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Accessibility statement
In this project module, you’ll apply the engineering science principles and mathematical methods you’ve learned. You’ll define, analyse and solve your chosen engineering problem, demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of relevant engineering practice and project management. You’ll use literature to support your work and present your results in a technical report. This module is challenging and requires a high degree of self-direction and motivation; however, an experienced tutor will advise and guide you throughout.
Before registering for this module, you must have studied one of the modules listed in the ‘Entry requirements’ section.
This individual project is the final part of your honours degree, contributing directly to your employability and career development. It is an opportunity to define an engineering question of importance to you and to seek ways of solving it.
About 80 per cent of your study time will be spent on your project, and about 20 per cent on learning how to carry out a project.
Demonstrating that you know how projects develop and explaining how your project has evolved are two key skills central to the module and its learning outcomes. The choice of project area is left up to you, but its subject matter should be covered by one of the OU level 3 modules that you have previously studied. You will be responsible for ensuring the project has a satisfactory amount of engineering, but you will get guidance from your tutor and the internal examiner.
An essential part of the project is using research and technical academic literature, so you will need to be confident in your use of the online OU library. Your ability to evaluate sources of information and use your engineering knowledge will be assessed. You are expected to work closely with your tutor, whose role will be to provide guidance and feedback on your proposal.
The assignments have been structured to guide you through the execution of the project. However, you will need to organise your work and be able to define (and justify) your work schedule. As you are expected to use a self-reflective approach, you will be encouraged to keep a project log throughout the module and to use it for an assessed critical review of your work.
For more information on this module, visit the Discover your module site, which includes helpful videos to inspire your project.
You must have passed (or be studying1) one of the following modules:
Or have passed one of the discontinued modules T307, T356 and T357.
1 We recommend completing the OU level 3 module relevant to your project before beginning the engineering project. When you define your proposal, you need to be confident in the techniques from that module.
It would be beneficial to refresh your knowledge of the OU level 3 module relevant to your chosen project theme. You should renew your familiarity with the OU library so that you can start your literature search confidently. As this project module includes work on your personal development plan, you should also make sure your portfolio is up to date.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
Additionally, the website includes:
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying T452 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
The engineering project (T452) starts once a year – in January.
It will next start in January 2027.
We expect it to start for the last time in January 2029.
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