Computer Systems Engineering with an Industrial Placement Year MEng

Program Overview

The Computer Systems Engineering with Industrial Placement Year MEng program at the University of Sheffield combines design, robotics, and programming with a year-long industrial placement. It provides a strong foundation in systems engineering, preparing graduates for careers in manufacturing, power generation, and sustainable energy. Students benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, world-leading research, and opportunities for enhancing employability through industry collaborations. Graduates have a high rate of employment or further education, with 92% of the department's research being rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This five-year MEng in Computer Systems Engineering combines design, robotics, and programming with a year-long industrial placement. It is designed to provide a strong foundation in systems engineering and prepare graduates for successful careers in the field. The program is informed by world-leading research and developed in collaboration with industry partners.

Objectives:

• Develop a deep understanding of systems design, combining computer software and hardware skills.
• Gain practical experience with industry-standard equipment and state-of-the-art applications in infrastructure, medicine, and aviation.
• Build a strong foundation in the theory of complex electro-mechanical systems.
• Develop proficiency in programming languages like C++, Python, and Java.
• Gain hands-on experience in designing and building systems using 3D CAD tools and the iForge Makerspace.
• Specialize in areas like intelligent systems and cybersecurity.
• Gain valuable work experience and improve employability prospects through an industrial placement.
• Deepen technical knowledge and develop expertise in a range of engineering techniques through an advanced project in the final year.

Outline:

Year 1:

• Digital and Embedded Systems: Introduces embedded systems, number systems, Boolean algebra, logic gates, combinational logic, A/D and D/A converters, and computer systems and architectures.
• Group Control Project and Professional Skills: Integrates core content from various modules in a group design project involving controlling a mobile robot.
Also covers project management, teamwork, and other employability skills.
• Introduction to Systems Engineering & Software: Develops analytical problem-solving skills and introduces a systems engineering approach for designing and implementing complex systems.
Includes a group project and C programming exercises.
• Modelling, Analysis and Control: Introduces principles of modelling simple continuous dynamical systems, analysis of linear models, and feedback control.
Covers topics like Laplace Transforms, transfer functions, and frequency response.
• Physical Systems: Introduces modelling and analysis of dynamic systems, covering mechanical, electrical-mechanical, rotational, thermodynamic, and flow systems.
• Introduction to Electric and Electronic Circuits: Introduces concepts and analytical tools for predicting the behavior of combinations of passive circuit elements, driven by voltage and/or current sources.
Covers active electronic components, transformers, magnetics, and DC motors.
• Global Engineering Challenge Week: A compulsory week-long project where students work in multi-disciplinary groups on a global engineering challenge, developing academic, transferable, and employability skills.

Year 2:

• Core Modules:
• Control Systems Design and Analysis:
Provides a theoretical foundation for understanding feedback control system analysis, design, and application. Covers root-loci, Bode diagrams, Nyquist diagrams, and z-transforms.
• Mechatronics: Covers methods to represent, analyze, and design mechanical, electrical, and computational systems integrated into mechatronics systems.
Includes lectures on mechatronics principles, 2D/3D CAD design, sensors, actuation, digital data acquisition, signal pre-processing, hardware interfaces, microcontroller programming, and peripherals.
• Signals, Systems, and Communications: Introduces fundamentals of signals, systems, and communication systems.
Covers mathematical principles of signal theory and systems theory within a communication theory context.
• Systems Engineering and Object Oriented Programming: Builds on first-year systems engineering learning objectives, developing skills in designing and developing computer-based and software-dominated systems.
Emphasizes the systems engineering lifecycle, UML/SysML modeling, and C++ programming.
• Systems Engineering Mathematics II: Introduces analytical mathematical techniques and numerical methods for solving engineering problems.
Covers complex variables, Fourier transforms, matrix analysis, optimization, probability, numerical integration, and data modeling.
• Computer Problem Solving and Object Oriented Design: Introduces basic concepts of computer programming using Python, emphasizing good programming style and object-oriented design.
Introduces object-oriented programming principles and software engineering using Java.
• Engineering - You're Hired: A compulsory week-long project where students work in multi-disciplinary teams on a real-world problem provided by industrial partners, developing employability skills.

Year 3:

• Core Modules:
• State-Space Control Design:
Introduces state-space methods for analyzing and designing controllers for multivariable systems. Covers structural properties, design techniques, and sampled-data systems.
• Digital Signal Processing: Introduces digital processing techniques, including sampling and analysis of digital signals, design of digital filters, and digital image processing.
• Intelligent Systems: Introduces intelligent systems with applications to modeling, control, and pattern recognition.
Focuses on Fuzzy Systems and their synergies with Artificial Neural Networks.
• Group Project: Provides students with the opportunity to work as a group on a substantial project relevant to systems and control engineering.
Covers all aspects of the systems lifecycle, from problem formulation to verification and validation.
• Systems Design and Security: Provides a grounding in software systems design, highlighting security issues.
Covers software lifecycle, requirements capture, database design, software architectures, user interfaces, data validation, software verification, and testing.
• Accounting and Law for Engineers: Introduces key areas of accounting and legal risk relevant to engineers.
Covers budgeting, financial risks, financial decisions, contracts, environmental regulation, liability, intellectual property, and data protection.
• Optional Modules:
• System Identification:
Introduces methods for inferring or estimating dynamical models from observations of inputs and outputs from physical systems.
• Space Systems Engineering: Introduces different mission types, orbital motion concepts, spacecraft sub-systems and control, propulsion systems, and space environment concepts.
• Robotics: Explores robotic systems, covering types, applications, modeling, simulation, sensing, actuation, and control of robot manipulators.
• Biomechatronics: Covers the integration of the human body with engineered devices for emulating, replacing, and augmenting natural human function.
• Machine Learning: Introduces key foundational elements of machine learning, including regression, classification, and reinforcement learning.
• Design of Medical Devices and Implants: Covers designing medical and assistive devices and implants, including principles of design, design parameters, engineering analysis, preclinical testing, and clinical performance evaluation.
• Computer Security and Forensics: Introduces computer security and forensics, focusing on building secure systems and secure operation of systems.
• The Internet of Things: Covers the context, history, hardware, communications protocols, security systems, and cloud-side analytics of the Internet of Things.
• Antennas, Radar and Navigation: Introduces fundamentals and applications of antennas and radar systems, covering antenna characteristics, radar concepts, and navigation systems.
• Reinforcement Learning: Teaches the theory and implementation of reinforcement learning, covering supervised learning, temporal difference learning, deep reinforcement learning, and advanced topics.

Year 4:

• Core Module:
• Year in Industry:
Provides students with the opportunity to gain work experience in a course-relevant role in industry, improving their skills and employability.

Year 5:

• Core Modules:
• Cybersecurity for control systems:
Introduces analysis tools and design guidelines for integrating security guarantees in the performance characterization of control systems.
• Real-Time Embedded Systems: Covers the hardware and software aspects of building real-time embedded systems.
• Advanced Project: Provides students with the opportunity to undertake an advanced individual project, enhancing knowledge and skills in technical literature evaluation, project planning, technical areas, problem-solving, and communication.
• Optional Modules:
• Optimal Control:
Teaches how to design optimal controllers using the Calculus of Variations, maximum principle, and dynamic programming.
• Deep Learning: Introduces deep learning systems, covering image, video, speech, and audio processing, and deep reinforcement learning.
• Machine Vision: Introduces image and video processing models and methods for embedding in autonomous systems.
• Rapid Control Prototyping: Provides hands-on experience of designing and implementing advanced controllers on a real-world control problem using portable control hardware.
• Advanced Control: Introduces advanced control techniques used in modern control engineering research and industrial applications.
• Mobile Robotics and Autonomous Systems: Covers theoretical and technical aspects of mobile and manipulator robots, autonomous decision making, and applications.
• Advanced Space Systems and Space Weather: Covers advanced space systems, space weather, and its effects on technological systems.
• Agent-Based Modelling and Multi-Agent Systems: Introduces multi-agent systems and agent-based modeling, covering theories, methods, and tools.
• Optimisation: Theory, algorithms and applications: Covers numerical optimization and search methods for engineering problems, including traditional approaches and heuristic methods.
• Data Modelling and Machine Intelligence: Introduces machine intelligence techniques like neural networks and machine learning methods for solving problems not amenable to conventional analysis.
• Computer Security and Forensics: Introduces computer security and forensics, focusing on building secure systems and secure operation of systems.
• 3D Computer Graphics: Introduces techniques used in modern 3D computer graphics, covering 3D representations, light reflection models, realism techniques, ray tracing, and 3D animation.
• Testing and verification in safety-critical systems: Introduces processes and problems of building complex software for safety-critical systems, covering safety, specification languages, software engineering concepts, and software testing techniques.

Assessment:

Students are assessed through a combination of exams, tests, coursework, and practical work. The proportions for each vary depending on the modules chosen.

Teaching:

• Learning takes place through a combination of lectures, practical labs, tutorials, and independent study.
• Teaching is based on a systematic and structured approach to support student learning.
• Laboratory and professional skills are strongly integrated within the taught modules.
• Students have access to state-of-the-art equipment and technologies in the Diamond building.
• Teaching is informed by the latest thinking in robotics, signal processing, and intelligent systems.
• New modules are regularly introduced in response to current developments in research and career market demands.

Careers:

• Graduates are highly employable and work in various industries, including manufacturing, power generation, and sustainable energy.
• They go on to become professional engineers, applying their problem-solving skills and engineering principles to real-world challenges.
• The program provides opportunities to enhance employability through industrial placements, study abroad, extracurricular projects, and research projects.
• The Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering is the only department in the UK dedicated to Control and Systems Engineering.
• The department is home to the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre and has research contracts with major institutions like the European Space Agency.
• The department has a robotics and automation lab, a control and power systems laboratory, and a state-of-the-art electronics and control lab in the Diamond building.
• The University of Sheffield is ranked number one in the Russell Group for overall student satisfaction (National Student Survey 2023).
• 92% of graduates are in employment or further education (Graduate Outcomes 2020).
• 92% of the department's research is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
• The University of Sheffield is ranked in the top 50 in the most international universities rankings (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023).
• The University of Sheffield has the number one Students' Union in the UK (Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017).
• The University of Sheffield is ranked number one for teaching quality, Students' Union, and clubs/societies (StudentCrowd 2023 University Awards).
• The University of Sheffield is a top 20 university targeted by employers (The Graduate Market in 2023, High Fliers report).

Tuition fees 2024-2025

Home students £9,250 Overseas student £29,110 Please use 2024-25 information as a guide.

Additional costs

The annual fee for your course includes a number of items in addition to your tuition. If an item or activity is classed as a compulsory element for your course, it will normally be included in your tuition fee. There are also other costs which you may need to consider.