Postgraduate Course: Advanced Power Engineering Dissertation (External) (PGEE11269)
Course Outline
| School | School of Engineering |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 120 |
ECTS Credits | 60 |
| Summary | The Advanced Power Engineering Dissertation (External) is a substantial exercise on industrial research, aimed at building the students¿ experience in applying knowledge and understanding gained in their first year of taught study, as well as increasing the student's competence in a particular area of Electrical Power Engineering, while working in an industrial environment. The objective output of their project is a novel design, or empirical knowledge, the extent of attainment of which forms part of the overall assessment. |
| Course description |
Students taking the Advanced Power Engineering Dissertation (External) undertake an internship at a partner company of the Institute Energy Systems and complete a project in the field of the company¿s interests. Each student is supervised by an industrial and a university supervisor, with the topic of the project agreed among the three.
Available internships are announced to the students before the start of the 1st semester of year 2, and the students need to undergo a short recruitment process, including an interview by the company, before an offer is made. Phase 1 research work begins immediately afterwards. Working at the company with their industrial supervisor and in consultation with their academic supervisor, by early October they devise a plan to carry out the research and they then submit the project Mission Statement. The students are expected to hold meetings with their supervisors on a weekly basis and report on the progress of their research. The actual placement at the company lasts a minimum of 10 weeks but can be up to the whole duration of the project (from early October until mid-April), subject to agreement with the company.
Following an initial literature review, the main phase of the research work starts mid-October. By mid-November, a project seminar takes place, during which students present their plans for their research and expected outcomes. The expectancy is that by the end of Phase 1 the students will have developed the required theoretical and practical skills, carried out a literature review and initiated the development of the main body of their work (software, hardware, methodologies etc.). Work carried out in Phase 1 is assessed by means of an 8-page literature review formatted as a journal paper, while students also submit a 2-page statement of progress, describing the work the carried out in the first semester and setting out a plan for Phase 2 of the project.
Research work continues in Phase 2 over the 2nd semester of year 2. By the first week of February, students will have arranged and taken an one-to-one interview with their project examiner. where they will have the opportunity to receive feedback on their Phase 1 submission, while a 2nd presentation of their progress will be arranged at the end of February. The work is completed in the final week of April when students submit a 10-page research paper as well as a final 2-page statement of achievement, and present their work to the School at an open event attended by staff and students of the Institute of Energy Systems.
Skills and attitudes appropriate to the professional engineer, developed in pursuit of the objective output are of high importance, and are given corresponding weight in the assessment of the project.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
1200
(
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 24,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 10,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 24,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
1140 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework %: 100 |
| Feedback |
One group presentation per semester plus one 1-1 interview with the student¿s examiner in semester 2. Continuous feedback provided in the weekly meetings with the supervisor. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate advanced level knowledge within the specialised topic area.
- Perform a literature review: identify relevant and trustworthy resources; critically analyse their own work and that of others; appreciate the aims, objectives and outcomes of their project within the wider context of the field.
- Gather, analyse, discuss and interpret data/information, and use appropriate advanced knowledge/skills/tools/equipment and/or software resources relevant to the project to solve or investigate an engineering problem
- Demonstrate independent research project skills: Project planning; problem identification; problem solving; keeping of a record of their research activities, while working in an industrial setting.
- Effectively present, communicate, and discuss their work in multiple formats, including a written thesis/dissertation, a poster session, and oral presentations, accessible by both specialists and non-specialists.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Aristides Kiprakis
Tel: (0131 6)50 5586
Email: Aristides.Kiprakis@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Viola Brunori
Tel: (0131 6)50 5687
Email: vbrunori@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage