in their research environment. Articulate: Students will present their results in a series of written reports and oral presentations. Disseminating the output of the project is a key metric for measuring the overall success of the research project.