| Unit name | Transport and Mobility Modelling |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SEMTM0010 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Eddie Wilson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None – but as a general guideline, your Mathematical and Computational skills should meet a level that is equivalent to that provided by the core units in the first two years of undergraduate programmes in Engineering in Bristol. |
| 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 aim of this unit is to introduce some of the concepts, models and data that underpin transport planning, design, and management, and the mobility modelling that underpins the traffic engineering profession. This really matters to society – just consider some of these hot topics: (i) should we build high-speed rail lines, such as HS2? (ii) how and on what timescale should we transition to an all-electric vehicle fleet? (iii) how do we increase bus and other public transport ridership? (iv) how do we design for large masses of pedestrians to safely and efficiently flow though busy locations in our growing cities? (v) is personal micromobility (e.g., scooters, electric bikes) a good idea? Carbon reduction is at the core of many of these questions – but so is access to jobs (and thus economic growth) and fair access to mobility for all, be they urban or rural dwellers, young or old, rich or poor. Underpinning all of these decisions and plans are mathematical modelling, simulation, and data analysis – and in this unit, as well as discussing the bigger societal questions, we will work in detail on some of these analytical flavours.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
Engineering Mathematics students – this will be one of the most application-oriented units you do – applying maths to an application area in depth that might become your career specialisation.
Engineering Design / other cross-Faculty Engineering students – this unit might complement other unit choices you have made in sustainable modelling, but with a more quantitative view – if you were good at the
Engineering Mathematics 1 and 2 units, you will have no problem with and will probably enjoy the maths here.
An overview of content
The unit will be structured around six topics:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will appreciate the complexity of the transport system and the challenge of making planning decisions that balance environmental, economic, and other societal needs. They will consider transport modelling/planning as a future career, or perhaps as a potential PhD topic.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Each of the 6 sections of the course will be given one teaching week – so teaching is carried out in weeks 1,2,3,4,5,7.
(Week 6 is the scheduled consolidation week in which there will be no mandatory activities.)
The activity in each of the 6 sections will comprise
Attendance at the both the computer labs and theatre sessions will be very strongly encouraged as we consider them as necessary components for successful completion of the unit.
Students will be actively encouraged to engage in the Blackboard discussion forum, and not only use it for asking questions, but also for discussing new sources and approaches they have found online and in the literature.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
In weeks 1,2,3,4,5,7 there will be a timetabled and supervised computer lab. In each such week, there will be a lab sheet which will help you build up to the difficulty of the questions on the summative coursework. You will not be handing in the lab sheet work to receive feedback, worked solutions (eg Matlab livescripts, Jupyter notebooks) will be provided to exemplar questions a few days after each lab. Further feedback on lab sheets will be provided in person during labs on request.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit will be assessed by a single coursework which contains one equally weighted question for each of the 6 sections of the unit. Questions will be released as the material is covered in class but there will be a single submission of the entire coursework at the end of the unit.
Each of the 6 questions will involve some routine computation and argument – including developing, exhibiting, and explaining both mathematics and code - followed by an open-ended exploration, thus assessing all intended learning outcomes.
In weeks 8,9,10,11 there will be no new teaching or formative labs; your work on this unit in these weeks will be entirely directed to completing the summative coursework.
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. SEMTM0010).
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.
