The Development of Courses for
the NDT Industry in Collaboration
with the Industry Body and the
Students Themselves
Phil Picton, Muhammad Zaid
Engineering Division,
The University of Northampton,
United Kingdom
1
Engineering Courses
The Engineering Division at the
University of Northampton provides a
range of courses at both
undergraduate and postgraduate
level, in full-time, part time and
distance learning modes.
2
Student numbers
• Student numbers continue were in decline
in the UK, particularly in subjects like
Engineering
• In order to tackle this it was decided to try
to expand sub-degree provision,
particularly Foundation Degrees
3
Foundation Degrees
• The UK Government is keen to promote
Foundation Degrees
• A Foundation Degree is equivalent to the
first two years of a BSc
• There has to be a strong work-based
element to the course
• There has to be a path on to a BSc from
the Foundation Degree
4
Distance Learning
• The Engineering Division has a range of
sub-degree awards
• These are either part-time or distance
learning
• It was decided that we would be more
likely to attract students onto the
Foundation Degrees if we use distance
learning
5
Industry-Specific DL Courses
• Lift and Escalator Industry Association
(LEIA) Diploma since 1983
• Funding from the European Social Fund
for:
– FdSc Lift Engineering
– FdSc Electronics for Computing
• Also produced a FdSc High Performance
Engineering (Motorsport)
6
BINDT
• In 2005 we were approached by the
Northampton-based British Institute of
Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) with a
view to collaboration.
• They are interested in developing an
academic qualification that could be
gained by people in the NDT industry.
7
Age Profile of NDT Personnel
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
Czech Republic
12
31
25
27
5
France
16
29
33
21
1
Germany
1.5
15
30
32
17
Slovakia
13
28
41
25
2
23
3
South Africa
Spain
UK PCN
80 +
4
0.5
4
1
Majority
12
37
25
Sweden
UK BINDT
70-79
Age
Percentage
- 30
Majority
4
9
27
37
18
15
25
32
23
5
8
Course Design
• All practitioners of NDT in the UK have
Personal Certification in NDT (PCN)
• There are 3 levels, and most people are
level 2
• We wanted to give exemptions to people
with certification, and provide the theory
needed for the next level of PCN
9
Position of the Award
WORK BASED
VOCATIONAL
ACADEMIC
PROF. REG
WORK BASED LEARNING
APPRENTICESHIPS
Engineering
Doctorate
Masters Degree
BSc (Hons) NDT
PCN Level 3
NQF
EQUIVALENT
8
Chartered Engineer
Incorporated
Engineer
Foundation Degree
Y2
7
6
5
4
PCN Level 2
PCN Level 1
SCHOOL LEAVER OR OTHER ENTRY LEVEL
Foundation Degree
Y1
Engineering
Technician
3
10
Content – Stage 1
• STAGE 1
ENG1035 Introduction to NDT
ENG1036 Material Properties
ENG1021 Electronic Principles
ENG1024 Mathematics for Technology Part 1
ENG1037 Technical Project
ENG1038 Personal Development
11
Exemptions
• Students must take all modules, however,
PCN Certification (or its equivalent) allows
exemptions:
• PCN Level 1 certification (or equivalent) –
Students are exempt from Introduction to
NDT and Technical Project
• PCN Level 2 certification (or equivalent) –
Students are also exempt from Material
Properties and Personal Development
12
Content - Stage 2
• STAGE 2
ENG2036 Visual and Surface Testing
ENG2037 Radiographic Testing
ENG2038 Ultrasonic Testing
ENG2039 Eddy Current Testing
ENG2040 Quality Management of NDT
ENG2041 Quality Tools and Techniques in NDT
13
Exemptions
• PCN Level 3
• Students are exempt from all of Stage 1
and the specific Stage 2 module in the
method in which level 3 certification is held
• e.g. PCN Level 3 in Ultrasonic Inspection
would exempt ENG2038 Ultrasonic
Testing.
14
The Course
•
•
•
•
•
•
The course was validated in July 2007
The course started 1st October 2007
30 students in 2007/2008
72 students in 2008/2009
112 students in 2009/2010
At the end of 2008/2009 20 students
graduated with a FdSc NDT
15
Survey
• After discussions with members of the
BINDT, a list of suitable topics for a BSc
was produced
• Students on the FdSc were given the list
and asked to rank order the topics
16
Results
Topic
Score
Advanced Inspection
28
Corrosion Analysis
54
NDT Applications
61
Thermographic Imaging
71
Condition Monitoring
75
Planning
84
Modelling
92
Acoustic Emission
107
Radar and Microwave Testing
117
Advanced Sensor and Imaging
126
Advanced Electronics
130
17
Topics
• Advanced Inspection, Corrosion Analysis
and Thermographic Imaging, were OK.
• NDT Applications would be covered by an
undergraduate project.
• Condition Monitoring includes Vibration
Analysis, Thermographic Imaging and
18
Corrosion Analysis.
Design of the course
Code
Title
Number of Credits
ENG3010
Corrosion Analysis
20
ENG3012
Thermographic Imaging
20
ENG3014
Vibration Monitoring and Analysis
20
ENG3017
Advanced Inspection Methods and
Techniques
20
ENG4005
Technology Project
40
19
BSc NDT
• The BSc Top-Up degree was validated in
March 2009
• Students who had completed the FdSc
could progress onto the BSc
• In addition, students who held PCN Level
3 in 4 appropriate topics could have direct
entry
20
Enrolment
• The course started in January 2010
• 28 students have enrolled on the BSc
• 9 of the 28 are direct entry
21
The future
• The students were surveyed about an
MSc
• All of them indicated that they would
continue their studies if an MSc was
available
22
Conclusions
• The new Foundation Degree in NonDestructive Testing satisfies the criteria for
a successful course because it has been
designed in conjunction with the BINDT
• The BSc was designed in conjunction with
the students
• MSc?
23