DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
MINUTES of the DEPARTMENTAL SSCC MEETING held on 29th November 2012,
in room RB404 at 1.05pm
Distributed to all members of the committee,
Dr A Wojcik, Prof N Ladommatos, UCL Union and the Dean of Students.
Posted to the ME intranet
Present :
Dr A P Blackie (Undergraduate Tutor)
Dr B Hanson - SSCC member
Dr K O Suen (Postgraduate Tutor) - SSCC member
Caroline Lenihan (Undergraduate Administrator) - Secretary
First Year:
Gabrielle Bourret-Sicotte (ME)
Noureddine El-Saidi (ME)
Douglas Stridsberg (ME)
Second Year: Rehan Shah (EBF)
Krishna Vadakattu (ME)
Third Year:
Dan Erkel(EBF)
Joe Fang (EBF)
Roberto Koustas (ME)
Fourth Year: Clem Lim (ME)
Postgraduate: Niloufar Hojatoleslami (MSc Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering)
PGR representative: Megdi Eltayeb
Apologies: Prof. N Ladommatos (Head of Department)
1. Previous Minutes:
(a) The minutes of the last meeting were approved as a correct record.
(b) It was noted that Roberto Koustas had been elected as the final third year representative
and Joe Fang who is the Departmental Teaching Committee representative, will also Chair
the next SSCC meeting.
2. Matters arising from last meeting:
(a) [Item 2b] Action: APB will check on the status of the printing facility in the Upper
basement as it had been scheduled for January this year.
(b) [Item 3a] It was reported that the Christmas party had been a success and staff and
students praised the organisation of the event.
(c) [Item 3b] APB advised that we are currently deciding on the best day to hold the Annual
Sports day, but that it would take place during the last week in May. He hopes to
include the Mechanical Engineering Society in its organisation.
(d) [Item 3c] The Front Quad and photographer have been booked for Thursday 14th
February for the Departmental photoshoot and all staff and students have been invited.
(e) [Item 4a] GB-S advised that the MECH1001 lecturer was happy to arrange individual
meetings with students to explain tutorial material they had not understood, but it was
not her policy to upload the answers to Moodle.
(f) [Item 4b] The refurbishment of the computer facility in the Upper Basement has been
scheduled to take place over the Easter break and additional computer equipment has
been ordered and will be installed as soon as the refurbishment is complete.
(g) [Item 4c] APB advised that there had not yet been a meeting of the Departmental
Teaching committee so this issue had not yet been discussed. At present UCL Policy
states it is up to the individual lecturer whether they wish to be filmed.
(h) [Item 4e] The Booster course has been reinstated on Monday mornings from 9-10am and
appears on the online student timetable.
(i) [Item 4f] This issue has been raised with Dr. Balabani.
(j) [Item 5a] Dr. Balabani agreed to hold an additional lecture and tutorial for MECH2006.
(k) [Item 6a] Prof. Edirisinghe is happy to hold this session again during the revision weeks.
(l) [Item 7a] APB raised this issue with the course lecturer who took the student’s point that
releasing information in stages was not ideal for students, and he undertook to ensure
that this was provided at the beginning of the lectures next year. However he felt that
the coursework load was not excessive for 0.5 cu credit.
(m) [Item 7b] APB advised that steps had been taken to ensure that this lecture would not be
scheduled on a Wednesday afternoon in future.
(n) [Item 7c] APB raised this with the lecturer who has arranged alternative assessment
dates.
(o) [Item 8a] This will be raised at the DTC next week, when a new Departmental Moodle
policy will be discussed.
3. Departmental Activities:
(a) There were no new items to report.
4. First Year Matters:
(a) Students queried the delay on the Basement refurbishment, as in Item 2a above.
(b) Students wondered when they would receive their Mid-sessional grades.
Action: APB advised that these would be released to students on Monday, when he would
schedule individual meetings to discuss student academic progress.
5. Second Year Matters:
(a) Second year students had raised all relevant issues at the recent ISLE meetings with the
Head of Department. There were no further issues to report.
6. Third Year Matters:
(a) Third year representatives prepared a short questionnaire to all third year project students
about the levels of supervision access and panels to be circulated at the end of next week.
Action: DE would submit results to CL as soon as they have been submitted.
(b) Students were concerned with the allocation of staff for the panel presentations on the
third year project, and queried if they would be reshuffled in future sessions.
Action: APB explained that the project panels are assembled according to the expertise
of the academic staff in mind, to ensure expert assessment of the different projects. This
is continued throughout the process to ensure continuity, consistency and to record
student progress.
(c) Student representatives noted the changes in Departmental feedback procedures had
much improved the situation and were appreciated by students at all levels.
7. Fourth Year Matters:
(a) Fourth year students had also noticed the changes to Departmental feedback procedures
and deadline information and noted their appreciation for the improvements. However
they noted that while feedback for MECHM008 had been given, it was simply a
checklist, and they wished to receive a grade indicator as well as greater detail.
Action: This matter would be raised with the module organiser.
8. MSc matters
(a) MSc students wondered whether they were also allocated Personal Tutors.
Action: APB explained that Course Directors act as student Personal Tutors at MSc
level.
(b) Professor Edirisinghe was unhappy with room allocation this year – he felt that the room
size was insufficient for his student numbers.
Action: The Departmental Administrator would raise this with timetabling for next year.
9. Research student matters
(a) Research students wished to know when the printing facilities in Gower Street would be
reinstated, as the old printer was removed three months ago. They also wondered
whether they could have a Research student common room.
Action: APB advised that Gower Street is due for refurbishment by the College, and all
intermediate plans by the Department were put on hold because of this. He would
enquire as to the progress of the refurbishment.
10. AOB
(a) Students requested further details and guidance about the third year project, such as the
length, restrictions on structure, etc.
Action: APB to raise this with Dr. Fromme who is planning major changes to the third
year project for next year, with the release of guidelines for the poster and the final
report far earlier.
11. Date of Next Meeting:
Thursday 21st March, RB404 at 1.05 pm.
Minutes prepared by CL