What is the Engineering Doctorate (EngD)?

The Doctor of Engineering (EngD) is a four-year postgraduate award intended for the UK's leading research engineers who aspire to key managerial positions in industry. The core of the degree is the solution of one or more significant and challenging engineering problems with an industrial context. Thus the solution of the problem will have to take factors such as financial constraints, timescales and personnel management into account.

The EngD is a radical alternative to the traditional PhD, being better suited to the needs of industry, and providing a more vocationally oriented doctorate in engineering. It is therefore, basically an industry based PhD. Please note there are only 10 spaces available on this programme per annum.

What is the essence of the EngD?

• Development of innovative thinking, while tackling real industrial problems
• Continual broadening, by gaining and applying new knowledge from a modular taught programme
• A chance to work in a real industry environment
• Offers a combination of research and commercial skills

Who can participate in the scheme?

The EngD programme at Loughborough is open to graduates in an appropriate branch of civil/construction engineering provided that they are articulate, well qualified and highly motivated. The minimum entry qualification is a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent. A lower qualification is acceptable if supplemented with an appropriate postgraduate (MSc) qualification. Applications are particularly welcome from experienced engineers who are already employed within the construction industry.

The advantages to those already employed in industry are:

• Students can remain with their existing employer as long as the company are happy to sponsor them on the programme
• Students continue to receive their existing salary with benefits from pensions, etc.
• Students make a major part of their present job an EngD topic
• The company will receive a contribution of £10k p.a. from the Centre to offset against the RE receiving a salary. The only outlay in this case is the £3,000 annual centre contribution.

For students wishing to begin a career in industry, they:

• are placed by CICE with an industrial sponsor
• spend 70% or more of their time working at the sponsor's premises
• receive a tax free stipend of over £18,100K p.a. for four years
• research a topic selected by industry and the Centre to be of industrial relevance
• gain an EngD by being based in Industry rather than academia

How does the programme operate?

The Research Engineers are expected to spend a large proportion (typically 70-80%) of their time at the premises of their collaborating company, depending on the nature of the project. To support the Research Engineers, packages of training courses will be individually tailored to their needs in order to develop a wider range of competencies in engineering business management, as well as specialist technical subjects. This taught component will be assessed and form an integral part of the degree.

What are the Research Areas?

• Innovative Construction Technologies
• Construction Business Processes
• Advanced Information and Communications Technologies
• Sustainable Design and Construction
• Transport and Infrastructure

What sort of projects?

The projects must demonstrate innovation in the application of knowledge to the engineering business. The work has to make a significant contribution to the performance of the company and thus has to be in the mainstream, not a 'student' project on the sidelines.

The projects must include a thorough analysis of opinions, based on best practice elsewhere, and must demonstrate key competencies such as project planning and control. These competencies will be ensured by projects being designed jointly by the academics, sponsoring company (with, when recruited, the candidate), with agreed objectives, deliverables and timescales and regular monitoring against these targets.

What does the Research Engineer achieve?

A 'Doctor of Engineering' (EngD) is awarded on successful completion. The Research Engineer should be capable of applying the knowledge and expertise acquired in a business environment in a disciplined, innovative and penetrating way. This is seen as an important element in the achievement of competitiveness of British engineering businesses.

The Research Engineers will be expected to have developed competencies in the following areas:

• Expert knowledge of an engineering area
• Appreciation of industrial engineering and development culture
• Programme and project management skills against realistic timescales
• Teamwork and leadership skills
• Communication – oral and written, technical and non-technical
• Technical organisational skills
• Financial engineering, project planning and control
• The ability to apply skills and knowledge to new and unusual situations
• The ability to seek optimal, viable solutions to multi-faceted engineering problems and to search out relevant information sources
• The evaluation of the environmental impact of the industry and how to minimise it

What is the role of the industrial sponsor?

Every Research Engineer must be sponsored by an industrial partner. The industrial partner will be involved in the selection of candidates, and in selecting the pattern of course work for their sponsored Research Engineer (RE).

The major benefit to the industrial sponsor is that normally most of the project work is undertaken in the company by the RE. This will involve solving a challenging engineering problem that may result in significant cost-savings to the company.

How is the programme funded?

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EPSRC, will provide the Research Engineer with support for up to four years. The RE is funded in one of two ways:

• Industrial Studentship
  In this scenario potential REs are already working in the sponsoring company and receiving a salary. The sponsors would only have to pay a £3k Annual Centre Contribution per annum over the 4 years (£12k total). In addition, the Centre will give the sponsoring company a £10k p.a. contribution to offset against keeping the RE on a salary/company benefits.
• Normal EngD Studentship
  Research Engineers receive an enhanced tax-free stipend of £15,100 p.a. (as of October 2010 start). In addition REs will receive a minimum top-up of £3,000 p.a. (tax-free) from the industrial sponsor. The top-up can be considerably more for experienced engineers but cannot exceed the stipend.
  
  The cost to the sponsor in this scenario is a minimum of £6k p.a for four years (£24k). This is broken down between £3k minimum top up and the £3k annual Centre Contribution.

In both cases, a training allowance is available for each RE to attend conferences, seminars etc over the four years of study. This allowance is managed by the Centre.

How is the EngD assessed?

The EngD is assessed by means of a mini-thesis (a sample copy is available at the Centre) and a portfolio. The portfolio is built up over the period of registration and covers the key requirements for a 'Management Development' module. Candidates are also expected to satisfy the requirements of the taught modules.

What are the commitment and supervision requirements?

All Research Engineers are registered on the EngD degree programme as full-time candidates for a period of 4 years. It is therefore essential that REs day to day work and EngD research are aligned and integrated. Attendance on modules varies from two to six weeks per annum depending on the participants’ qualifications and experience. In addition, it is advisable to allow at least one day per month to visit the academic supervisor and to attend individual workshops and seminars connected with the EngD.

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