Draft regulations for the introduction of the D.Eng Degree were considered. These had been based on the EPSRC Good Practice Guide for Engineering Doctorates and the regulations currently employed by UMIST and Warwick University. The Committee endorsed the proposal that students should be eligible for the award of an MSc at the end of year 2 if they satisfied the assessment criteria. In terms of the regulations the following specific points were made:
" Other suitable modules might be available in other areas of the University from time to time."
The Committee RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND the Regulations to Senate subject to these points.
Author – Fidelma Hannah
Date - June 1999
Copyright © Loughborough University. All rights reserved.
At its meeting on 20 May 1999 Research Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Senate the introduction of the EngD.
The regulations relating to the programme are attached as Appendix II
1. The recent successful bid to EPSRC by the Department of Civil and Building Engineering for the Engineering Doctorate Centre for Innovative Construction Engineering requires the University to introduce a new regulatory framework for the award of EngD to be in place for the first entrants in October 1999.
The essential features of the Engineering Doctorate Scheme outlined in the draft document produced by EPSRC on Good Practice for Engineering Doctorate Centres in November 1998 are:-
2. An extract from the proposals submitted by the Department of Civil and Building Engineering is presented as Appendix I.
The particular features of the Loughborough scheme are:
This module would require approval prior to the introduction, as it is not currently available.
3. A programme Board would be established to award credit and determine progression.
4. Assessment of the taught elements would follow from the MSc programme(s) from which they are taken.
5. A set of Programme regulations for the taught element would be required.
6. The progression options at the end of Year 2 shall be :-
a) proceed with EngD programme; OR
b) proceed with EngD programme AND be awarded an MSc in Construction Management/Construction Project Management/Mechanical and Electrical Project Management/OR
c) withdraw from the EngD; OR
d) withdraw from the EngD but be permitted to re-submit the dissertation within a prescribed period for the award of an appropriate MSc; OR
e) withdraw from the EngD but be awarded an appropriate LPD. This applies where a candidate has not completed the dissertation requirements for the award of an MSc; OR
f) withdraw from the EngD but be encouraged to submit a thesis for an MPhil award.
7. The criteria for the award of the Doctor of Engineering are:-
In order to be eligible for the award of the degree of Doctor of Engineering, candidates must demonstrate innovation in the application of knowledge to the engineering business environment. In addition they must demonstrate the following competences:
Expert knowledge of an engineering area;
The appreciation of industrial engineering and development culture;
Project and programme management skills;
Teamwork and leadership skills;
Oral and written communication skills;
Technical organisational skills;
Financial engineering project planning and control;
The ability to apply their skills to new and unusual situations;
The ability to seek optimal, viable solutions to multi-faceted engineering problems and to search out relevant information sources.
8. It is proposed that the MPhil option be made available as a recommendation for failed EngD submissions.
9. The introduction of the Engineering Doctorate requires the approval of Senate on the recommendation of the Research Committee. New regulations which are currently being drafted require the approval of Senate on the recommendation of Ordinances and Regulations Committee. Amendments will also be required to Ordinance IV, paragraph 1 of the Regulations for Higher Degrees by Research and possibly some editorial changes to the Regulations for Higher Degrees by Research and Notes for Guidance for the purposes of clarity.
In line with EPSRC guidelines for the EngD scheme, each Research Engineer (RE) will be required to take and pass a minimum of 8 taught modules from appropriate postgraduate course programmes at Loughborough University. These will be agreed with the academic and industrial supervisors and will primarily be from MSc programmes within the Department of Civil & Building Engineering. However, depending on the scope of the specific project, REs may also take modules from MSc and MBA programmes in the Departments of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, The Business School and Human Studies. A listing of some of the available modules is provided in Table 1 below. The taught modules will typically be delivered in one-week blocks and, ideally, will have to be taken within the first 2 years of the EngD programme to permit the RE to apply this directed learning to the conduct of the doctoral research programme, but there will be flexibility over how many modules are taken per year. The norm will be 4 modules in each of the first two years (a 4-4 model) but depending on the individual project, a 5-3 or a 4-2-2 model will be permissible. One of the 8 taught modules will be compulsory and will be devoted to ‘Management Development’. It will be designed to equip REs with a range of management competencies and other transferable skills and will cover topics such as leadership skills, project management, financial management, human resource management, collaborative working, and analytical skills. This module will include short courses taken from the University’s Staff Development Programme and will be assessed by means of a logbook or portfolio that demonstrates the achievement of the requisite competencies. Failure to pass this module will preclude the submission of the EngD thesis. Assessment of the other 7 modules will be based on a combination of coursework (including mini-projects) and examinations, in line with the requirements of the MSc/MBA programme of which they form a part. REs who take and pass an equivalent of 12 modules will be eligible for the award of an appropriate MSc degree, in addition to the EngD. REs with an appropriate MSc qualification will have a reduced coursework requirement; this will reduce the overall duration of the RE’s EngD programme.
Table1: Listing of Some Taught Modules Available to Research Engineers
Each RE will be required to work on a single major project or a collection of smaller but related/themed projects agreed with the industrial sponsor and the Centre. To ensure a successful outcome, it is vital that each RE’s research programme addresses a core technical or business process need of the industrial sponsor. An academic supervisor and an industrial supervisor will oversee the work of each Research Engineer on a day-to-day basis. In addition, each RE will have a ‘Director of Research’ based at Loughborough University (this is in line with current practice at Loughborough University) and an industry-based ‘Project Co-ordinator’; these will act as an appellate authority in the case of conflict between the RE and his/her supervisors. They will also maintain an overview of the project at a macro-level, ensuring adherence to the initial objectives, and facilitating continuity in situations where any of the supervisors change.
The EngD thesis will be based on the Scandinavian/European model where the candidate is required to submit a bound mini-thesis (in book format - a sample copy has been lodged with the EPSRC) consisting of a collection of published papers and a discourse that summarises the key findings of the research programme. This model is flexible, as it is applicable to programmes that involve a single project or a collection of sub-projects. It also addresses directly the problem of poor publication rates, identified in the EPSRC Review Document on the EngD scheme. It is intended that the thesis should include a minimum of 3 published (peer-reviewed) papers, of which at least one should be in an appropriate engineering journal. This will ensure the quality of the end product. Where a RE’s research programme is subject to a confidentiality agreement, technical reports (each of an equivalent standard and length as a peer-reviewed paper) should be included in lieu of published papers. The thesis discourse should be around 10,000 words in length and must clearly set out the aims, objectives, findings and industrial relevance/impact of the research work undertaken. Where a set of sub-projects have been undertaken, the discourse will be vital in demonstrating coherence and adherence to an agreed theme. The proposed thesis model will also make research results more readily accessible to industry practitioners who do not have the time to read conventional voluminous PhD theses.
Regulations for the degree of Doctor of Engineering (EngD).
1. Candidates registering for the degree of Doctor of Engineering must possess at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent qualification and professional experience.
2. Candidates shall be required to pursue an approved full time programme of study and research extending over a maximum period of four years. This period of study may be reduced at the discretion of the Director of the EngD Centre where a candidate already possesses an appropriate MSc or industrial experience. Such candidates shall also be exempt from undertaking specified modules.
3. Eligible candidates shall submit for the EngD within a minimum of 3 years and 6 months and a maximum of 4 years and 6 months of initial registration.
4. Candidates shall be registered at the outset by the Faculty Board for the degree of EngD. Registration shall normally be with effect from 1 October.
5. Programme Regulations shall be published for the curriculum-based element of the EngD which shall include a listing of the constituent modules. Module specifications shall be published for each module in accordance with the provision of General Regulations for Modular Postgraduate Awards (GRMPA).
6. Candidates are required to register for modules with a maximum total modular weighting of 180 within a period of time specified in the Programme Regulations, except where exemption has been granted in accordance with paragraph 2 of these Regulations.
7. All candidates shall register at the beginning of their programme and subsequently at the beginning of each academic year for the modules which they are taking in that year, subject to their satisfactory progress in research and the extension of their registration for the Degree of EngD in accordance with para.4.4 of the Regulations for Higher Degrees by Research. Candidates are not eligible to register for modules whilst they remain in debt to the University.
8. The curriculum-based element of the EngD programme including the project module shall be assessed in accordance with the procedures set out in GRMPA and the associated Assessment Regulations (ARMPA)
9. An External Programme Assessor shall be appointed for the curriculum-based element of the EngD programme in accordance with Ordinance XIX.
10. There shall be a Programme Board for the curriculum-based element of the EngD programme which shall meet for the purpose of awarding the Degree of Master or the Loughborough Postgraduate Diploma and which shall exercise the other powers of a Programme Board described in GRMPA and ARMPA.
11. Candidates will be eligible to progress on the EngD programme when they have accumulated 180 credits from the curriculum-based element within the maximum period of time specified in the Programme Regulations, except where exemption has been granted in accordance with paragraph 2 of these Regulations.
12. Candidates who accumulate 180 credits shall also be eligible for the award of the Degree of Master of Science.
13. Candidates not meeting the above requirements, or whose registration for the Degree of EngD has not been extended because of unsatisfactory progress in research , but who accumulate 100 credits and obtain marks of 40% in further modules with a weight of 20 shall be eligible for the award of the Loughborough Postgraduate Diploma (LPD).
14. The Degree of Master of Science and the LPD shall be awarded in a named subject listed in the Programme Regulations. In each instance, the subject shall be determined by the Programme Board in the light of the selection of modules taken by the individual candidate.
15. Candidates who have satisfied the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Science may be awarded the degree with Distinction in accordance with the scheme set out in Appendix 2 to GRMPA.
16. The Faculty Board shall appoint for each candidate an industrial supervisor and an industry-based project Co-ordinator in addition to a supervisor who is a member of the academic staff at the University and a Director of Research.
17. Candidates shall re-register annually on the recommendation of the Director of Research. Re-registration will depend upon satisfactory performance in research and taught modules. In research satisfactory progress will depend upon the assessment of annual research reports submitted by the candidate of not less than 5000 words or its adjudged equivalent. Assessment shall be undertaken by someone other than the candidate’s Supervisor or Director of Research and shall include an oral examination.
18. Throughout the programme of study candidates shall undertake a research project or series of research projects. Candidates shall normally spend a significant amount of time working on the project(s) in a participating engineering company or companies.
19. Lack of satisfactory progress in either the curriculum based element of the programme or the research project will mean that the candidate will not be permitted to continue to pursue the programme of study. At the end of year 2 the Programme Board shall consider the progress of candidates on the basis of their performance in the curriculum based element and research element of the programme and the candidates shall either:
20. For the degree of EngD the basis of assessment, following satisfactory completion of the curriculum based element, shall be a collection of published papers and a discourse of 10,000 words setting out the aims, objectives, findings and industrial relevance/impact of the research work undertaken. The submission shall include a minimum of 3 published (peer reviewed) papers or papers accepted for publication, of which at least one should be in an appropriate engineering journal. Where the research programme is subject to a confidentiality agreement entered into by the participating company at the outset of the programme, technical reports should be included in lieu of published papers. Such technical reports shall have been subject to external assessment.
21. When an eligible candidate has notified his/her intention to make a submission the Faculty Board shall appoint examiners. There shall be a least two external examiners in addition to the internal examiner.
22. In order to be eligible for the award of the degree of Doctor of Engineering, candidates must demonstrate innovation in the application of knowledge to the engineering business environment. In addition they must demonstrate the following competences:
Expert knowledge of an engineering area;
The appreciation of industrial engineering and development culture;
Project and programme management skills;
Teamwork and leadership skills;
Oral and written communication skills;
Technical organisational skills;
Financial engineering project planning and control;
The ability to apply their skills to new and unusual situations;
The ability to seek optimal, viable solutions to multi-faceted engineering problems and to search out relevant information sources.
23. The term research student shall be taken to apply to all Research Engineers registered on the EngD programme. The provisions of the Regulations for Higher Degrees by Research shall apply to all candidates except as provided for in the foregoing paragraphs.
MAY 1999