Multidisciplinary Project Module

Pitching a product or idea to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society

Module details

  • Offered to 2nd Year students in Autumn Term - Mondays 16:00-18:00
  • Offered to 3rd Year students in Spring Term - Thursdays 16:00-18:00
  • Planned delivery: On campus (South Kensington) & Online
  • 1-term module worth 5 ECTS
  • Available to eligible students as part of I-Explore

This module will provide you with the opportunity to undertake a group project in a team of students from different disciplines. You’ll have the opportunity to identify a challenge, develop aspects of a solution to that challenge, and learn how your ideas or product can be brought to market. The project areas that you’ll tackle will be multidisciplinary in nature and could touch on a variety of different topics including (but not limited to) Medical, Financial, Educational, Fitness or Lifestyle Technologies.

 The module will develop your skills in evaluating project proposals and working effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team. As a team you will produce videos to present and promote your project, picking up video shooting and editing skills along the way. You will also learn about and execute various principal roles within a project (e.g. the Chief Executive Office or Chief Financial Officer).

Please note: The information on this module description is indicative. The module may undergo minor modifications before the start of next academic year. 

Accordian

By the end of this module, you will better be able to:

  • Have increased skills in assessing the opportunity associated with a project proposal
  • Understand the principal activities associated with CEO (Chief Executive Officer), CTO (Chief Technical Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), COO (Chief Operations Officer), CXO (Chief X Officer, where X is appropriate to the organisation) roles
  • Have upskilled in and undertaken project activity as one of CEO (Chief Executive Officer), CTO (Chief Technical Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), COO (Chief Operations Officer), CXO (Chief X Officer, where X is appropriate to the organisation)
  • Upskilled in the curation and production of a video to present and promote a project
  • Undertaken and presented a multidisciplinary group project

The multidisciplinary group project will run over a single term with the following schedule:

Week 1: Kick-off presentation by module lead and guest speaker exploring the diverse nature of project work and insights from a selection of successful projects.

Week 2: Presentation on module organisation, team formation, team roles (CEO (Chief Executive Officer), CTO (Chief Technical Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), COO (Chief Operations Officer), CXO (Chief X Officer, where X is appropriate to the organisation)– roles can be fixed or rotated as a team determines appropriate)

Week 3: Pitch (Each student presents a 1 minute pitch of any of a) a project plus a skill-set a student is offering; b) a skill-set a student is offering)). During the week students to review all 1 minute pitches and assign their 30 votes according to the module criteria (multi-disciplinary team, willingness to lead or work on someone else’s project)

Week 4: Team organisation and project organisation presentation. Team formation – Based on the voting scheme following review of the week 3 pitches.

Week 5: Team Work – Discovery [Tutor Team = 1 tutor per 6 teams of 5 students]

Week 6: Team Work – Definition of project [Tutor Team = 1 tutor per 6 teams of 5 students] Week 7: Team Work – Develop [Tutor Team = 1 tutor per 6 teams of 5 students]

Week 8: Team Work – Develop [Tutor Team = 1 tutor per 6 teams of 5 students]

 Week 9: Team Work – Develop [Tutor Team = 1 tutor per 6 teams of 5 students]

Week 10: Team Work – Deliver + video [Tutor Team = 1 tutor per 6 teams of 5 students]

Week 11: Team Work – Deliver + video

The first few weeks will set the scene for the module, followed by group work and online activities which will provide context and guidance for the week-by-week development of the project. The tutor team will meet with each group during Weeks 5-10, providing guidance for the development of the project.

Formative feedback will be provided by tutor feedback statements and for some selected workshop tutorials. Summative feedback will be provided by tutor reports of students' engagement with the module and project progress for the activities taking place between Weeks 5 and 10. There will be peer feedback statements as well as feedback on the group videos.

  • Group project video (60%)
  • Peer Assessment of other groups’ project videos (20%)
  • Tutor reports of student engagement in activities undertaken during Weeks 5 to 10 (20%)
  • Requirements: It is compulsory to take an I-Explore module during your degree (you’ll take an I-Explore module in either your 2nd or 3rd year, depending on your department). You are expected to attend all classes and undertake approximately 105 hours of independent study in total during the module. Independent study includes for example reading and preparation for classes, researching and writing coursework assignments, project work and preparing for other assessments
  • I-Explore modules are worth 5 ECTS credit towards your degree; to receive these you will have to pass the module. The numerical mark that you obtain will not be included in the calculation of your final degree result, but it will appear on your transcript
  • This module is designed as an undergraduate Level 6 course.
  • This module is offered by the Dyson School of Design Engineering