EDUCATION

Four year Dainton course in electricalengineering at Imperial College

L. Walker and B.J. Cory. D.Sc.(Eng.), F.I.E.E.. C.Eng.

Indexing term: Education and training

Abstract: The paper describes the Four Year Dainton Course in Electrical Engineering at Imperial College.The reasons for the introduction of the course are outlined, and the course objectives and requirements aredescribed, from the pre-university year of industrial training, through four years of academic study, to thecompletion of objective training by means of a degree project. The motivation of sponsoring companies andundergraduates is examined, and the success of the course, in terms of the response of graduates, under-graduates and sponsors, is discussed.

1 Introduction

'It is one of the curiosities of the psychology of the artistthat he is generally trying very hard to do somethingwhich has nothing to do with what he actually accom-plishes.' (Roger Fry, 'Vision and Design'.)

While it may be acceptable in the sphere of the arts forthis sentiment to be true, in the activity of preparing youngpeople for careers as engineers, adequate and effectivetraining is essential. In the rapidly advancing field of elec-trical engineering, the calibre of young people entering theprofession today will, along with many other factors, deter-mine the future prosperity of the UK.

7.1 Reports published in the late 1970sIn the period 1976 to 1979, a number of major reports onthe state of, and prospects for, the engineering profession,particularly the education of engineers, were written. Ofparticular importance were Wassell's 'The content andstructure of first degrees in engineering, from the viewpointof a company in the electronic industry' [1] and the reportof a working party set up by the Institution of ElectricalEngineers under the chairmanship of J.H.H. Merriman [2].

A common theme of both these reports, and of theReport of the Committee of Enquiry into the EngineeringProfession [3] (the Finniston report 1979), was the needfor university graduates to be adequately prepared fortheir role in industry. Advances in the technology of elec-trical engineering make it necessary for engineers of ahigh intellectual calibre to be trained, but it was becomingincreasingly apparent that manufacturing industry in parti-cular was failing to attract students of high academicability with the level of personal skills needed to take uppositions of responsibility.

1.2 The University Grants Committee's responseA positive response to the public debate about these issues,before the Finniston report was issued, came from the Uni-versity Grants Committee. A letter [4] from Sir FrederickDainton, the Chairman of the Committee, invited all theuniversities which awarded degrees in engineering subjectsto produce their proposals for a new type of course. Itstressed the need of manufacturing industry for graduateswith not only the knowledge represented by the content ofthe normal honours degree in the relevant branch of engin-

Paper 3544A (S5), first received 6th August and in revised form 1st October 1984Mr. Walker is an undergraduate student and Dr. Cory is a Reader in the ElectricalEngineering Department, Imperial College of Science and Technology, PrinceConsort Road, London SW7 2AZ, England

eering, but also with a thorough understanding of suchsubjects as accountancy, industrial relations and mana-gerial economics. It was also indicated that students couldreceive tuition in communication skills, management, anda modern European language and that an ingredient ofindustrial experience would be a desirable feature of thetotal package. Imperial College, London, was one of eightinstitutions whose proposals were selected and whichreceived extra funding to set up its courses.

1.3 The Dainton (4D) course in electrical engineeringat Imperial College

The structure of the various Dainton courses being run byuniversities in Britain varies considerably. This paper isconcerned with one of three courses being run at ImperialCollege, in electrical engineering including electronics, theother two being in mechanical engineering and chemicalengineering. The 100 or so students now entering the Elec-trical Engineering Department each year follow a commontwo-year course, after which, three different routes to adegree are available. These are a traditional three-yearcourse leading to the degree B.Sc.(Eng.), a four-year tech-nologically enhanced course (known as 4T) for studentswho need extra technical knowledge for careers in suchtechnically advanced areas as research, either in academiaor in industrial research centres, and the 4D course inwhich industrial and business studies occupy equal timewith technological studies in the 3rd and 4th years.

However, students intending to follow the 4D course(between 20 to 25 each year) are required to secure spon-sorship before joining the course from one of the industrialorganisations which co-operate with the College in itsrunning. These students are given a pre-university year(PUY) of industrial experience within their sponsoringcompany, to which they return for a minimum of eightweeks during each of the summer vacations. It is con-sidered normal for students to return to their sponsor ongraduation to take up their first appointment.

7.4 Course objectivesSince the 4D course began in 1978, both the FinnistonCommittee and the Engineering Council have expandedon the needs and objectives of engineering education. The4D electrical engineering course has therefore been revisedand refined over the years to meet these criteria, as seen byImperial College, for the extended degree objectives asstated by the Engineering Council in their 1983 documenton 'Enhanced and extended engineering courses' [5]. Thusthe course is now designed to incorporate appropriate

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depth and breadth of technical content with emphasis onfundamentals; to integrate the lecture/tutorial materialwith well conceived and related experimental work andwith both oral and written reporting.

principles to the solution of practical problems based uponengineering systems and processes'. The academic part ofthe course, dealt with in the following Section, is designedto complete the EA2 requirements.

2 Sponsorship and training

2.1 SponsorshipSponsorship is required from a company or organisationapproved by the College through its Joint Industry/Academic Board set up to oversee all the 4D courses.Sponsors have agreed to offer and bear the costs of a train-ing programme in the pre-university year (PUY) accept-able to the Institution of Electrical Engineers (see 'Trainingrequirements for corporate membership' [6]). Sponsors areasked to appoint an industrial tutor to act as a mentor tothe student throughout his or her period of trainingextending to becoming an Associate Member of the Insti-tution and, eventually, to full Member. The role of theindustrial tutor is outlined in a document on 'Theresponsibilities of the industrial tutor' which was producedby the College after consultation with all interested parties[7]. Among the guidelines are the importance of keepingregular contact with the academic tutors during bothindustrial and academic periods to lead the student into anunderstanding of the broader aspects of engineering, espe-cially the human, commercial, economic and legal aspectsof the profession.

Students are expected to work diligently on their train-ing programmes and at their academic studies and to showinitiative; to consult their sponsor over selection of subjectoptions and projects; respect commercial confidentiality ofinformation gained during training; develop a com-mitment to a career in the business of the sponsor and toadhere to any conditions which the sponsor places in hisoffer of sponsorship. Naturally, the student is expected togive his sponsor priority consideration when seekingemployment after graduation. Experience so far indicatesthat most students look first at the prospects of a satisfyingcareer with their sponsor before considering jobs else-where.

2.2 Pre-university yearThe purpose and content of the PUY has already beendetailed in a previous paper [8]. In outline, it consists ofskill appreciation by EPI-type courses, general engineeringtraining through one-week to three-month assignments inthe sponsor company and day-release studies at a localtechnical college to maintain the students' mental agility.In addition, the College arranges two one-week residentialseminars consisting of lectures by staff of the Departmentsof Social and Economic Studies and Management Sciencewith informal talks by guest speakers from industry(including senior managers and trade unionists), and smallgroup discussions centred around real-life case studies andissues. These seminars give the students an opportunity toacquire a framework within which they can better under-stand their experiences in industry, and they encouragestudents to explore their industrial environment in a con-structive and sensible manner. An additional benefit ofholding the seminars on the College campus is that stu-dents become familiar with the environment in which theywill later study full-time, with their future teachers andwith each other.

This PUY covers, very thoroughly, the concept of EA1'Introduction to the fabrication and use of materials' pro-posed by the Finniston Committee [3] and begins to laysome groundwork for EA2 'The application of engineering

3 Academic course structure and content

3.1 Technical contentFor the first two academic years, 4D students are taughttogether with all other students in the Department, sincethe entry standard of at least 12 points in 3 main subjectsat A-level is a requirement for all courses. This arrange-ment also makes the most effective use of teaching andlaboratory resources as required by the UGC. Subjectsstudied in both breadth and depth include electricalcircuits and systems; electronics; computing andmicroprocessors; electromagnetism and machines; com-munication systems; control systems; materials; mechanicsand, of course, mathematics.

In the third and fourth academic years, the autumn andspring terms are used for lectures, tutorials and seminarsas well as laboratory and project work. Students have awide choice of technical topics from which to embark onstudies suited to their own interests as well as those oftheir sponsor. Students take a minimum of three 20-lecturecourses, with a maximum of five in each year, arranged sothat topics spanning light to heavy current can be fol-lowed, or limited specialisation within a particular field(e.g. power and machines, communications, VLSI designand production) can be undertaken.

Nor are the 3rd and 4th year technical subjects confinedto electrical topics. Provided appropriate schedules can beorganised, students are able to choose at least one topic ineach year from selected courses run in the Departments ofMechanical, Civil or Chemical Engineering should astudent or sponsor so desire. Thus not only can broadtechnical studies be arranged for the student, but the inter-ests of a wide range of sponsoring industries can becovered.

3.2 Industrial and business studies (IBS)In the first academic year, electrical engineers follow acourse entitled 'Engineers, industry and society' which isintended to build on their work experience and to extendtheir PUY seminars. It includes aspects of industrial rela-tions, technological change, labour law and management,the engineering profession and industrial organisation. Asin all IBS, this course is backed by seminars andcourse-work essays. In addition, a course on the 'Presen-tation of ideas and information' provides an insight into,and further experience of, effective communication. Itincludes 5-minute video taped talks with expert criticism.

In the second year, students can choose to follow up totwo nontechnical study courses, including 'Basic economicconcepts' and a language or other humanity subject. Theeconomics course is intended to give an understanding ofmacroeconomics from the point of view of both thecountry and an individual firm, and, as such, it provides abasis for other studies in the third and fourth years.Among the humanity topics available are 20th centuryhistory, railway engineering, philosophy, modern literatureand drama, etc. A recent innovation is the introduction ofJapanese as a language option at the request of some ofthe sponsors. This course is being run in conjunction withthe University of London School of Oriental and AfricanStudies.

To ensure that the Finniston and UGC objectives aremet, courses in 'accounting, costing and finance', 'mana-

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gerial economies', 'national economy', 'innovation andtechnical change', 'marketing' and 'production manage-ment' and a business game are compulsory in the 3rd or4th academic years of the 4D course. Other courses avail-able are 'operational research', 'industrial relations' and'computers in management'. All courses are kept underconstant review and are run on demand, dependent uponavailable staff. 4D students find the majority of thesecourses enjoyable, especially as a change from technologi-cal studies, and the many seminars and essays requiredinstill a sense of confidence and eloquence often missing in3-year course students.

3.3 Design projects in third academic yearDuring the first half session in the third academic year agroup project is undertaken in teams of five or six, underthe direction of an academic member of staff who suggeststhe topic and encourages the students to learn as much aspossible from the exercise. It takes the form of a feasibilityor design study involving social, economic, human andtechnical factors which provide practice for the students inliterature searches and surveys, interviews and letterwriting. A report on the project is produced jointly forassessment. Topics such as environmental pollution,setting up a manufacturing company and computerisationof social benefits have been included. Besides learning howto work together as a team, the students often discovernew qualities of their own in this exercise which requiresinitiative, foresight and organisation.

Having completed one team project, the Dainton stu-dents them embark on a 'design and make' project inteams of 3 or 4. The 'design' phase is the preparation of thenecessary drawings and specifications, and the 'make'phase is the workshop construction, testing and commis-sioning of the product to the customers satisfaction.Finally, after an oral presentation to the customer, aca-demic staff and fellow students, a project report is pre-pared with full documentation including maintenance andoperating instructions. This project excels at bringinghome to the student the problems of providing customersatisfaction and the need for initiative in deciding onrequirements with only an outline specification. Teamworkhere enables natural leaders to emerge, but other studentsmay need encouragement to make their contribution.

3.4 Degree projectsThe degree project is done individually for the sponsor andprovides the main opportunity for the student to experi-ence a realistic design situation in his or her own workenvironment. It thus provides an objective training for theyoung engineer by providing real responsibility for his orher own work and building up confidence in the chosenprofession. This project really starts at the sponsor's prem-ises during the third summer vacation and continues fortwo terms at College in the 4th academic year withoccasional visits to site for meetings with the industrialsupervisor. It is completed during the summer term, if pos-sible at the sponsor's premises in the department or groupwhere the student is likely to be employed as a junior engi-neer. Following the final examinations in late April andearly May, the student works full time on the project tofulfil the directed objective training requirements of theIEE [6]. If the training programme has been carried out asintended by the end of October of this final year, the fulltraining requirements will have been completed and regis-tered with the IEE.

The degree project is similar in nature to that includedin many Masters Degree courses and culminates in a half-

hour oral presentation to the sponsor, training officer, aca-demic and industrial supervisors, staff and students, afterwhich a typed and bound report is prepared by the lastday of the summer term for degree assessment. The degreeis awarded during July. This project is intended to be asubstantial piece of work, encompassing not only techni-cal, analytical and design aspects, but also the broaderimplications involved in economic appraisals, costings,production problems, and perhaps the marketing and skillretraining necessary for its implementation in the companyproduct line or process. In some cases, the degree project isof a managerial or production nature and staff from Man-agement Science or Economic and Social Studies Depart-ments are involved in its supervision. All projects aredesigned to bring out the potential for taking earlyresponsibility and to show to the employer the calibre ofthe young engineer which has been sponsored. Typicalprojects are: the use of robots for production, computer-isation of production and financial records, design ofon-line computer control and implementation for rubbercuring etc. The ideal project is one which forms the basisfor employment as a junior engineer in the sponsorcompany.

4 Sponsor company attitudes

The 60 or so companies or organisations supporting stu-dents on the electrical engineering four year course havemany and varied reasons for wishing to recruit andsponsor students. Among these reasons are:

(a) The course provides a good combination of practicaltraining and academic study suited to their future needs.

(b) The PUY provides a valuable introduction andtraining in company attitudes and skills.

(c) A grounding in IBS is fundamental to industrialactivities and broader perceptions for future engineers.

(d) Opportunities are provided for increased collabo-ration between the industry and Imperial College.

(e) Candidates of high academic ability are available forconsideration for sponsorship to meet the future recruitingneeds of the industry.

(/) The ability to offer a career in the industry to thosecandidates whose training, education and personal abilitiesare already known.

(g) A general desire to help in the training of youngengineers for the future.

A recent survey of sponsors has shown that the majorityseek candidates based on the foreseen needs of theirindustry in 4-5 years time and that they like the integratednature of the training and education of the Daintoncourses. Surprisingly, we found that engineering/technicalstaff of sponsors were not generally involved in decisionson which university courses were to be supported, butthere was a fairly substantial involvement of companygroup headquarters personnel in the details of the courseand in student selection.

Most of the sponsors seemed to be able to meet theirrecruiting targets, the exceptions being those sponsors wholooked mainly for local candidates and those whose prin-cipal business was not in electrical engineering manufac-ture. In the selection process, candidates are chosen fortheir personal qualities, whereas in the College selectionprocess academic ability is the overriding criterion. Conse-quently, it is not surprising that some sponsors are disap-pointed in the character of some of the candidates they seefor possible sponsorship, although it is noticeable that

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sponsor perceptions of the 'right' personal qualities differconsiderably.

One of the problems which both sponsored studentsand academic staff visiting sponsor industries have found,is the dichotomy that often exists in the attitude of seniormanagers and training staff towards the objectives andimplementation of the 4D course. In some cases these dif-ferences of attitude have had an effect on the student'sexpectations of a career in his or her sponsor company.

Undoubtedly, the best matching of expectations andreality is given by those sponsors who have a policy oftraining young people to take responsibility from an earlystage in their careers, and the Dainton principle of select-ing the industrially aware student for special treatmentright from the start ties in well with this policy.

5 Student attitudes to the course

5.1 Survey of present studentsFrom a recently conducted survey of present 4D studentsnumbering about 60, the majority were attracted by theprospect of following a course which gives a broad educa-tion and practical training for young professional engi-neers in the electrical industry. Most, if not all, studentsbelieve in the Dainton objectives and feel that the tradi-tional three year course is rather restricted.

On arrival at College, after their PUY, students need tore-orientate themselves to the demands of an intensivecourse based on the principles of engineering and mathe-matics. Some students find the first two academic yearsdisappointing since they have come to believe that athorough knowledge and understanding of engineeringdoes not on its own ensure the making of good engineers.The comparative emphasis on technical subjects, ratherthan on wider topics in these years, can conflict with thedevelopment of the broad concept of engineering gained inthe PUY. Nevertheless, it is generally appreciated thatfrom an electrical engineering educational point of view itis vital to cover the real fundamentals of electrical andelectronic engineering in these two years before proceedingto applications, advanced analysis and synthesis, with theresult that some students find these first two years aca-demically taxing, especially as those on the 4D course donot appear to emerge as a group until the third year due tothe common teaching policy mentioned earlier.

As a result of the survey, the attitudes and outlook of4D students can be divided into three schools of thought.The first group are those small minority of students whoare attracted by the prospect of studying more technicalsubjects during a 4D course than would be achieved in athree year course. Their interest in nontechnical courses issecondary to knowing a lot about the principles and prac-tice of electrical engineering science and electronics. Thesestudents would now be better catered for by the 4T courseoffered for the first time last year (see Section 1.3).

The second group is formed of those students who thinkof themselves as potential high fliers and who wish theircourse to combine technical with management studies inpreparation for a management career. It is these studentsfor whom the 4D course came into being and who weregenerally selected by their sponsors for both their aca-demic and personal skills. Some of this group are disap-pointed and critical of the course after the first two years,but following the two final years, in which equal weight isgiven to technical courses and IBS, plus opportunities fororiginal thinking through projects, much of this disap-pointment is overcome.

The third group are students who wish to be good engi-neers in industry and expect the knowledge and skillsgained both in training and education to form a com-prehensive 'bag of tools' for solving engineering problemsduring their industrial careers.

5.2 Course review sessionIn a recently held review of the course attended by abouthalf of last years 40 graduates in all disciplines, (the firstB.Eng. degrees were awarded in electrical and mechanicalengineering in 1983), it was interesting to hear from somethat the wide range of IBS in the third and fourth yearswere already being put to good use. The language studywas thought to be worthwhile, even in the short term,although only one graduate had had a real chance to showhis prowess in that area. All the graduates commentedupon how difficult and challenging they had found thecourse at times, but on looking back the general feelingwas that it had been worth the effort. Five of the ten grad-uates in electrical engineering had continued with theirsponsor. Of those that had not, some were sponsored bycompanies that had no suitable positions to offer andothers had looked elsewhere for personal reasons. Grad-uates in general commented that the nature and value ofthis course was not always fully understood by employers,which implies that more publicity to sponsors is needed.

With only a comparatively few graduates, it is too earlyto judge the likely impact of the course on young engineersand their employing industries, but it appears to have gotoff to a promising start. Of course, the changes which haveoccurred since the first cohort graduated have still to beevaluated, including the possibility (raised by the Engineer-ing Council ) of a Masters degree as the award for suchcourses.

6 The lessons and future of the Dainton course

After six years, the concept of the Dainton course in elec-trical engineering at Imperial College as envisaged in1977-78 has undergone a number of changes with regardto structure and operation. Nevertheless, its objectivesremain the same, namely, to provide a broad electrical andelectronic engineering education and training for studentsof high calibre who are ready to take early responsibility intheir industrial careers. Inevitably, there has been somemismatch between expectations and reality which hascaused some students to transfer to other courses beforegraduating, but both students and academic staff havelearned from experience. Not the least of the problemsencountered by the College and the Department was theunexpected cutback in UGC funds for teaching staff fol-lowing the initial increase in funds made available tolaunch the Dainton concept.

What lessons have been learnt by this new venture intoengineering education? Four aspects stand out: studentselection, industrial liaison effort, the value of IBS andproject work. The difficulties in selecting youngsters of 17whilst still at school for personality and ability are wellknown. They are about to undergo, over the next fiveyears, major changes in their lifestyle more quickly thanbefore or after their degree period. Although A-level per-formance is generally recognised as an indication of aca-demic ability, many immeasurable qualities are beingsought in candidates by both the College and the sponsor,so, not surprisingly, subjective judgments abound. Selec-tion by the candidate of his/her degree course and sponsor,selection by the sponsor of the right kind of personality

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and motivation in the candidate and, not least, selection bythe Department of potentially good academic and applica-tion abilities in the candidates is unlikely to be perfect. Byeffectively partitioning our course into 3 periods of PUY,the first 2 academic years and the last 2 years with techni-cal, IBS and project work, reassessments and changes instudent expectations and attitudes can be more readilyaccommodated at any of the 'breaks'. We expect to avoidmajor traumas by these means.

A second lesson, familiar to many in higher educationengineering establishments, is the time, effort and skillneeded for academic staff to liaise with industrial engineersand management. Projecting the right course image, con-vincing line managers about the need for projects and IBSand persuading senior managers of the need for sponsor-ship and training can only be achieved by personalcontact, the right publicity and good results. This task hasits rewards as well as its disappointments, and, above all, itneeds a commitment by both academic staff and sponsors.

With any new educational venture, it takes considerabletime for the results to be evaluated and appreciated bythose involved. The introduction of a substantial propor-tion of IBS, particularly during the final two academicyears, has inevitably produced criticism from both aca-demic staff and industry regarding its content and purpose.We expect, in time, to have an objective assessmentthrough feedback from graduates and sponsors of the IBSaspect of the course, but one major benefit already appar-ent in graduating 4D engineers is their greater awarenessof the wider context of engineering compared to theaverage awareness of other students, coupled with theirability to express themselves orally and in writing. Someacademics may argue that this comes from spending anextra year in a university following a PUY; neverthelesstheir extra maturity and confidence must benefit both theiremployer and enhance their progress in their engineeringcareers.

Finally, the importance of well organised and super-vised co-operative projects between sponsors and theCollege is reflected in the ability of 4D students to fulfiltheir objectives. Although not all the expectations areachieved, the majority of co-operative projects do providean opportunity for the student to display the organisation,flair and application needed for success. The further devel-

opment of the project as a method of bringing out person-al qualities and providing objective training to enable thestudent to become a useful member of a team in industry isnot to be underestimated.

Whatever the changes occurring in our perceptions ofthe need for engineering graduates with technical, com-mercial and economic knowledge and skills, we think thereare many features of the Dainton course in electricalengineering at Imperial College that contribute to makingit an effective preparation for young men and womenentering the engineering profession. More often than not,their skills must be used in situations which require anunderstanding of matters of a human, administrative orcommercial nature, as well as technical. This is what thecourse is designed to achieve.

7 Acknowledgments

The help, advice and criticism of academic colleagues andstudents is gratefully acknowledged in the preparation ofthis paper. It is hoped that its publication and dissemi-nation will help all to understand the objectives and prob-lems of the Dainton course as they have appeared over thepast six years. We are grateful to all our industrial spon-sors and tutors who have helped the course through itsinitial period, and we look forward to increasing co-operation and success for our efforts.

8 References

1 WASSELL, H.: 'The content and structure of first degrees in engineer-ing'. GEC Marconi Electronics Ltd., 1976

2 MERRIMAN, J.H.H., (Chairman): Qualifying as a chartered electricalengineer. IEE, 1978

3 FINNISTON, M.: 'Engineering our future'. Report of the Committeeof Inquiry into the Engineering Profession, HMSO Cmnd 7794, Jan.1981

4 DAINTON, F.: Letter to Vice-Chancellors of universities offeringundergraduate courses in engineering 1977

5 'Enhanced and extended engineering course'. Engineering CouncilIEE: Training requirements for corporate membership, reprinted 1983

7 'The responsibilities of the industrial tutor'. Available from IndustrialLiaison Director, Imperial College, June 1980

8 CORY, B.J., and ALLEN, P.H.G.: 'Practical Experience for four yeardegrees in electrical engineering', Int. J. Electr. Eng. Educ, 18, pp. 5-11

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