Annual faculty academic quality assurance and enhancement report

The Panel also recommends that the Department give home students a more formal role in introducing articulating students to the University, and ensure that lab and project groups include a mix of home and overseas students.
There is a lack of international culture among the students in the Department and few EEE students take the opportunity to study abroad. The Panel recommends that the Department find ways of encouraging more EEE students to go participate in exchange programmes.
PGI students found the transition to postgraduate study more difficult than they had expected. They found the first semester exams difficult and felt insufficient time was given to answer the questions. They had not received any feedback from coursework prior to exam and thought that tutorials had not prepared them for the complexity of the exam questions. The Panel recommends that the Department ensures PGI students receive feedback on first semester coursework before the January exams.
The Department has a diverse and well-funded research portfolio which is important in sustaining income. It is well-connected nationally and internationally and collaborates widely. Investment from companies has assisted in the creation of high quality research facilities. Although 50% of the RAE outputs were at 3* and 4* in the RAE 2008, the Department is placed relatively low on related UK league tables. The Department therefore faces a challenge in marketing its capabilities and outputs to industrial and academic partners. Early career researchers and other staff will be supported to increase their contribution at the next REF. There is a drive to increase journal publications and build an ethos of publishing research.
The Department has been very successful in commercialising research and currently has twelve spin-out companies. Knowledge transfer is achieved through strategic partnerships with industry and government agencies. Experts from the Department are involved in agenda setting at all levels of government and industry.
Appendix 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PROSTHETICS AND ORTHOTICS

Date of Review: February 2009

Presented to Faculty Planning and Resources Committee: April 2009

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. 
   The Panel welcomed the view from the Scottish Government Health Department that there was a continuing need for the Prosthetist and Orthotist undergraduate education programme provided by the Centre. This is of clear importance to Scotland and should continue to be supported.
   

2. 
   The Panel commended the Centre on the strength of its undergraduate teaching and the reputation of the BSc (Hons) in Prosthetics and Orthotics programme which is held in high regard nationally and internationally. However, the Panel was concerned that the recent restructuring of the course had been conducted without sufficient regard to developments in the education of other Allied Health Professions (AHP). The Panel was also concerned about the programme’s low retention rates, particularly in first year. Additionally, the Panel questions whether there might be scope to reduce the volume of material in the current programme as students were subject to a particularly heavy timetabled commitment across each academic year. Therefore, the Panel recommends that:
   

1. 
   The Centre should engage more widely with the other Allied Health Professions, particularly with regard to the development and operational models for its teaching programmes.
   
2. 
   The Centre should further review the BSc programme material to determine whether the volume of the current course content was still appropriate whilst ensuring that the needs of the profession continue to be met.
   
3. 
   The Centre should monitor retention rates and the impact that recent measures taken to address this issue have on improving retention rates. The Centre should also monitor whether there is any link between the mathematics qualifications of entrants and drop-out rates.
   

3. 
   A real strength is the Centre’s strong sense of community and the enthusiasm amongst its staff, both of which impact very favourably on the student experience. However, the Panel also detected some feelings of isolation from the rest of the Faculty and University amongst the Centre’s staff and, in a few cases, a unwillingness to engage in change and moving forward. The Panel also noted that, whilst students received good year-round mentoring and support from within the Centre, there was almost no integration of the Centre’s students with other students outside of the department. As a result, students do not have a sense of belonging to the University of Strathclyde. The Panel recommends that:
   

4. 
   Care should be taken to ensure that the strong sense of community does not create an insular department or perpetuate any feelings of isolation that is evident amongst the staff.
   
5. 
   The Centre should encourage greater integration of its students with students elsewhere in the Faculty and University.
   

4. 
   The Panel was encouraged to see a real enthusiasm for research amongst some of the Centre’s staff. However, the overall research performance of the Centre is weak by comparison with the rest of the University: no staff were returned to RAE 2008 and, without radical change, there is little realistic prospect of achieving an RAE-equivalent research profile over the next few years. Overall research leadership, strategy and vision are weak and, despite the efforts of the Director of Research, there remains little engagement and commitment from some staff to plan or deliver research. While the Centre’s new research appointments clearly have research potential and will help catalyse a more research orientated culture, a more radical approach to the management of research in the Centre is now required. If this is not undertaken there is a real danger of separate teaching and research factions emerging within the department. The Panel, therefore, recommends that:
   

6. 
   A radical rethinking of the role of research, and how research is managed within the Centre, be undertaken as a matter of priority.
   
   1. 
      Strong research leadership will be critical to the success of this process.
      
   2. 
      A research strategy for the department be developed.
      
   3. 
      The DRC should have a pro-active approach to planning research activities within the department against the priorities in this research strategy.
      
7. 
   The remit and membership of the DRC should be reviewed to empower the Committee to drive forward change in the department’s research culture and to distribute ownership of research ideas more widely across the department.
   
8. 
   Staff should be encouraged to engage with relevant research seminar programmes on offer elsewhere in the faculty and University.
   

5. 
   The Centre’s CPD programmes are a strength and there is evidence of strong external demand. However, the business models for these courses could be sharpened to maximise the return of benefits to the Centre. Conversely, the Panel had significant concerns regarding the Centre’s Masters-level provision. The MSc programme in Rehabilitation Studies is weak with poor progression and retention rates: only 5 students have graduated with an MSc award since the programme was introduced in 2000. The Panel saw significant opportunities at Masters-level and was disappointed that these were not being actively exploited by the Centre. With respect to postgraduate provision the Panel recommends that:
   

9. 
   The business models for the CPD courses be sharpened to maximise the benefits that flow to the Centre.
   
10. 
    A radical overhaul of the management of the MSc in Rehabilitation Studies programme be initiated.
    
11. 
    The Centre investigate opportunities to expand Masters level provision.
    

6. 
   The biggest single challenge facing the Centre is the move to a new funding model. It is anticipated that there will be a move towards a more conventional HE funding model in future which will reduce significantly the level of funding that the Centre receives. It will, therefore, be imperative to diversify the Centre’s income streams to cushion against this reduction in funding. The Panel considers that, against this background, the Centre’s existing structures and activities would not be capable of absorbing this change in funding. Consequently, the Panel recommends that a new and radical approach to the financial management and business models of the Centre is now required for the Centre to meet these new challenges. The Panel or Faculty does not currently have the answers as to what this approach might look like. However, the Faculty is committed to working with the Centre to achieve this.
   

7. 
   There remains an issue of the ‘fit’ of the Centre within the Faculty of Engineering or with the University more widely. The activities of the Centre are more closely aligned with the AHPs than with the Engineering disciplines. The Panel, therefore, recommends that an options appraisal exercise be conducted to identify and assess possible future models for the Centre.
   

8. 
   The Faculty of Engineering will establish an internal Implementation Group, chaired by the Dean, to work with the Centre in implementing the recommendations of the Review. The Group will also liaise with the external members of the Review Panel as appropriate.
   

Appendix 5
COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENTS: FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

Department / Faculty	Collaborating Institution	Type of Agreement	Valid From	Valid To
Chemical Engineering, DMEM, Mechanical Eng, CIS	Beijing University of Chemical Technology	Collaborative Agreement for 2+2 articulation (note: titled as an MOU)	May-07	May-12
EEE	Shanghai University of Electric Power	Articulation to 3rd year of named BEng/MEng programmes; 4+1 articulation into MSc programmes; joint PhD supervision; visiting academics	Oct-09 Paperwork currently being renewed	Oct-16
EEE	North China Electric Power University and University of Manchester	Trilateral agreement for 2+2 articulation to either Strathclyde or Manchester University	Jan-07	Jan-12
EEE	North China Electric Power University	Articulation to 3rd year of named BEng/MEng programmes; Articulation to MSc; joint PhD supervision; visiting academics	Oct-09 Paperwork currently being renewed	Oct-14
NAME	International Co-education College of Harbin Engineering University (HEU)	Articulation into NAME undergraduate courses (2+2).	Oct-05	open ended
NAME	Harbin Engineering University and College of International Cooperative Education	Monitoring of teaching in CICE - preparation of teaching materials for students who will articulate on 2+2 agreement.	Mar-07	open ended
NAME	Harbin Engineering University	Articulation into 3rd year of BEng courses	Apr-09	Apr-17
NAME	Jiangsu University of Science and Technology (JUST)	Collaborative Agreement - 2+2 articulation; 1.5+1 MSc programme; 4+1 MSc programme	Aug-09	Aug-14
NAME	Dalian University of Technology (DUT)	Collaborative Agreement - 4+1 articulation into Masters programmes.	Aug-09	Aug-14
EEE	Northeast Dianli University (NEDU)	Articulation into 3rd year of undergraduate Programmes and 1st year of postgraduate courses; joint PhD supervision and academic visitors	Nov-09 Currently being renewed	Nov-14
NAME	Harbin Institute of Technology in Weihai	Collaborative Agreement with NAME	Jan-10 Currently being renewed	Jan-15
DMEM	Hamburg-Harburg; Aalborg	Collaborative Agreement - Erasmus Mundus Masters course	Sept-08 Currently being updated	Sept-14
EEE	INSA, Rennes	Reciprocal Study Arrangement	1994-ongoing	ongoing
DMEM	University of Technology, Troyes & University of Malta (Erasmus Mundus)	Erasmus Mundus joint degree – currently at proposal stage	Won’t be signed unless application is successful
EEE	HTWK Leipzig	Articulation agreement	Mar-09	Mar-14
NAME	AMET University, Channai	Collaborative Agreement	Mar-09	Mar-12
NAME	Tolani Maritime Institute, India	PG Course Delivery leading to MSc - students study 2nd semester at Strathclyde	01-Jan-08	Jan-13
Civil	Institute of Environmental Management & Studies (IEMS), India	Articulation into MSc in Environmental Engineering	Mar-09	Feb-14
NAME	Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur	Institutional Partnership Agreement with NAME	Aug-09	Aug-14
EEE	Universita degli Studi di Pavia, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Girona	Joint Masters in Environmental Process Control Engineering	for delivery from 2008/09	renewed automatically every year
Faculty of Engineering	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Agreement of Cooperation for promotion of Student Exchanges	Feb-08	15-Feb-13
Architecture	Taylor's College, Malaysia	Articulation Agreement	01-Sep-08	Aug-13
EEE	INTI College, Malaysia	Collaborative Agreement - Articulation	01-Sep-04 Currently being renewed	Aug-09
EEE, Mechanical, Civil	Kuala Lumpur Infrastructure University College (KLIUC)	Collaborative Agreement - 2+2 Articulation	Jan-08	Jan-13
Faculty - DMEM, EEE, NAME	Universiti Teknikal mara Sdn. GHD - Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL)	Collaborative Agreement for 2+2 articulation (note: titled as an MOU)	Mar-08	Mar-11
EEE	Heriot-Watt University, St Andrews, Glasgow	Joint programme/supervision of students in EngD Optics and Photonics leading to an award of one of the collaborating institutions	Currently being renewed
EEE/Computer and Information Services	Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh	Joint programme leading to a joint award of EngD in Systems Level Integration	2001	Course still running – current paperwork being sourced
EEE/Computer and Information Services	Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh	Joint programme leading to a joint award of MSc in Systems Level Integration	1999	Course still running – current paperwork being sourced

Department / Faculty	Collaborating Institution	Type of Agreement	Valid From	Valid To
NAME	Glasgow College of Nautical Studies	Joint programme – final students completing in 09/10	Sep-03	Agreement terminated but covers completing students
Mechanical Engineering	Doosan Babcock	Partnership agreement - financial arrangement for employees to undertake part time study	Jul-08	July 2011 (covering 2010/11 cohort which will complete in 2012/13)
Civil	Glasgow University	Joint programme leading to a joint award of MSc in Geotechnics	Sept-09	Sept-12
Civil	Glasgow University	Joint programme leading to a joint award of MSc in Global Water Sustainability	Sept-08	Sept-11
NAME	Glasgow University	Joint programme leading to a joint award of MSc in Ship and Offshore Structures	Sept-09	Sept-12
Architecture	National University of Singapore	Memorandum of Understanding - UG student exchange	Oct-06 Currently being renewed	Sep-09
Bioengineering	Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow University, Stirling University, UWS, Nursing Midwifery & Allied Health Professions Research Unit, NHS Scotland	HealthQWest Project - collaborative research project	Jun-06	Jun-11
Bioengineering	NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	The Glasgow Health Technology Cooperative - collaborative research project and KT	Nov-07 Current documentation to be sourced	Reviewed annually
DMEM	Loughborough, Bath, Queens (Belfast), Leicester	SEDC Collaborative Agreement for EngD in Systems Engineering	Aug-2007
EEE	Various UK Universities	Collaboration Agreement for EngD in Non-Destructive Evaluation	Mar-09
EEE	Ford Motor Company, Scottish & Southern Energy, London Borough of Hillingdon	Collaboration Agreement to conduct research in the development of a battery powered car	Jul-09	Jul-13
Architecture	Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst, Sint-Lucas, University of Cincinnati	EU-US student exchange programme: "Actions for Transatlantic Links and Academic Networks in Training and Integrated Studies (ATLANTIS)"	Session 2009/10	Session 2013/14