Third Year Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing involves the understanding and co-ordination of marketing, design, manufacturing engineering and factory operation - all within a financial and business context. The Manufacturing Engineering course at Cambridge is a unique two-year programme, which combines a thorough theoretical basis with the chance to put ideas into practice in industry. When students finish the course they are much sought after for demanding jobs, not only in manufacturing industry but also in other branches of engineering, consultancy or commerce. The course has an international flavour, with activities at home and abroad with students from European universities.

The first year of the Manufacturing Engineering course (your third year) is Cambridge-based and follows normal Cambridge terms. The integrated course covers the whole range of technical, organisational and economic aspects of industrial engineering. Lecture courses (taught modules) provide the academic framework for the subject, and these are complemented by design and project work, a structured set of industrial visits and a programme of personal and business skills development.

The ten taught modules are:

• Materials into products
• Production machines & systems
• Product design
• Operations management
• Industrial engineering
• Organisational behaviour
• Managing business & people
• Financial management & accounting
• Industrial economics, strategy & governance
• Contemporary issues in manufacturing

The project work includes a major project combining marketing, design, manufacture and business. In small teams, you research the market for a novel product, prepare a business plan, and finally produce a full technical and business proposal. There is a substantial industrial and professional input to the content and assessment of this project. Recent projects have included design and demonstration models of a rocking chair to calm autistic children; a solar-powered refrigeration unit; a low-cost water purification unit for developing countries. Students are encouraged to enter entrepreneurship competitions; some projects are turned into reality.