Course summary

A foundation year helps you develop the study skills and self-confidence needed for higher education when you don’t reach the entry requirements for your subject. On this course you can unlock your creative potential and build technical expertise to help you become a highly skilled, work-ready graduate. If you want to work at the cutting-edge of engineering, developing and designing the components and machinery used in manufacturing, construction and other industries, then this is the course for you. You will use the pioneering CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) approach to problem solve mechanical engineering issues. The CDIO approach is an international engineering education model, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It allows you to learn in a practical, hands-on way to find creative, evaluated solutions to industry related engineering challenges. We are one of the only handful of universities in the UK to offer CDIO. It offers you real-world application of science, technology and maths where you'll take genuine problems proposed by the industry and apply your practical skills and technical knowledge to solve them, working with engineering experts along the way. During the foundation year, you'll develop your computing discipline knowledge, including programming, and you'll gain in confidence and skills to prepare you to study at degree level. There is a strong practical element to this course, and you'll spend a significant amount of time in workshops and laboratories using your enquiring mind and demonstrating your technical skills and creativity. On completion of the course you'll be skilled in professional engineering practice and prepared to work as an effective, industry-ready engineer who is on track to become an Incorporated Engineer (IMechE). Specialist facilities Our Verena Holmes building is home to the engineering workshop, mechatronics lab, makerspace and mechanical physics lab, complete with industry standard equipment. Location This course is run at our Canterbury Campus in Kent. Canterbury is just 50 miles south-east of London and less than an hour by high-speed train from St Pancras. Located on a UNESCO World Heritage Site the campus offers state-of-the-art buildings, right in the centre of a vibrant and world-famous cathedral city. You’ll benefit from a campus with excellent learning and teaching resources, music venues, a superb sports centre, a well-stocked bookshop and plenty of coffee bars and places to eat. A short walk away is Augustine House our award-winning library and home to a vast range of learning resources and student support teams.