MEng projects 2013/14 Semester 2 week 10 update Mike Spann Project coordinator

Contents Some hints on wk 11 presentations. Reminder about logbooks, meeting forms.

Presentation structure Largely up to individuals – but it is good to check with supervisor. We have 20 minute sessions. Speak for ~12 minutes. Make sure you know how to use the kit. Set up everything before you start your presentation. Make sure demos are slick. Fault finding during a bench inspection wastes your time and will not impress the examiners. Typically will have the following slides:

Title slide Project title Your name Supervisor

Contents slide Background Introduction Theory and scope/aim of your project Interim Results and findings (very important) –Comparison between theory and measurements (or similar) –Validation Critical review of approach Conclusions/summary

Scene setting slide Something which grabs the attentions of the audience – use pictures or something similar. Need to explain why your project matters to the rest of us. Why is your project important?

More detailed introduction Some more theoretical deeper background

Aim of project To test the following hypothesis.... To design and test a.... To...

Completed work Literature review (IEEE, IET etc – lots of reading engineering journals) Built some equipment / modelled something / written some software Tested above items Understood how work contributes to the general subject area

Detailed results These are very important slides – must show assessors you have made real progress to date and have understood your project.

Summary This is an important slide – since you can mention again what are the important achievements that you have made in your project so far. Ask if they would like to ask questions

What are assessors are looking for? Evidence of individual inquiry: –A well thought out research question addressing something which is academically challenging –Good understanding of the background literature –A sensible scope of work and sensible methodologies –Validation of your work and critical review –Appreciation of the limitations of the approaches adopted Tangible deliverables Ability to answer questions That you are a competent engineer

What sort of questions will you be asked? What is the academic content of your project? What are the technically challenging aspects? How do you know your simulation/experiments are correct – have you validated them? Explain the terms in the equations you had on slide X What are the units on the axis? What is the uncertainty in your results?

Answering questions Take time to think about your answer. Pause for thought if necessary. Try to give clear explanations in your answer. The assessors are just trying to understand what you have done – or are trying to understand how much you know about the subject. Don’t start talking about something you are not 100% sure about. It is perfectly acceptable to say that you have not considered something because it was outside the scope of the project. Don’t say I did this because my supervisor told me to do it (and what do they know?)

Keep it simple! Avoid too much of the flashy stuff that Powerpoint can do. Make sure there is good contrast and that there is not too much info on the screen at any time. Make sure you label axis on graphs and that you can see the numbers. Use SI units Don’t go crazy with significant figures – I am seconds old – or I was when I wrote this. I haven’t used pictures today – but they are usually good.

Show important equations – but beware that you may get asked questions on them. Make sure parameters are either obvious or you label them. Make sure graphs are easy to understand. Correctly label them. And make sure they have units included on the axis.

Final report Discuss with your supervisor the structure of the report. Look through some other research work (PhD or Mphil) to get an understanding of the structure It will take longer than you think to write up. Make sure you have a plan for printing it out. I will issue detailed instructions nearer to the deadline.

Assessment First Report5% Second Report5% Technical Presentation + CV presentation5% Final Report & Bench Inspection [Assessment Team]0.666(70% + 14%) Final Report & Supervisor’s Report [Supervisor]0.333(70% + 14%) Project Open Day Poster Presentation1%

Summary Prepare well for your presentations Practice with some people who you know will give you good feedback. Show your slides to your supervisor. Remember to hand over your: –Logbook –Supervisor meeting forms (should be in your log book) Any questions?