This module will introduce you to the sustainability in society and working to a specification to propose a sustainable strategy demonstrating the advantages over existing solutions. You will work as part of a team, understand team roles and to project manage. You will develop research skills and apply knowledge and understanding to develop and justify alternative solutions with costings and benefit projections.



There are a number of aspects to the module:


Teamworking: Working together as an effective team utilising the strength of individuals. Support each other and prepare to develop cohesive assessment submissions that communicate clearly.



Academic Research: Understand and be able to utilise the University Library research tools, Google Scholar, and other tools to search for and locate material to support your academic writing. Research ways in which others and industries have adopted sustainable solutions and work on bringing together to form a sustainable proposal for a product or service.



Sustainability: Understand the importance of the ‘Pillars of Sustainability’, environmental, social and economic challenges to justify a proposed solution. You may consider materials, manufacturing, energy use in your chosen solution and to justify using projected costings and calculations. Risks should also be considered and understand the importance of meeting Sustainability criteria.



Development and Communication of ideas within a team: Develop and present concept ideas to meet market/user requirements, sustainability and Health and Safety considerations. Working as a team with a common goal will be allow you to understand different team roles and reflect upon individual strengths that can be developed.

A 4000 words team portfolio weighted at 70% to cover research, analysis and design for the set brief, assessing learning outcomes 1, 2, 3. Meeting AHEP 4 Outcomes C4, C5, C7, C8, C9, C15, C16
(Wordcount may be offset by design elements and design work i.e. CAD.)

A 15-minute team presentation weighted at 30%, assessing learning outcome 4. Presented by all team members with focus on sustainable aspects of the project. Meeting AHEP 4 Outcome C17



Professional Body requirements mean that a minimum overall score of 40% is required to pass a module, with each element of assessment requiring a minimum mark of 30% unless otherwise stated.

This module will enable you to gain understanding, apply knowledge, analyse and evaluate problems and create solutions through a variety of activities. It will including formal lectures and tutorials where software demonstrations and practical exercises will be undertaken. Regular formative feedback for teams as the project work progresses will be provided.

Demonstrate the ability to research, analyse and work within a team. (AHEP 4: C4, C16)

Analysis
Team Working


Demonstrate an understanding of broader engineering topics than of their selected award. (AHEP 4: C7, C8, C9)

Knowledge and
Understanding



Demonstrate the ability to develop and justify sustainable solutions linked to engineering within a managed environment. (AHEP 4: C5, C15)

Application


Present technical information to an audience of peers and demonstrate effective communication skills. (AHEP 4: C17)

Communication
Enquiry

You will be expected to engage with a range of reading, which should include texts, journals, websites that are pertinent to the learning outcomes and the issues or areas that form the focus of the module. Indicative texts:



Cattaneo, L., Terzi, S. (2019) Models, Methods and Tools for Product Service Design The Manutelligence Project. Cham Springer Nature. ISBN : 3-319-95849-6



Cottrell, S. (2019) The Study Skills Handbook, 5th Edition, Hampshire: Palgrave Study Guides, ISBN: 9781137610898



Franz, T. (2012) Group Dynamics and Team Interventions: Understanding and Improving Team Performance.
Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 9781118232675



Jacques, P. (2020) Sustainability, Milton: Taylor & Francis Group ISBN: 9780367365165



Surampalli, R.,¿Zhang, T. (2020) Sustainability¿: fundamentals and applications, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 9781119434030



Young, T.M. (2021) Technical Writing A-Z: A Commonsense Guide to Engineering Reports and Theses, British English 2nd Edn. Pub: American Society of Mechanical Engineers ISBN: 9780791884621

Blackboard VLE Resources, Library facilities, Google Scholar

Office 365, Computer Aided Design Software i.e. Autodesk Fusion360/Inventor

When working in a team, you will be introduced to team formation strategies to prepare you for working on a sustainability themed brief that the team will decide upon. You will have the opportunity to research, discuss, plan and develop an alternative solution that has a focus on sustainability. You will calculate and compare proposed advantages that will be documented in your design portfolio. At the end of the module, the Portfolio will be presented, supported with appropriate documentation by all team members.