MEng (Software Engineering) FAQ

Table of Contents

General

Placements

On Placement


Acknowledgments.

General

Q. Is the MEng degree in software engineering accredited?
A. Yes. We have full exemption and CEng accreditation from the BCS.

Q. How is the final MEng mark arrived at?
A. The degree of MEng shall be determined by performance in:
•    Stage 3, averaged over all 12 modules (3/24)
•    Stage 4, averaged over all 12 modules (9/24)
•    the 6 taught modules in Stage 5 (6/24)
•    the individual dissertation project in Stage 5 (6/24)


Q. I'm a 3rd year undergraduate computer scientist at Heriot-Watt. Can I enter the MEng programme?
A. Yes. A call for expressions of interest from 3rd year CS students will  be issued. At that point students will be expected to submit a CV.

Q. I'm a 3rd year undergraduate MEng (SE) student at Heriot-Watt. Am I guaranteed a place in MEng4?
A. No. These students must go through the same selection process that a CS student wishing to join MEng4 would.

Q. How are people selected for the MEng?
A. If a student is continuing, (s)he will be interviewed by a panel of academics and industrialists in 3rd year. If (s)he passes this interview and has good enough 3rd year results (ie results that indicate the student would be on course for a good 2:1 or 1st class degree), then (s)he will be accepted.

Q. What is the procedure to get direct entry into MEng4?
A. Apply through the conventional UCAS route and we will consider the application. Your current institution will give you the appropriate
access password.

Q. Is it possible to enter directly into MEng5?
A. No.

Q. Where can a I find course structures and module details?
A. http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/cs/localinfo/courses/ug/
Q. I am a student with a disability. Is there anything I should do, or anyone I should tell?
A. Before we start actively promoting you to employers, University policy is to give you the opportunity to tell us about any disability you may have. Obviously, whether you tell us or not is up to you. However, if we know, we can discuss what implications there might be for your placement and talk about what measures we can take now to help you. Any information you give us will be shared only with the relevant personnel and will be treated in the strictest confidence. Ultimately, your placement host has a legal duty towards staff and students with disabilities, but the university has a moral and legal duty of care that we must exercise. You may wish to speak to the University Disability Adviser before speaking to us in the department.
Q. What gowns do MEng (SE) students wear at graduation?
A. All undergraduate students in MACS, regardless of the degree the are getting (eg Comp Sci IT, SE, Maths, AMS), wear black hoods with light blue lining and gold trim. See http://www.hw.ac.uk/registry/graduation.php.
Q. Should I expect a formal letter giving me an unconditional MEng4 place after the 3rd year exams?
A. No. Just return for the next session and we'll sort out the formalities then. Drop us a line if you're worried about this.
Q. Will my funding body continue to support me doing a 5 year course?
A. Very Probably. Most funding bodies will continue to support you, although the amount you need to repay may increase. However you should confirm this with your funding body: our students are funded from a such range of different agencies, in different circumstances, that it's not possible for us to track all contingencies.

Placements

Q. Do I have to find a placement myself?
A. For a continuing student, the School will endeavour to find a placement, although the student is encouraged to use initiative and contacts as well. However, for a direct entrant, (s)he will normally be expected to secure a placement before starting MEng4.
Any placement is a job and, even for those identified for you by the School, you will need to apply for, and interview for them.

Q. How can I find a placement?
A. Check job adverts, use friends and families to gain contacts, cold call companies, etc. There is a useful flyer at http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~trinder/MEng/MEngPlacementPoster2009.pdf that can be used to help explain what is required of employers.
Q. What happens in the unlikely event that a placement can't be found?
A. You will be assigned to a research group in the department; probably doing unpaid work.

Q. How much will I get paid?
A. That is a matter the student must negotiate with the placement host, but typically the salary should be roughly equivalent to a starting graduate.

Q. Can I take holidays during my placement?
A. This is a matter the student must negotiate with the placement host, but typically there should be a paid holiday entitlement of one or two days per month worked.

Q. How are placements assessed?
A. The most recent blank assessment sheets are at http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~trinder/MEng/PlacementMarkingScheme.doc. This shows that 50% of the marks are awarded by the industrial supervisor and the remainder by the academic supervisor.

Q. When does the placement take place?
A. In general, 12-26 weeks from June to December.

Q. How long are placements?
A. In general, 12-26 weeks from June to December. Some students take a year-long placement.

Q. In what country does the placement need to take place?
A. Preferably local to Edinburgh so that site visits can be readily arranged, however, placement can be anywhere in principle.

Q. What is required of the company hosting my placement?
A. To offer the student a contract of employment and to provide Challenging Software Engineering or ICT-related Work.

Q. What kind of work is suitable for my placement?
A. Challenging Software Engineering or ICT-related Work. The work does not have to be a specific project; it can be day-to-day operational activities.

Q. How formal is the arrangement between the host company and the University?
A. The arrangement is relatively informal.

Q. Who owns the IPR for the placement work?
A. The student doesn't deliver a project to the University out of the placement. All of the code, and any IPR, the student develops as an employee of the company remains with the company.

Q. Is there a visit to the company by the University?
A. Yes. An academic will endeavour to visit local companies during the placement period to check all parties are happy. For companies further away from the University, arrangements can sometimes be made.

Q. What advice is there for industrial supervisors on assessment?
A. Industrial supervisors will see from the placement marking scheme that they are responsible for awarding 50% of the placement student's marks. As a guide, a mark greater than 70%, ie > 35 marks, is considered exceptional and would be of distinction level. On the other hand, a mark less than 40% (ie < 20 marks) constitutes a fail. Some normallising/calibrating overview is provided by the placement coordinator and advice can certainly be given by the coordinator to industrial supervisors.

On Placement

Q. What does the placement diary look like?
A. Your placement diary should contain a brief entry describing your activity on each day. You may keep it electronically or on paper. Many people find it worth keeping a separate notebook for recording technical discussion and ideas. Such a notebook is not a required placement deliverable.

Q. What are the placement deliverables?
A. There are 3 deliverables: your placement diary, a reflective summary, and an assessment sheet (see elsewhere in FAQ). Monthly reports are not required.

Q. Are placement deliverables to be electronic or paper?
A. These should be submitted through a Vision assessment link in module F21IA. Submit all documents in one .zip file. Am important point is that your industrial supervisor must acknowledge having seen them and agree they are a true record of your placement. Best would be to attach one scanned (final) page of a signed version of the documents. Your supervisor may wish to give you the assessment sheet in a sealed envelope.


Many thanks to the placement host companies and the MEng students for asking the questions.
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