Module manager: Dr Sadegh Azizi
Email: s.azizi@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
ELEC3880 Group Design Project
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The Group Design Project (GDP) is a major, group-based, design and development project taken by students on the School's core degree programmes in the penultimate year of an MEng Honours degree. Groups of three or four students are involved in the organisation and delivery of a substantial engineering project. A report on the project is written and there is a public oral presentation at the end of the work.Each project is supervised by an academic, who guides and monitors the work of the group through regular (usually weekly) meetings. However, it is a feature of the module to encourage self-organisation and use of initiative by the students. At the conclusion of the module, the student should have gained significantly in self-confidence in the context of a team technical project; verbal and written communication skills should have developed and technical knowledge in some area should have been expanded.
On completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Define an overall design objective and functional system block diagram, and propose a feasible plan of work with an appropriate distribution of sub-system parts between the group members.
2. Apply project management skills including time planning, team working, working to deadlines and producing deliverables.
3. Demonstrate creativity, innovation and technical competence by implementing the project proposal, delivering the problem solving, experimental investigation or design work specified in the plan, and reach substantiated conclusions derived from the work undertaken.
4. Manage technical uncertainty, analyse scenarios and identify realistic options.
5. Select and evaluate technical literature and other sources of information.
6. Communicate effectively on complex engineering matters with technical and non-technical audiences.
7. Reflect on progress and identify self-learning and development through undertaking a substantial technical project.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
Project planning and management
Identification of resources and managing cost drivers
Identification and analysis of project risk
Working with Gantt charts, work breakdown structure, critical path, milestones and deliverables
Safe working practices, Risk assessment
Report writing and oral presentation
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Seminar | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Seminar | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Independent online learning hours | 5 | ||
| Private study hours | 485 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 10 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 500 | ||
In addition to the supporting lectures, students will have meetings with an academic (staff) supervisor. It is expected that there will be an opportunity for students to meet their supervisor an average of once per week for the duration of the project (term weeks). However, the precise format and frequency of these meetings will be arranged between the supervisor and the student.
Students will receive feedback on their progress during meetings with their academic supervisor.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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