Programme Specification
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she passes the programme. More detailed information on the learning outcomes, content and teaching, learning and assessment methods of each module can be found in the programme handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this specification is reviewed by the University and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.BEng (Hons) Bioengineering
BEng (Hons) Bioengineering with a Year in Industry
Fallback awards:
Certificate in Bioengineering
Diploma in Bioengineering
BEng Bioengineering
1. Awarding Institution/Body / University of Kent
2. Teaching Institution / University of Kent
3. School responsible for management of the programme / Engineering and Digital Arts
4. Teaching Site / Canterbury
5. Mode of Delivery / Full-time
6. Programme accredited by / Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)
7. Final Award / BEng (Hons), BEng, Certificate, Diploma
8. Programme / Bioengineering,
Bioengineering with a Year in Industry
9. UCAS Code (or other code) / 3DJ9
Hyyy (Year in Industry)
10. Credits/ECTS Value / 360 credits (180 ECTS) (BEng)
11. Study Level / Undergraduate
12. Relevant QAA subject benchmarking group(s) / Engineering, Biomedical Science
13. Date of creation/revision (note that dates are necessary for version control) / V1.1, October 2013
14. Intended Start Date of Delivery of this Programme / September 2014
15. Educational Aims of the Programme
The programme aims to:
1. Educate students to become engineers who are well equipped for professional careers in development, research and production in industry and universities, and who are well adapted to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing subject.
2. Produce professional engineers skilled in Bioengineering with a well-balanced knowledge of Electronic System Engineering.
3. Enable students to satisfy the professional requirements of the IET.
4. Provide proper academic guidance and welfare support for all students.
5. Create an atmosphere of co-operation and partnership between staff and students, and offer the students an environment where they can develop their potential.
The Year in Industry programme additionally aims to:
· Give an opportunity to gain experience as an engineer working in a professional environment.
· To develop employment-related skills, including an understanding of how you relate to the structure and function in an organisation, via a year in industry.
16 Programme Outcomes
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas. The programme outcomes have references to the subject benchmarking statement for Engineering.
ESB=Engineering Subject Benchmark; BSB=Bioscience Subject Benchmark (referred to Bioscience Module map)
A. Knowledge and Understanding of:
1. Mathematical principles relevant to bioengineering (ESB2).
2. Scientific principles and methodology relevant to bioengineering (ESB1).
3. Advanced concepts of instrumentation and systems engineering.
4. The value of intellectual property and contractual issues (ESB23).
5. Business and management techniques which may be used to achieve engineering objectives (ESB15).
6. The need for a high level of professional and ethical conduct in engineering (ESB18).
7. Current manufacturing practice with particular emphasis on product safety and EMC standards and directives (ESB8).
8. Characteristics of materials, equipment, processes and products (ESB19).
9. Appropriate codes of practice, industry standards and quality issues (ESB24, ESB25).
10. Contexts in which engineering knowledge can be applied (ESB21).
11. The structure, function and control of the human body. (BSB1)
12. The main metabolic pathways used in biological systems in catabolism and anabolism, understanding biological reactions in chemical terms. (BSB2)
13. The variety of mechanisms by which metabolic pathways can be controlled and the way that they can be co-ordinated with changes in the physiological environment. (BSB3)
14. The main principles of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and microbiology. (BSB9)
15. Immunological disease/disorders. (BSB12)
16. The main methods for communicating information on biomedical sciences (BSB16)
Outcomes specific to Year in Industry programme:
17. Aspects of the core subject areas from the perspective of a commercial or industrial organisation.
Teaching/learning and assessment methods and strategies used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
Teaching/learning
Lectures; tutorial lectures; demonstrator-led examples classes; tutor led small group supervisions; project work; laboratory experiments and computer-based assignments. Case studies on industry hot-topics and emerging technologies. In particular the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year projects give hands-on experience of electronic design and project management.
Problem solving workshops allow you to develop skills in applying biomedical knowledge to solution of problems. Practical classes teach specific laboratory skills and demonstrate how they can be used to investigate biomedical systems.
Assessment
Written unseen examinations; assessed coursework in the form of examples class assignments, laboratory write-ups, assessed project work, assignments and essays and class tests.
Skills and Other Attributes
B. Intellectual Skills:
1. Analysis and solution of problems in bioengineering using appropriate mathematical methods. (BSB4)
2. Ability to apply and integrate knowledge and understanding of other engineering and bioscience disciplines to support study of bioengineering (ESB3), (BSB6).
3. Use of engineering and bioscience principles and the ability to apply them to analyse key bioengineering processes (ESB4), (BSB2,3)
4. Ability to identify, classify and describe the performance of systems and components through the use of analytical methods and modelling techniques (ESB5).
5. Ability to apply and understand a systems approach to bioengineering problems (ESB7).
6. Ability to investigate and define a problem and identify constraints including cost drivers, economic, environmental, health and safety and risk assessment issues (ESB8,10).
7. Ability to use creativity to establish innovative, aesthetic solutions whilst understanding customer and user needs, ensuring fitness for purpose of all aspects of the problem including production, operation, maintenance and disposal (ESB9,11,12).
8. Ability to demonstrate the economic and environmental context of the engineering solution (ESB14,16,17).
9. Integrate scientific evidence, to formulate and test hypotheses. (BSB5)
10. Recognise the moral and ethical issues of biomedical investigations and appreciate the need for ethical standards and professional codes of conduct. (BSB8)
Outcomes specific to Year in Industry programme:
11. Apply some of the intellectual skills specified for the programme from the perspective of a commercial or industrial organisation.
Teaching/learning and assessment methods and strategies used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
Teaching/learning
Lectures; demonstrator-led examples classes; tutor led small group supervisions; self-directed learning through project work; laboratory experiments and computer-based assignments. Case studies on industry hot-topics and emerging technologies and issues relating to bioengineering and ethical standards.
Assessment
Written unseen examinations; assessed coursework in the form of examples class assignments, laboratory write-ups, assessed project work, and computer-based assignments, class tests.
CE. Subject-specific Skills (Engineering):
1. Use of mathematical techniques to analyse problems in bioengineering.
2. Ability to work in an engineering laboratory environment and to use a wide range of electronic equipment, workshop equipment and CAD tools for the practical realisation of electronic circuits (ESB20).
3. Ability to work with technical uncertainty (ESB26).
4. Ability to apply quantitative methods and computer software relevant to engineering in order to solve bioengineering problems (ESB6).
5. Ability to design electronic circuits or systems to fulfil a product specification and devise tests to appraise performance.
6. Awareness of the nature of intellectual property and contractual issues and an understanding of appropriate codes of practice and industry standards (ESB23, ESB24).
7. Ability to use technical literature and other information sources and apply it to a design (ESB22).
8. Ability to apply management techniques to the planning, resource allocation and execution of a design project and evaluate outcomes (ESB13).
9. Ability to prepare technical reports and presentations.
Outcomes specific to Year in Industry programme:
10. Apply some of the subject-specific skills specified for the programme from the perspective of a commercial or industrial organisation.
CB. Subject-specific Skills (Bioscience):
1. To be able to handle, biological material in general and chemicals in a safe way, thus being able to assess any potential hazards associated with biomedical experimentation. (BSB1)
2. Perform risk assessments prior to the execution of an experimental protocol. (BSB2)
3. To be able to use basic and advanced experimental equipment in executing the core practical techniques used by biomedical scientists. (BSB3)
4. To find information on biomedical topics from a wide range of information resources (e.g. journals, books, electronic databases) and maintain an effective information retrieval strategy. (BSB4)
5. To be able to plan, execute and assess the results from experiments using acquired subject-specific knowledge. (BSB5)
6. To identify the best method for presenting and reporting on biomedical investigations using written, data manipulation/presentation and computer skills. (BSB6)
7. Be aware of the employment opportunities for bioengineering graduates. (BSB7)
Teaching/learning and assessment methods and strategies used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
Teaching/learning
Lectures; tutorial lectures; project work; laboratory experiments and computer-based assignments, examples classes.
Assessment
Written unseen examinations; assessed coursework in the form of laboratory write-ups, assessed project work, project reports, project presentations, assignments and essays.
D. Transferable Skills: (Non-subject specific key skills)
1. Ability to generate, analyse, present and interpret data. (BSB1,3)
2. Use of Information and Communications Technology. (BSB3,4)
3. Personal and interpersonal skills, work as a member of a team. (BSB5,8)
4. Communicate effectively (in writing, verbally and through drawings). (BSB2)
5. Learn effectively for the purpose of continuing professional development. (BSB6,7)
6. Ability for critical thinking, reasoning and reflection. (BSB5,6)
7. Ability to manage time and resources within an individual project and a group project. (BSB5,8)
Teaching/learning and assessment methods and strategies used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
Teaching/learning
Transferable skills pervade all modules and are developed and demonstrated through lectures, supervisions, laboratories and assignments; in particular, transferable skills are nurtured through project work.
Assessment
Skills 1-4 and 6 are assessed through presentations, written laboratory reports and project reports. The other skills are not formally assessed.
For information on which modules provide which skills, see the module mapping17 Programme Structures and Requirements, Levels, Modules, Credits and Awards
The BEng programme is studied over three years full-time with an additional industrial placement year for the Year in Industry variant. Study on the programme is divided into a number of blocks called modules. All modules have a credit value of 15 credits, apart from the final year project which is equivalent to 45 credits. Each 15-credit module represents approximately 150 hours of student learning, endeavour and assessment.
The BEng programme is divided into three stages for the 3 year programme and four stages for the Year in Industry variant. Each stage is comprised of 120 credits and students must achieve specified requirements before being permitted to proceed to the next stage. Each stage represents an academic year of study. Thus, each year of study involves approximately 1200 hours of learning time. Each module is designated at one of three ascending levels, Certificate (C), Intermediate (I) or Honours (H).
To be eligible for the award of an honours degree students on the three year programme must normally have to obtain 360 credits, at least 210 of which must be Level I or above, and at least 90 of which must be level H or above. To be eligible for the award of an honours degree on the Year in Industry variant, students normally have to obtain 480 credits, at least 330 of which must be Level I or above, and at least 90 of which must be level H or above. A degree without honours will be awarded where students achieve 300 credits with at least 150 credits at level I or above including at least 60 credits at level H or above. Students may not progress to the non-honours degree programme; the non-honours degree programme will be awarded as a fallback award only.
For the purposes of Honours classification and IET accreditation, the weightings of the stages are:
3D9J: Year 2: 30%, Year 3: 70%
Hyyy: Year 2: 25%, Industrial Placement: 10%, Year 4: 65%
At its discretion the University allows for narrow failure in a small proportion of modules to be compensated by good performance in other modules or, in cases of documented illness or other mitigating circumstances, condoned. Compensation of modules is limited to 15 credits per stage in line with IET accreditation requirements, except for Stage 1 where 30 credits can be compensated. Failure in certain modules, however, may not be compensated, as indicated by the symbol * below. Usually, no modules at any stage of the programme can be trailed or condoned. The programme detailed below is subject to change.
Students successfully completing Stage 1 of the programme and meeting credit framework requirements who do not successfully complete Stage 2 will be eligible for the award of the Certificate in Bioengineering. Students successfully completing Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the programme and meeting credit framework requirements who do not successfully complete Stage 3 will be eligible for the award of the Diploma in Bioengineering.
Code / Title / Level / Credits / Term(s)Stage 1
Compulsory Modules
BI300 / Introduction to Biochemistry / C / 15 / 1 & 2
BI302 / Molecular & Cellular Biology / C / 15 / 1 & 2
BI308 / Skills for Bioscientists / C / 15 / 1 & 2
EL305 / Introduction to Electronics / C / 15 / 1
EL311 / Project Skills / C / 15 / 1 & 2
EL315 / Digital Technologies / C / 15 / 2
EL318 / Engineering Mathematics / C / 15 / 1
EL319 / Engineering Analysis / C / 15 / 2
Stage 2
Compulsory Modules
BI307 / Human Physiology & Disease / C / 15 / 2
BI532 / Skills for Bioscientists II / I / 15 / 1
EL313 / Introduction to Programming / C / 15 / 1
EL561 / Image Analysis and Applications / I / 15 / 1 & 2
EL562 / Computer Interfacing / I / 15 / 1 & 2
EL569 / Systems and Signals / I / 15 / 1
EL514 / Biomechanics / I / 15 / 2
EL515 / Physiological Measurements / I / 15 / 2
Industrial Placement Stage For those students on the Year in Industry programme, the industrial placement will be undertaken between their second and third years.
EL790* / Year in Industry / I / 120 / 1,2 & 3
Stage 3
Compulsory Modules
BI513 / Physiology / I / 15 / 1 & 2
EL600* / Project / H / 45 / 1 & 2
EL671 / Product Development / H / 15 / 1 & 2