Programme description

The Professional Doctorate (DProf) Programme is a unique opportunity for practising engineers and professionals already working in industry to do applied research in the area of plant maintenance, reliability and asset management. As this is a distance learning programme, candidates can study the DProf from outside the UK while continuing their employment.

At the end of the programme, candidates will make a significant and original contribution to knowledge in general, and to their workplace specifically. The results of this research shall then be published in high standard/quality journals and finally needs to be submitted in the thesis form for the final examination.

The research project is intended to address a real plant issues in maintenance (reliability) engineering and asset management. The research outcome must be innovative work e.g. development of new method(s) in the plant maintenance and reliability engineering, novel industrial application of different methods, innovative field trials to reduce plant maintenance overhead and enhance plant reliability etc. To achieve this aim, candidates will demonstrate an ability to meet the intended learning outcomes:

• To discover, interpret and communicate new knowledge through original applied industrial research in maintenance, reliability and asset management.
• To produce research outputs that are publishable in high quality journals.
• To present and defend research outcomes which extend the forefront of a discipline or relevant area of professional practice.
• To systematically demonstrate extensive knowledge of the subject area and expertise in generic and subject/professional skills.
• To independently and proactively formulate ideas and hypotheses to design, develop and implement plans by which to evaluate these.
• To critically and creatively evaluate current plant issues, research and professional practice.
• To develop advanced levels of interests and informed decisions about a discipline and/or professional practice.
• To clearly communicate research findings and conclusions.
• To make an original contribution to their chosen field.

Teaching and learning

Candidates will be assigned a supervisory team comprising at least two members of staff in the chosen field of reliability engineering and asset management (REAM). Candidates will also be assigned an industrial supervisor. Since the research topic is likely to be related to the candidate's organisation, the industrial supervisor will be identified once candidates are registered on the course. The industrial supervisor will act as a sounding board for advice on the ongoing relevance of the research within the organisation. The involvement of the industrial supervisor will also provide opportunities for early dissemination of ongoing findings and for delivering impacts from the research project.

The candidate will meet the supervisory team formally at least once every two months through video conferencing. The purpose of these meetings is to provide on-going feedback to the candidate on his/her progress.

Assessment of research progress is made formally towards the end of each year, in accordance with the University policy. There are no formal taught lectures, but candidates will be supported by eight residential sessions, which they choose to attend when appropriate. There is no summative assessment of the residential sessions, but candidates will receive feedback on their performance and must complete the eight residential sessions before they can submit the final thesis. The residential sessions are designed to provide guidance on a range of matters concerning academic research (e.g. the role of the literature, methods, and academic writing) as the candidate makes progress in the research project.