1. 1 The Development of Courses for the NDT Industry in Collaboration with the Industry Body and the Students Themselves Phil Picton, Muhammad Zaid Engineering Division, The University of Northampton, United Kingdom

2. 2 Engineering Courses The Engineering Division at the University of Northampton provides a range of courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, in full-time, part time and distance learning modes.

3. 3 Student numbers Student numbers continue were in decline in the UK, particularly in subjects like Engineering In order to tackle this it was decided to try to expand sub-degree provision, particularly Foundation Degrees

4. 4 Foundation Degrees The UK Government is keen to promote Foundation Degrees A Foundation Degree is equivalent to the first two years of a BSc There has to be a strong work-based element to the course There has to be a path on to a BSc from the Foundation Degree

5. 5 Distance Learning The Engineering Division has a range of sub-degree awards These are either part-time or distance learning It was decided that we would be more likely to attract students onto the Foundation Degrees if we use distance learning

6. 6 Industry-Specific DL Courses Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) Diploma since 1983 Funding from the European Social Fund for: –FdSc Lift Engineering –FdSc Electronics for Computing Also produced a FdSc High Performance Engineering (Motorsport)

7. 7 BINDT In 2005 we were approached by the Northampton-based British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) with a view to collaboration. They are interested in developing an academic qualification that could be gained by people in the NDT industry.

8. 8 Age Profile of NDT Personnel - 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80 + Age Czech Republic 12 31 25 27 5 Percentage France 16 29 33 21 1 Germany 1.5 15 30 32 17 4 0.5 Slovakia 13 28 41 25 2 South Africa Majority Spain 12 37 25 23 3 Sweden Majority UK BINDT 4 9 27 37 18 4 1 UK PCN 15 25 32 23 5

9. 9 Course Design All practitioners of NDT in the UK have Personal Certification in NDT (PCN) There are 3 levels, and most people are level 2 We wanted to give exemptions to people with certification, and provide the theory needed for the next level of PCN

10. 10 Position of the Award WORK BASEDVOCATIONALACADEMICPROF. REGNQF EQUIVALENT WORK BASED LEARNING APPRENTICESHIPS Engineering Doctorate 8 Masters DegreeChartered Engineer7 BSc (Hons) NDTIncorporated Engineer 6 PCN Level 3Foundation Degree Y2 5 4 PCN Level 2 PCN Level 1 Foundation Degree Y1 Engineering Technician 3 SCHOOL LEAVER OR OTHER ENTRY LEVEL

11. 11 Content – Stage 1 STAGE 1 ENG1035 Introduction to NDT ENG1036 Material Properties ENG1021 Electronic Principles ENG1024 Mathematics for Technology Part 1 ENG1037 Technical Project ENG1038 Personal Development

12. 12 Exemptions Students must take all modules, however, PCN Certification (or its equivalent) allows exemptions: PCN Level 1 certification (or equivalent) – Students are exempt from Introduction to NDT and Technical Project PCN Level 2 certification (or equivalent) – Students are also exempt from Material Properties and Personal Development

13. 13 Content - Stage 2 STAGE 2 ENG2036 Visual and Surface Testing ENG2037 Radiographic Testing ENG2038 Ultrasonic Testing ENG2039 Eddy Current Testing ENG2040 Quality Management of NDT ENG2041 Quality Tools and Techniques in NDT

14. 14 Exemptions PCN Level 3 Students are exempt from all of Stage 1 and the specific Stage 2 module in the method in which level 3 certification is held e.g. PCN Level 3 in Ultrasonic Inspection would exempt ENG2038 Ultrasonic Testing.

15. 15 The Course The course was validated in July 2007 The course started 1 st October 2007 30 students in 2007/2008 72 students in 2008/2009 112 students in 2009/2010 At the end of 2008/2009 20 students graduated with a FdSc NDT

16. 16 Survey After discussions with members of the BINDT, a list of suitable topics for a BSc was produced Students on the FdSc were given the list and asked to rank order the topics

17. 17 Results TopicScore Advanced Inspection28 Corrosion Analysis54 NDT Applications61 Thermographic Imaging71 Condition Monitoring75 Planning84 Modelling92 Acoustic Emission107 Radar and Microwave Testing117 Advanced Sensor and Imaging126 Advanced Electronics130

18. 18 Topics Advanced Inspection, Corrosion Analysis and Thermographic Imaging, were OK. NDT Applications would be covered by an undergraduate project. Condition Monitoring includes Vibration Analysis, Thermographic Imaging and Corrosion Analysis.

19. 19 Design of the course CodeTitleNumber of Credits ENG3010Corrosion Analysis20 ENG3012Thermographic Imaging20 ENG3014Vibration Monitoring and Analysis20 ENG3017Advanced Inspection Methods and Techniques 20 ENG4005Technology Project40

20. 20 BSc NDT The BSc Top-Up degree was validated in March 2009 Students who had completed the FdSc could progress onto the BSc In addition, students who held PCN Level 3 in 4 appropriate topics could have direct entry

21. 21 Enrolment The course started in January 2010 28 students have enrolled on the BSc 9 of the 28 are direct entry

22. 22 The future The students were surveyed about an MSc All of them indicated that they would continue their studies if an MSc was available

23. 23 Conclusions The new Foundation Degree in Non- Destructive Testing satisfies the criteria for a successful course because it has been designed in conjunction with the BINDT The BSc was designed in conjunction with the students MSc?