Fundamental Skills in Engineering Design

Master essential engineering design skills and gain hands-on experience to be able to bring your innovative ideas to life with this online course from the University of Leeds.

Duration

2 weeks

Weekly study

3 hours

100% online

How it works

Digital upgrade

Free

Gain an understanding of the engineering design process

On this two-week course, you’ll gain a basic understanding of engineering design, learning the techniques behind how designers create new products.

You’ll delve into the engineering design process, developing skills like requirement gathering, problem-solving, and project management.

The course provides an introduction to these essential skills.

Understand the product life cycle

You’ll learn how to make informed decisions throughout the design process exploring the full product life cycle and understanding how different types of engineering design and how they relate to the product life cycle.

Develop practical skills in conceptual design

You’ll examine some of the soft skills you need for a role in engineering design, and engage in a case study on solar trackers to gain practical skills in conceptual design.

This will involve participating in real-world design scenarios to hone your problem-solving abilities and gain hands-on experience.

Learn from the experts at the School of Computing at the University of Leeds

Throughout the interactive course, you’ll be guided by specialists from the School of Computing at the University of Leeds.

By the end, you will have a basic understanding of how to gather requirements and solve problems, providing a foundation for further learning in engineering design.

  • Week 1

    Understanding engineering design

    • Welcome to Fundamental Skills in Engineering Design

      Gain a basic understanding of 'engineering design' and explore the product life cycle. Learn about the engineering design process, including the five types of engineering design and the five product life cycle phases.

    • Introduction to engineering design

      Understand 'engineering design' and explore fields like mechanical engineering. Learn how designers create outputs such as technical drawings and classify design activities based on product novelty.

    • Designing for the product life cycle

      Explore the five stages: design, manufacture, marketing, usage, and disposal. Focus on understanding factors affecting manufacturability, marketability, and disposal.

    • Focusing on the design phase

      Explore the five stages: design, manufacture, marketing, usage, and disposal. Focus on understanding factors affecting manufacturability, marketability, and disposal.

  • Week 2

    Engineering design in practice

    • Soft skills for engineering design

      Explore essential soft skills for engineering design and practice abstraction. Engage in conceptual design activities through a case study.

    • The solar tracker design problem

      Apply conceptual design skills to design a solar tracking apparatus. Study the design brief, analyze requirements, and develop a function structure. Discuss the next steps for creating the solar tracker with peers.

More courses you might like

Learners who joined this course have also enjoyed these courses.

©2025  onlincourse.com. All rights reserved