Your project can be either:

            (a) one that is suggested by a member of staff of the Department, or

            (b) one that you propose yourself and is then approved by the Department.

There is no onus on you to think up a type (b) project, and you should find plenty to interest you amongst the type (a) projects. Type (b) projects are most likely to arise when sponsored students wish to work in areas suggested by their companies.

Type (a) projects

A list of type (a) projects will be available on the departmental computer system (via COMET) from the start of Lent term. If you are not proposing a type (b) project, you are expected to choose three from the type (a) projects offered, stating an order of preference. The deadline for submitting choices is midnight on Friday of week 5, but you are strongly advised to find out more about the projects whose titles you find of interest well before this date.

Four points to note:

1. It is not necessary for you to work on a project which is related to your own engineering area.
2. With some supervisors, more projects are listed than can be taken up. Those which remain finally on offer depend on which projects attract student interest.
3. Some projects are subject to confidentiality restrictions: these are indicated clearly on COMET. If you are considering applying for such a project, you should make sure that you are fully aware of the nature of the confidentiality issues by discussing them with the supervisor. Where no confidentiality issues are flagged, you may safely assume that you will be able to write freely about all aspects of your project work, discuss what you have done with potential future employers, and present your work in public.
4. Some projects have two supervisors listed, and in such cases it is the first of the two who should be contacted.

When you find a project which is likely to be one of your preferences, you should make every effort to contact the supervisor and discuss it with them, especially if you want it to be your first preference. Note that, in due course, the supervisor may have to choose between you and other students who wish to undertake that project. There may be a need for you to persuade them that you are the best choice.

Students in the past have found that supervisors are reluctant to choose them for a project if a face-to-face meeting has not been arranged prior to the allocation process. It is therefore very important to meet prospective supervisors and discuss possible projects before selecting those projects as your choices.

Preferences are to be entered onto COMET between Tuesday of week 1 and Friday of week 5. During this period, each online project description will be accompanied by a facility for submitting it as a preference. Enter whether it is to be first, second or third choice and then click on submit. Remember that the allocation of projects is not done automatically by computer, but by the staff in consultation.

Members of staff also have the option to pre-allocate projects if they have seen enough students to make a reasoned choice.  Pre-allocation may happen between Monday of week 3 and Friday of week 4.

After submitting preferences, it is still possible to amend them up until midnight on Friday of week 5 simply by submitting new ones (the old will be overwritten). A ‘‘first allocation’’ list of students to whom projects are assigned will be posted online on Friday of week 7.  If you have been unlucky and it has not been possible to assign you one of your preferences, you should contact the coordinator of the group that is of most interest to you as soon as possible. They will assist you in finding an alternative project.

NB. It is your responsibility to register for a project before the end of the Lent term.

Type (b) projects

If you wish to do a type (b) project, you are strongly advised to submit the proposal form as early as possible, preferably before the end of the Michaelmas term, to allow time for suitable supervision to be arranged. If your proposal is not accepted by a member of staff, acting this early will also leave you with plenty of time to choose a type (a) project instead. Be aware that projects with significant confidentiality issues are unlikely to attract a willing supervisor.

To propose a type (b) project, you must contact the coordinator of the group which covers the field of the project, discuss your ideas with them and submit your proposal form by the Tuesday of week 1, Lent term, at the latest. The coordinator will decide whether the project is a suitable one and determine whether there is a member of staff willing to act as supervisor. All projects must have a departmental supervisor. The coordinator will contact you as soon as possible.

If a suitable supervisor is not available within the department, you cannot do the type (b) project proposed. You should now choose a type (a) project instead (see above).

If a suitable supervisor is available within the department, the coordinator will tell you his/her name. You should contact the supervisor and complete the project planning form together.

If the project is approved or seems likely to be approved, it is your responsibility to enter a record of the proposed project during the period in the Lent term beginning Tuesday of week 1 and Friday of week 5. This should be done by logging on to COMET and following instructions on the screen for submitting type (b) projects. The screen will ask for: project title, industrial sponsor (if any), supervisor’s name, the group it will be associated with and a brief (100 word) amplification of the title.

Actions for all students

By Friday of week 5 Lent term all students must have submitted type (a) preferences or an approved type (b) project description. You must keep to this deadline in order not to be disadvantaged. As the final allocation is settled by discussion among staff and not by computer, you are advised to contact the supervisors of your selected projects before the Friday of week 5, so that you can both be clear about all aspects of the project.

Once your type (a) or type (b) project has been determined, you are responsible for arranging to see the supervisor so that the project planning form is completed by both of you. At this meeting, you and your supervisor should draw up an initial plan for the project work and discuss long vacation work (industrial or preliminary). You should then hand in the form to the Group Administrator (for Group B you can hand them in to the EIETL if preferred) by Friday of week 7 Easter term. Please contact the relevant group administrator if you have a problem in doing this. Please make sure that you include the project reference number - for example, A-GTP-1, or A-GTP-type(b) etc - on your form.