Whether you go on to further study or into employment one of the most important skills expected in an Honours Graduate is the ability to work autonomously. This unit is an ideal vehicle for the development of that skill. You will typically implement the project proposal developed during the unit CIS013-3 Research Methods and Emerging Technologies (an alternative approach will be agreed with the unit coordinator and your project supervisor if you haven’t successfully completed CIS013-3 yet). Although you will be working independently, you are expected to arrange regular meetings with your supervisor to guide and support you. You will apply coherently your technical, analytical, practical and managerial skills during your project development.

This unit will explore the notion of electronic systems, their controls and how sensors play an important role in managing and controlling many of today’s embedded systems. The aim of the unit is to develop your knowledge and skills in relation to the specification, design, implementation and testing of electronic systems. The unit will explore the elements of control (including programming and monitoring of electronic systems), the wider concepts of feedback and feed-forward in the control of autonomous systems and the exploration of sensors to allow for the independent monitoring and control of embedded systems.

This unit is designed for you to prepare for your honours project utilizing your subject experience from the first two years of your study. You will also asked to contextualize your project idea within current or emerging technologies, typically underpinned by academic publications and to do systematic market research that will equip you with a sound strategy on how to implement your honours project.

This unit introduces students to research and the methodologies used to underpin scientific work, data analysis, hypothesises establishment and artefact validation in understanding research in an appropriate subject discipline. The material in this unit is carefully designed to meet students’ needs and requirements for their programme of study along with essential project management skills to support their research activities. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of tools, techniques, methodologies and processes in the field of project management which encapsulate both modern and traditional approaches as an essential preparation for the dissertation stage. The unit also draws on expertise from other departments within the university including library services, the careers and employability service and the English language centre to support students in the best possible way.