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What will I learn on this module?
This module will investigate and evolve your understanding of smart and future materials and associated methods of manufacture. Much of the module will be at the forefront of the materials and manufacturing knowledge and informed by a critical awareness of new developments and the wider context of engineering and the impact on society. You will critically analyse topics such as those smart materials with the ability to change shape, self-heal and sense, new and emerging materials for extreme environments, materials and manufacturing methods for the circular economy, and manufacture for sustainability.
How will I learn on this module?
Active learning sessions will allow you to engage with and appraise new material and assist you in exploring and critiquing key concepts and topics within the module. Sessions will involve a combination of content delivery and practical learning exercises to enable you to apply your learning to complex and authentic engineering problems. A problem-solving focused curriculum will allow you to explore and analyse solutions to complex challenges where wide-ranging and conflicting constraints require innovative discovery and enterprise. Learning activities will enable students to work collaboratively and practice and reflect upon the effectiveness of teamwork and communication skills, and the facilitation of creative thinking approaches to solve open-ended engineering problems.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
During your active learning sessions, academic support will be available to facilitate your exploration of the problem-solving activities. Formative feedback will be provided by the module team, including answering student queries and providing guidance concerning the module such as assessments and your academic progress. The electronic learning platform (eLP) provides a comprehensive resource for integrated learning incorporating learning materials and reading lists that will facilitate directed and self-directed learning. Contact with academic tutors and your peers outside formal teaching hours is encouraged through “office hours’ policy, discussion boards and messaging systems within the eLP. Professional support staff, such as Ask4Help, provide the first point of contact for a range of queries, including, for example, those concerning assessment submission, late submission/extensions, and other administrative issues.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
MLO1. Apply a comprehensive knowledge of natural science and engineering principles to resolve complex problems where solutions may require novel approaches to manufacturing and cutting-edge materials.
MLO2. Select and apply novel materials, equipment, engineering technologies and processes, recognising their limitations.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
MLO3. Use practical laboratory and workshop skills to investigate complex problems at the forefront of materials and manufacturing knowledge.
MLO4. Discuss the role of quality management systems and continuous improvement in the context of complex problems relating to future manufacturing methods, and materials design and selection.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
MLO5. Evaluate the environmental and societal impact of new approaches to manufacturing and materials design in solving complex problems and judge methods to minimise adverse impacts.
How will I be assessed?
Formative Assessment
Academic staff on the module will assess you in a formative manner to help build your confidence and highlight any misunderstandings you may have of the theoretical and professional concepts presented in the module. Your formative feedback will be given to you either verbally by academic staff on the module during formally scheduled teaching sessions or using the eLP. Your formative feedback aims to help you learn and prepare for the submission of your summative assessment.
Summative Assessment
Academic staff on the module will assess you in a summative manner by two pieces of assessment:
Component 1 to assess your knowledge and understanding, practical and theoretical, of computational and analytical techniques, to model and recognise their limitations in complex materials and manufacture problems (MLOs 1-3) through completing an industry compatible written submission.
Component 2, a timed electronic exam (competency-based challenge task), is used to evaluate your ability to apply systems thinking to design solutions reaching substantiated conclusions that can be defended with respect to environmental and societal impacts, (MLO 4 & 5).
Feedback will be provided electronically through the eLP or student email within 20 working days of the date of submission.
Pre-requisite(s)
N/A
Co-requisite(s)
N/A
Module abstract
This module will investigate and evolve your understanding of smart and future materials and associated methods of manufacture. Much of the module will be at the forefront of the materials and manufacturing knowledge and informed by a critical awareness of new developments and the wider context of engineering and the impact on society. In the module, you will conduct research and undertake critical thinking through the application of appropriate knowledge and methodologies to tackle complex problems as applicable to new and emerging materials and manufacturing technologies. Active learning sessions will allow you to engage with and appraise new material and assist you in exploring and critiquing key concepts and topics within the module. Sessions will involve a combination of content delivery and practical learning exercises to enable you to apply your learning to complex and authentic engineering problems. The module utilises the electronic learning platform (eLP) to provide a comprehensive resource for integrated learning incorporating learning materials and reading lists that will facilitate directed and self-directed learning.
Course info
UCAS Code H314
Credits 20
Level of Study Undergraduate
Mode of Study 4 years Full Time or 5 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad
Department Mechanical and Construction Engineering
Location City Campus, Northumbria University
City Newcastle
Start September 2025
All information is accurate at the time of sharing.
Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.
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