CS407 30 CATS (15 ECTS) Terms 1, 2 and 3

Availability

Core - MEng Computer Science. NB - This module is not available as an option/unusual option.

Academic Aims

The group project is intended to give students experience of team project work, similar to that which might be expected of them in a working environment, demanding management skills, problem-solving skills and individual initiative. The project will be in response to the needs of a "customer" who will normally be an industrial partner, or may alternatively be an academic, and will be closely involved in the specification and running of the project. The themes for such projects will offer more scope for interdisciplinary and collaborative activities than a typical third year project, requiring a mature knowledge of computer science and its applications.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the module, each student will have:

• experience of working in a team on a substantial development project;
• improved interpersonal and communication skills;
• awareness of issues relating to project management;
• experience writing a sizeable report as a co-author.

Content

The research interests of staff members, as typically represented in third and fourth year options, will be the major source of project topics, and there will normally be some degree of industrial input and involvement. It is to be expected that projects will in general arise from existing academic-industrial collaborations, or address topics that are of direct interest to industrial partners. Each project will have a "customer" (who may be an academic or an industrial partner) and will be overseen by an academic advisor. Each group will contain between 4 and 6 students.

Students will be involved in the organisation and management of a team, and be responsible for scheduling team meetings and framing and executing a work plan. They will use and develop the skills needed to present their project objectives, to demonstrate their product and / or results and to prepare a final report.

Assessment

A poster presentation at the end of term 1 (10%), an open-ended oral examination and demonstration at the beginning of term 3 (20%) and a final project report, to incorporate both team (60%) and individual (10%) submissions. The assessment will be made by the academic advisor and a second academic, following consultation with the customer (as appropriate).