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This paper describes, with examples, the writing of aims and intended learning outcomes for a broad range of engineering degree programmes at various levels including undergraduate masters. The relevance and helpfulness, to this process, of the engineering benchmark statement are discussed in the context of the range of other attempts at setting out standards for engineering degrees over several decades, mainly by professional bodies. The discussion also includes the implications, for delivery and assessment, of setting threshold standards, and the importance of clear presentation of intended learning for the successful introduction of PDP.

Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on the subjects retrospectively to 1985 and approximately 1,100 references are listed.

This study aims to explore the role of planned, sudden shifts in lived experiences, in influencing learner capabilities towards improved problem-solving for sustainable development outcomes. The authors responded to employers of engineering and built environment graduates observing limited “real-life” problem-solving skills, beyond using established formulae and methods, in spite of attempts over more than two decades, to train engineers and other built environment disciplines in areas such as whole system design and sustainable design.

A grounded theory approach was used to guide the analysis of data collected through ethnographic methods. The process involved reflecting on authors’ efforts to develop context appreciation within a course called “International Engineering Practice”, using two years of collected data (archived course information, including course profile; completed assessment; lecture and field visit evaluations; and focus groups). The study is built on the authors’ working knowledge of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Threshold Learning Theory, and the well-established role of “context appreciation” in complex problem-solving. After the first iteration of the course, the authors looked for additional theoretical support to help explain findings. The Cynefin framework was subsequently used to augment the authors’ appreciation of “context” – beyond physical context to include relational context, and to evaluate students’ competency development across the four domains of “clear”, “complicated”, “complex” and “chaotic”.

This study helped the authors to understand that there was increased capacity of the students to distinguish between three important contexts for problem-solving, including an increased awareness about the importance of factual and relevant information, increased acknowledgement of the varying roles of professional practitioners in problem-solving depending on the type of problem and increased appreciation of the importance of interdisciplinary teams in tackling complex and complicated problems. There were several opportunities for such courses to be more effective in preparing students for dealing with “chaotic” situations that are prevalent in addressing the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (UNSDGs). Drawing on the course-based learnings, the authors present a “context integration model” for developing problem-solving knowledge and skills.

The research findings are important because context appreciation – including both physical context and relational context – is critical to problem-solving for the UNSDGs, including its 169 targets and 232 indicators. The research findings highlight the opportunity for the Cynefin framework to inform holistic curriculum renewal processes, enhancing an educator’s ability to design, implement and evaluate coursework that develops physical and relational context appreciation.

The study’s findings and context integration model can help educators develop the full range of necessary problem-solving graduate competencies, including for chaotic situations involving high degrees of uncertainty. Looking ahead, acknowledging the significant carbon footprint of global travel, the authors are interested in applying the model to a domestic and/or online format of the same course, to attempt similar learning outcomes.

Connecting Bloom’s taxonomy deep learning and threshold learning theory critical path learning insights with the Cynefin framework context domains, provides a novel model to evaluate competency development for problem-solving towards improved holistic physical and relational “context appreciation” outcomes.

The year 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the grey system theory (GST), which has been widely applied in the engineering field. This paper aims to systematically identify the achievements, hotspots, knowledge structure and emerging trends in this field.

A bibliometrics analysis was conducted on relevant publications retrieved from Web of Science (WoS) using CiteSpace and MapEquation. A statistical analysis of the collected 3,384 papers was completed. Three networks, including a co-occurrence network, cooperation network and co-citation network, were obtained to draw knowledge structure, hotspots and research frontiers.

The top four applied engineering fields are engineering electrical electronics, computer science artificial intelligence, engineering multi-disciplinary and automation control system. In total, 65 countries have engaged in this field, and China has occupied a leading position, with the largest number of articles published and the widest cooperation with other countries. The USA, United Kingdom (UK) and China Taiwan also contribute a lot. The Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Professor Liu Sifeng have a core position in the cooperation network. More hotspots appear in the last ten years. Regarding the emerging trends, the combination of theoretical models and practical engineering problems has attracted more attention. Besides, the application of GST in environment protection and the integration of the GST and intelligent algorithm became more popular.

The comprehensive bibliometrics analysis and visualization demonstration were conducted, presenting the interdisciplinary characteristics, major research topics and research frontiers in this field.

Examines the importance of training engineers, particularly in the field of robotics. Discusses the paucity of courses at universities and compares this with the greater number of courses at technical colleges. Explains factors which inhibit the development of relevant courses; discusses specific course aims, recent developments, and practical issues.

In order to solve the problems faced by First Order Reliability Method (FORM) and First Order Saddlepoint Approximation (FOSA) in structural reliability optimization, this paper aims to propose a new Reliability-based Design Optimization (RBDO) strategy for offshore engineering structures based on Original Probabilistic Model (OPM) decoupling strategy. The application of this innovative technique to other maritime structures has the potential to substantially improve their design process by optimizing cost and enhancing structural reliability.

In the strategy proposed by this paper, sequential optimization and reliability assessment method and surrogate model are used to improve the efficiency for solving RBDO. The strategy is applied to the analysis of two marine engineering structure cases of ship cargo hold structure and frame ring of underwater skirt pile gripper. The effectiveness of the method is proved by comparing the original design and the optimized results.

In this paper, the proposed new RBDO strategy is used to optimize the design of the ship cargo hold structure and the frame ring of the underwater skirt pile gripper. According to the results obtained, compared with the original design, the structure of optimization design has better reliability and stability, and reduces the risk of failure. This optimization can also better balance the relationship between performance and cost. Therefore, it is recommended for related RBDO problems in the field of marine engineering.

In view of the limitations of FORM and FOSA that may produce multiple MPPs for a single performance function, the new RBDO strategy proposed in this study provides valuable insights and robust methods for the optimization design of offshore engineering structures. It emphasizes the importance of combining advanced MPP search technology and integrating SORA and surrogate models to achieve more economical and reliable design.

This infecological study mainly aimed to know the thematic and conceptual relationship in published papers in deep learning (DL) and smart manufacturing (SM).

The research methodology has specific research objectives based on the type and method of research, data analysis tools. In general, description methods are applied by Web of Science (WoS) analysis tools and Voyant tools as a web-based reading and analysis environment for digital texts. The Yewno tool is applied to draw a knowledge map to show the concept's interaction between DL and SM.

The knowledge map of DL and SM concepts shows that there are currently few concepts interacting with each other, while the rapid growth of technology and the needs of today's society have revealed the need to use more and more DL in SM. The results of this study can provide a coherent and well-mapped road map to the main policymakers of the field of research in DL and SM, through the study of coexistence and interactions of the thematic categories with other thematic areas. In this way, they can design more effective guidelines and strategies to solve the problems of researchers in conducting their studies and direct. The analysis results demonstrated that the information ecosystem of DL and SM studies dynamically developed over time. The continuous conduction flow of scientific studies in this field brought continuous changes into the infoecology of subjects and concepts in this area.

The paper investigated the thematic interaction of the scientific productions in DL and SM and discussed possible implications. We used of the variety tools and techniques to draw our own perspective. Also, we drew arguments from other research work to back up our findings.

Held at the NEC Birmingham, the Aerospace Technology Exhibition and Conference was sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers together with the Institutions of Electrical Engineers and Electronic and Radio Engineers. It attracted papers on a variety of subjects and gave companies the opportunity to show a range of products, many of which were related to safety matters or maintenance programmes.

Findings of a new report from Knowledge Research, a London‐based market research company, indicate that with the exception of Italy Europeans are taking a cautious approach to CD‐ROM. Reasons for this caution are put down to a fear that CD‐ROM will erode revenues from existing alternative publications and an unwillingness to commit to the large up‐front investments needed Hardwaremanufacturers in particular have shown little interest in entering the market. This may be changing though, the report says, as some ‘significant announcements are expected this year’.