This module is aligned with the aims of the Formula Student competition, an international motorsport competition developed specifically for undergraduate engineering students. As such you will experience a real-world, authentic, engineering design task in a collaborative environment that combines practical knowledge with the development of softer skills. 

The module builds upon the learning and teaching through all years of your degree to provide you with an experience of group working, leading to a dedicated design and manufacture project. The module will consolidate analytical and conceptual aspects of engineering design in combination with a practical learning-based environment. The module allows you to implement project and group management methods in a practical design situation and provide you with opportunities to develop skills relevant to your chosen career destination. 

LO1. Develop and critically assess automotive designs to a given specification by applying engineering principles whilst working within commercial constraints. 

LO2. Develop, foster and sustain an interdisciplinary group environment. 

LO3. Communicate relatively complex technical concepts and design decisions through written and oral forms to a range of audiences.  

LO4. Demonstrate and critically understand how findings from the developed design relate to existing automotive designs and industrial applications.  

LO5. Extend and apply budgeting management, health and safety issues and organisational skills to deliver a design solution. 

Design groups will focus on specific areas of automotive design that include but are not limited to: powertrain, suspension and vehicle dynamics, aerodynamics and chassis. In the first session an overview of each design group will be presented to you by staff, prior to a selection process. Once groups are established you will attend a collaborative weekly session with all groups, where you will be supported and guided by the module staff. This session aims to replicate an industrial design review process. 

Your learning will also be supported by a series of lectures given on aspects of automotive component design and other topics of interest/relevance within the automotive and motorsport industries. Some will be given by visiting lecturers from other departments and from industry. 

​Throughout the module, you will develop your academic skills in a number of areas: 

Collaboration  

• Contribute positively and effectively when working in a group, having an impact from the outset.  

Effective Communication 

• Communicate complex design and solution ideas effectively to diverse audiences.  

Ethical, Social and Environmental Awareness  

• Demonstrate personal and professional integrity, reliability and competence within in a group environment. 

Independence and critical thinking  

• Identify, define and analyse complex design issues and ideas, exercising critical judgement in your approaches whilst critically evaluating sources of information. 

• Investigate problems and effective design solutions, reflecting on and learning from testing success and failures. 

Innovation, Enterprising and Commercial Awareness 

• Generate original ideas and apply creative, imaginative and innovative thinking in response to a given design problem.  

Reflection and Resilience  

• Demonstrate resilience, adaptability and creativity with challenges, and be open to change based on other opinions. 

• Identify and articulate skills, knowledge and understanding confidently through oral and written communication 

The module contains continuous formative assessment and three summative components. 

Formative Assessment: 

• A ‘design proforma’ template is used to help you provide critical design information in a clear and concise manner. Design proformas can be submitted at any point for review and feedback by academic staff. These proforma then form the bulk of your summative written submission detailed below. 

Summative Assessment: 

• An oral group presentation, followed by a technical question and answer session, is completed in the final weeks of the Autumn semester and is worth 30%. Feedback will be provided to enhance the presented designs and future presentations. (LO 1-5) 

• A single group report is submitted in the final stages of the Spring semester and is worth 50%.  

• On submission of your report, module staff will read and prepare questions for an oral poster and viva session which is worth an additional 20%. (LO 1-5) 

All components are group-based summative assessments to reflect the relatively complex nature of the design tasks, as these typically require an effective team-based approach, while also being aligned with Engineering Council accreditation requirements. All marks are subject to peer review. The peer review outcomes are scrutinised by project supervisors to ensure they are reflective of the team dynamics observed throughout the academic year.  

The opportunity for reassessment 

The opportunity for reassessment in this module will be set at component level. The remit of the reassessment will be set by the project supervisor in consultation with the module leader while also mapped against the module learning outcomes.  

Opportunities for re-assessment is only permitted provided you have not failed more credit than in the resit rule adopted by your programme. If the amount of credit you have failed is more than permitted by the relevant resit rule, you may be permitted to repeat study if you are within the threshold set for the Repeat rule adopted by your programme.  You will be notified of your eligibility to resit/repeat any modules after the Examining Board in the Summer period. 

All resit assessments will be held in the Resit Examination period, prior to the start of the following academic session. 

• Principles of design 

• Automotive design 

• Problem analysis and decision making 

• Budgeting and project management 

• The role of the motor-sport industry in the UK 

• The relationship between motor-sport technology and engineering 

• Health and safety 

• Written and oral communication