| Unit name | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EMATM0055 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Dr. Philamore |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
Why is this unit important?
The dissertation unit is your opportunity to complete a substantial research-relevant project with supervision from an academic. This unit will provide you with first-hand experience in planning, running, documenting, and presenting a substantial piece of original work in a relevant field of robotics. At the completion of this unit, you will have demonstrated your ability to plan your time and research efforts, to work on a complete project, to solve problems, and to communicate work being done at the frontiers of robotics. Moreover, you can expect to produce work that will have real-world relevance and will be a stepping stone towards further advanced work in robotics and related areas.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
As the final unit of study in the programme, this unit is designed to be a capstone achievement to finalise your MSc study and support you to carry forwards in your career. The project provides an opportunity for you to integrate material from all taught units previously undertaken on your programme of study and for you to demonstrate the breadth and depth of learning on throughout the programme.
An overview of content
At the start of this unit, you will receive a set of project proposals from academics from which you will select your preferred choices. It may also be possible for you to co-create a project (i.e., construct a project on a topic of your choosing with support from an academic mentor); to do this, you will need to work with an academic supervisor to develop the project outline prior to the start of the unit.
Throughout the unit, you will engage in regular supervision meetings with your academic supervisor. These meetings will support you to explore and develop a body of work, culminating in the preparation of your dissertation. Your activities will be supported directly by your supervising academic and take a variety of forms depending on the nature of the project.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
By studying this unit, you will gain support and experience in managing a substantial project across a significant time scale. You will gain confidence to solve problems, both through self-directed study, exploration, and experimentation and under the guidance of a supervisor. You will be supported to operate at the frontier of knowledge in robotics and related fields, to explore new problems, and to use evidence to support your analysis and conclusions. Successful engagement with this unit will increase your confidence to investigate and evaluate solutions to challenging problems and will provide you with evidence of your ability to think critically as you make choices in the direction of your project and in the analysis and evaluation of your work.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to
The principal learning engagement will be self-directed study under academic supervision. The dissertation unit is an opportunity for you to demonstrate all that you have learnt through your engagement with a significant body of work. Therefore, you should expect to experience teaching that is:
The School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology will run Community and Integrity Training at the beginning of the academic year. Attendance at a Community and Integrity training session is a must-do component to be awarded credit for the unit.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will engage in regular supervision activities with an expert academic. Your supervisor will be able to provide regular feedback on aspects such as your progress with the project, the appropriateness of the methods employed, and the consideration of all materials towards your effective written communication.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
When assessment does not go to plan
Re-assessment takes the same form as the original summative assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EMATM0055).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
