Course syllabus
Course-PM
MCC145 MCC145 Technical project in electrical engineering lp1 HT21 (7.5 hp)
Course is offered by the department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience and Division for Language and Communication.
Contact details
Teachers:
Course purpose
The aim of the course is to introduce project work as a functional and effective method for dealing with engineering problems and to introduce electrical engineering as a field. The project tasks may vary from one year to another, but the subjects deal with different applications in electrical engineering.
Project work is trained in a systematic way where, amongst other things, the difference between content and process, group dynamics, report writing, and oral presentations are worked with and practised. The course, therefore, aims to help engineering students to develop methods to carry out a technical project with others.
Schedule
Check TimeEdit for the complete schedule.
Attendance is compulsory to the course sessions listed below. If, for some reason, you cannot attend a session, you should email both the communication teacher and project supervisor in advance.
- Library Introduction in week 37
- All group dynamics sessions
- Scheduled project meetings, inform your team members and the project supervisor if you cannot attend, the absence from two meetings is accepted
- All four communication workshops, absence from one is accepted
- Midway presentation in week 40
- Joint tutoring sessions in week 41 and 47
- Oral presentation session in week 49
The content of the lectures in week 35 and 36 is listed below. Although not compulsory, you are strongly recommended to follow these lectures. The content of the technical lectures will be examined through a written exam in week 38.
- Course introduction
- Industrial outlook, guest lecture by Veronica Lundstedt at Saab
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Radar basics
- Installing the software
- Acconeer Radar technology, guest lecture by Josefin Strahl
Course literature
- Chalmers Writing Guide (Links to an external site.): web-based writing guide
- Engonline (Links to an external site.): web-based grammar program with exercises
- Handouts
- Articles on IoT (Internet of Things) and radar technology
- Acconeer product documentation and user guides
Course design
The project illustrates a realistic engineering problem, where the project teams communicate their results in a written project report and as an oral presentation where they display their solution and the reasons for deciding on a particular solution in a competent way, that is as an engineer. This requires that they learn how to delimit an open problem and put together productive research questions to work from. In addition, this implies that they learn how to cooperate in and contribute to a realistic engineering project.
Other significant learning outcomes of MCC145 as a whole are that each project member should develop her/his competence to select, read, and use source material and background reading in relevant and productive ways. It is also important that the document contains genuine results and text. In other words, the written report should demonstrate that the group know how to cite and paraphrase other people's texts and that every member of the team can account for the result and how that result was produced.
The expectations for this project are that the students will practise and learn how to:
- Design and carry out a technical study.
- Apply a project plan to facilitate and structure the progress of the work.
- Design useful and productive research questions to base the study on
- Use information from different kinds of sources (databases, scientific journals, web sites, etc.) in productive ways for this assignment.
- Design and present the project and results in the shape of a project report in English
- Design and present the results as an informative and partly argumentative presentation where they address their fellow students and/or a specific customer.
Through the project, the students will learn about a specific field in electrical engineering and apply some basic programming skills. The specific task this year is to suggest and design an Internet of Things (IoT) application where they use a commercial 60 GHz radar as a sensor. Each group will borrow a radar module during the course, and download the required software and documentation. Since the software is written in the program language Python, there will be a basic introduction to Python. We want to stress, though, that programming is only an option. It is not required for a successfully performed project. However, all groups have to install the hardware and software in order to get a running radar sensor.
Changes made since the last occasion
The system for obtaining the final grade on the course has been modified. The final grade will now be calculated from a weighted average of the individual grade on the oral presentation (40%) and the common group grade on the written report (60%). It is possible to improve by passing an individual test and by attending the study visit at Saab.
A number of changes were made in 2020 related to the restrictions caused by the pandemic. In accordance with the Swedish authorities' recommendations, Chalmers has eased the restrictions for autumn 2021.
- The technical lectures will be on campus, but in lecture halls with room for at least twice as many students as the size of the class.
- The communication workshops will be on campus in half classes, around 40 students.
- Unless the recommendations are changed, there will be a real life study visit to Saab AB.
Just as in 2020, the compulsory project meetings will be on campus.
It should be stressed that you have to stay at home if ill, and you should not attend any meetings or lectures if you or anyone you share housing with belong to a risk group. In that case you should talk with your teacher in order to find a solution where you can attend the meetings remotely.
Learning objectives and syllabus
After completion of the course the student should be able to
1. Describe basic electrotechnical concepts related to the project task.
2. Apply her/his technical expertise to a multi-person project with an open-ended electrical engineering problem where a solution is proposed, investigated and verified.
3. Show sufficient proficiency in the use of software tools such as MATLAB.
4. Contribute, in several team roles, to a multi-person project. This includes planning and follow-up under resource constraints.
5. Apply methods for effectively working in a group.
6. Reflect on group work experiences during and after the process.
7. Write an academic report, with several authors, describing a problem-solving project, with correct handling of references.
8. Orally as well as in writing discuss and defend the proposed product, also on the basis of sustainability and ethical aspects.
9. Deliver and constructively process written and oral feedback.
These are the learning objectives listed in the syllabus in the student portal. For this year's project, the proficiency in software tools in learning objective 3 includes the installing of Python and the software provided by Acconeer on your own computer.
Examination form
The learning outcomes are assessed through a number of compulsory assignments. Written assignments may be individual or group submissions. All written assignments will be uploaded to Canvas. Make sure that you keep the deadlines since late submission affects not only you but also your group.
Assignments in first quarter (LP 1).
| Assignment | Due date | where to submit | grade | Learning outcomes | part of |
| Background survey | Sep. 1 | CANVAS/individual assignment | P/F | n.a. | Project grade |
| Group contract | Sep. 10 | CANVAS/group assignment | P/F | 5 | Communication grade |
| Project plan |
A groups: Sep. 17 B groups: Sep. 17 |
CANVAS/group assignment | P/F | 2 | Communication grade |
| Meeting minutes | within three days after each meeting | CANVAS/project groups | P/F | 3 & 4 | Project grade |
| Midway presentation |
A: groups: Oct. 3 B: groups: Oct. 5 |
CANVAS/group assignment | P/F | 8 | Communication grade |
| Report: 1st draft |
A groups: Oct. 4 B groups: Oct. 6 |
CANVAS/group assignment | P/F | 1, 2, & 7 | Communication grade |
| Contribution report to 1st draft |
A groups: Oct. 4 B groups: Oct. 6 |
CANVAS/individual assignment | P/F | 4, 5, & 6 | Communication grade |
| Opposition on first draft |
A groups: Oct. 11 B groups: Oct. 13 |
Orally delivered at tutorial 1 | P/F | 9 | Communication grade |
| Group dynamics mid-point meeting |
A groups: Oct. 19 B groups: Oct 21 |
Attendance at group meeting | P/F | 5, 6, & 9 | Communication grade |
Assignments in second quarter (LP2).
| Assignment | Due date | where to submit | grade | learning outcomes | part of |
| Meeting minutes | within three days after each meeting | CANVAS/project groups | P/F | 3 & 4 | Project grade |
| Report: 2nd draft |
A groups: Nov. 16 B groups: Nov. 18 |
CANVAS/group assignment | P/F | 1, 2, & 7 | Communication grade |
| Contribution report to 2nd draft |
A groups: Nov. 16 B groups: Nov. 18 |
CANVAS/individual assignment | P/F | 4, 5, & 6 | Communication grade |
| Written opposition |
A groups: Nov. 22 B groups: Nov. 24 |
CANVAS/individual assignment | P/F | 9 | Communication grade |
| Slides for oral presentation | Dec. 6 | CANVAS/individual assignment | Part of grade for presentation | 8 | Project grade |
| Final presentation | see presentation schedule in CANVAS | Deliver in class | F,3,4,5 | 8 | Project grade |
| Group dynamics final reflection | Dec 17 | CANVAS/group assignment | P/F | 6 & 9 | Communication grade |
| Report: Final version | Jan. 5 | CANVAS/group assignment | F,3,4,5 | 1, 2, & 7 | Project grade |
| Contribution report to final report | Jan. 5 | CANVAS/individual assignment | P/F | 4, 5, & 6 | Communication grade |
The final grade is based on the final group report (60 %) and the individual oral presentation grade (40 %). There will be a retake in January for those who did not pass the individual presentation. A passed retake will only give a maximum of 3 on the presentation grade. You can obtain bonus points by attending the study visit and passing a written test, see below.
In order to receive a final grade, all assignments must be passed.
Attendance
The attendance at many sessions are compulsory. For a complete list see the schedule section above. If, for some reason, you cannot attend an in-person or online session, you should email both communication teacher and project supervisor in advance.
Written test (Dugga)
The content presented at the technical lectures is tested through a voluntary written test in Canvas. The test consists of a number of multiple-select questions. By passing the test you add 0.2 to your final course grade. The result from the test is only valid for this year.
Study visit to Saab
By attending the study visit to Saab you add 0.2 to your weighted grade.
Project meetings and logbooks
During the course, there are eight scheduled project meetings, each 2 hours long, where the project groups will meet their project supervisors. Apart from these meetings, a successfully completed project requires that your project group schedule intermediate meetings.
The project supervisors will support each group as a technical coach, suggesting sources of information, providing feedback on drafts & reports, discussing advantages and disadvantages with various technical options and by asking key questions to help the group to address the most relevant questions. However, the supervisors will not provide complete lists of source materials or a “correct answer” to any of the tasks. The projects are open-ended tasks with no definite answer and this course focuses on the scientific methods applied rather than the result.
For each project meeting you decide who should be the chairman and who should be the secretary. The chairman leads the meeting. The secretary writes the meeting minutes, and makes sure that they are uploaded on the group homepage in Canvas within three days after the meeting. The minutes should show clearly how the work has progressed and what will happen the following week. Each group member has to act as secretary at a minimum of one meeting.
Each student should have one logbook entry per week with information about hours spent on project and tasks completed e.g. team meeting 1hr; lecture 2 hrs; reading about solar power 4 hrs. The logbook entries should be updated at the end of each week.
Tollgates
The projects include two major tollgates, Tutorial 1 and Tutorial 2. Before the first tutorial, you will give a midway presentation. The following items are already on the agenda, but an open discussion is also expected:
- Project plan review
- Status report – what are the results so far, and what do you expect to achieve within the scope of the project?
- Economical report – are you in-line with your time budget?
- Open discussion / Questions and Answers
During each tutorial, you will receive critique / feedback on the current state of your report draft by your communication teacher, project supervisor, and a peer group. Also, you will give your peer group critique / feedback. These are a great opportunities to discuss the structure and content that will help you to finish your final report well in time for the last deadline.
First and second draft
The first draft should at least contain background, purpose, scope and a brief description of your solution(s) / options (approx. 1500 words), and the second draft is considered to be very close to the final report with only minor things to add/correct such as abstract, layout, language, figures, captions, etc. Note that the 2nd tollgate is the last time you receive full feedback on your progress before you hand in your final report.
Final report specifications
For the full specifications for the final report, see the upload slot for that assignment.
Group work
Group and project work are extremely important elements of company life. This is why on this course your project will be carried out in a group. This leads to certain expectations for you as a group member. These expectations are that you:
- Contribute actively to the group project
- Attend all group dynamics sessions and be prepared for them
- Attend all scheduled project meetings (with a maximum of two missed meetings)
- Listen and respond to suggestions made by the team
- Respect group members and their opinions
- Be prepared and able to report on the project on behalf of the team
- Meet outside class time in order to move the project forward
- Stay in communication with your group, including notifying your group ahead of time if you must miss a project meeting and also keeping your group apprised of the ongoing status of your individual contributions to the project.
Hand-ins connected to group work:
- Group contract
- Minutes of meeting (team)
- Final contribution report
- Final reflection on group and project work
Opposition
The following criteria will be used to decide whether written opposition is approved. NB: this is the written opposition for the 2nd tollgate and will be posted on Canvas for the other group to read:
- The opposition should answer the questions specified in the instructions (see the session handout)
- The opposition should give clear guidelines for the group as to how to move the report forward. It should also point out what works in the report right now.
- The opposition should contain a clear structure in the text (see the example opposition in Canvas).
- The opposition should contain clear language, such that it is possible to read and understand the ideas stated.
Course summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|