BEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering with a Year in Industry

There is strong industrial demand for skilled engineers able to span the mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines. This degree gives you the fundamental knowledge and tools to satisfy this demand in a unique way.

This course provides the opportunity to spend your third year applying the knowledge gained in your first two years of study in an industrial environment. There is no direct entry on to this course but you can transfer from BEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering after year two if you reach a high academic standard and are successful at interview with industry.

During this course, you will study units from the mechanical and electrical disciplines along the following themes: design and integration of electro-mechanical systems; energy conversion and actuation systems; embedded systems and control; power electronics and electric drives; and energy management.

Years one and two offer a grounding in mathematics, thermal management, dynamics and control, computing, electrical energy technologies, and analogue and digital electronics. Laboratory work and case studies will draw together these interdisciplinary foundations.

You will undertake your placement in your third year.

In the final year, as well as the classroom-based subjects, you will engage in a significant individual research project that requires you to bring the various elements of subjects that you have learnt in the course together. You can indicate a preference when selecting your project that allows you to focus on anything from actuation and sensor systems for robotics and intelligent adaptable power systems to efficient, clean propulsion technologies.

Mechanical and electrical engineering graduates will be able to innovate technologies in a range of areas. These might include:

• the power flow of renewable energy microgrids, from the wind to the electric generator and the power network to the user in the home;
• robotics used in healthcare and manufacturing, by exploring the integration of mechanical and electrical elements to deliver new capabilities;
• the complete power train of future electric vehicles, from the energy storage system, through to the electric motors, to the mechanical drivetrain and traction system;
• battery-free technology that harvests background energy, allowing sensors to operate in previously inaccessible and far-reaching locations.

A student who completed a year in industry shares how her placement year boosted her confidence, career prospects and appreciation for university life. Find out more about Yasmin's story.