Master of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

The MSc Robotics at Heriot-Watt will provide the students with training in core elements of modern robotics and autonomous systems. This one year postgraduate masters degree in Robotics will equip students to work in industry in areas where robots can be used to improve productivity, transform transportation, work in extreme environments and improve the quality of life.

The students on the MSc Robotics will:

• Be introduced to core robotics techniques, from basic kinematics to robot control, robot navigation, robot planning and human-robot interactions
• Receive an extensive training in robot programming (especially ROS) and practical implementation of solutions on real robots
• Apply their skills in various applications through project work, involving systems such as autonomous robots (cars, subsea vehicles), humanoid robots, advanced manipulators for compliant control and novel robot designs
• Obtain access to staff from leading research groups to mentor their development and guide their research projects

Within this programme, students will be offered a degree of flexibility in the options that they study, allowing them to specialise in specific domains of application.

MSc Energy and Economics is an innovative, new degree programme grounded in the cutting-edge, globally recognised, economic research carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of the energy sector.

This programme provides a detailed overview of current energy issues, teaching you to apply core tools of economic analysis to the conversion and use of energy resource.

You will develop a bespoke set of skills that will enable you to effectively measure and interpret the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the energy sector. You will also learn how to effectively analyse, appraise and design energy policy, systems and equipment from an economic perspective. You will gain highly-employable specialist knowledge that is crucial within the energy industry.

This Energy and Economics Master’s Degree will prepare you for a dynamic career as an energy consultant, or for a graduate job in energy economics across: business, government regulation and environmental NGOs.

The dual-focused programme is ideally suited to graduates with an engineering or strong analytical background in subjects such as mechanical engineering, mathematics or economics.

Our Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying course is designed to meet the needs of the financial management and quantity surveying sectors. The degree offers a solid theoretical base, combined with a strong focus on industrial relevance. This means that you’ll quickly be able to make a positive contribution to the success of your working environment, and the development of your own professional careers. Our students are often recruited by international construction and quantity surveying practices. Graduates also develop careers across different sectors of industry and commerce.

This course is delivered by the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design, a leading body recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering. This is one of four such centres established at UK universities that jointly form a national network to demonstrate and exchange best practice in teaching and research for the sustainable built environment.

This Physics degree covers subjects including dynamics, electromagnetic fields and optics. These areas lead onto the quantum world of subatomic particles, the unique nature of laser light, and the philosophically challenging ideas of quantum physics and astrophysics. Mathematics also plays an important part in understand physical concepts in more depth. In later years, the course will offer you various topics, including Laser Physics, Photonics, Semiconductor Physics, Instrumentation, Nuclear Physics and Elementary Particles.

Through research projects, you’ll be able to develop skills in experimental design or computational modelling. The course will also help with your practical abilities, initiative and teamwork. The Physics degree is mathematically rigorous and suitable if you’re interested in a career in research.

Data Scientist has been dubbed the 'sexiest job title' (Harvard Business Review, 2012) with IBM predicting a 28% growth of jobs by 2020. The UK government has set out their strategy for the UK to be a world leader in data science to enable the growth of the UK economy. Data Scientists require a combination of statistical analytical skills, the ability to process large volumes of data efficiently, c.f. Big Data, and then to generate visualisations to explain the results.

This two year programme offers an opportunity for graduates looking to transition to a new career path in Data Science, yet coming from a background outside Computing. Whether your experience lies in Science, Technology, Mathematics or the Arts, this pathway programme is a rare opportunity to become well-versed in the advanced, challenging field of Data Science.

Data science today is becoming increasingly important within the actuarial field, and Heriot-Watt has developed this unique new programme to meet this growing actuarial demand.

Taking our MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification. Our MSc in Actuarial Management is an established and successful programme covering the more advanced actuarial subjects.The MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science introduces exciting new opportunities for actuaries of the future.

Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK has four levels of examinations to qualify. The first level, the Core Principles (CS, CM and CB) subjects, are taught in our BSc or MSc in Actuarial Science and lead to exemptions from subjects CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1 and CB2. Students will typically study CP1, CP2, CP3, two SP subjects (two SP subjects are needed to satisfy the profession's requirements) and two courses on data science applied to insurance.

Actuarial data science combines advanced statistical modelling and analysis with modern computational techniques in order to analyse potentially large datasets arising in insurance and finance. These analyses have the ability to improve forecasts and enhance decision making in an uncertain environment where rapid advancements in technology and data availability are transforming fields of actuarial work. Additionally, they are building synergies with new sectors such as medical and healthcare. This is an area of science and technology that is attracting significant interest and that will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, as more and more industries adopt data-driven and data-centric approaches.

Students graduating from the MSc will have excellent employment prospects that are not restricted to any one narrow sector of financial services. By their choice of IFoA subjects, they may target the life, pensions, asset management, investment and risk management sectors. They will be in demand in quantitative risk management roles in both banks and insurance companies, as well as fund management companies, hedge funds, consultancies, software vendors and regulatory authorities. The market for graduates with actuarial qualifications complemented with data science skills is growing fast and we expect that it will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

Our MSc Translating programme is designed for those who want to work as professional translators or in the field of translating.

This programme's main focus is on translation and translation technologies. However, you can also choose from a broad range of optional courses in professionally relevant subjects to tailor your programme to your interests and professional needs, such as Subtitling, International Politics, Business Communication, Localisation & Technical Writing, or study a new language.

At Heriot Watt, we are delivering a new MSc programme in Subsurface Energy Systems (SES) that will edcate you about unlocking energy resources with a low carbon footprint. This will be a stepping stone for your career in industry, government, non-government organisations (NGOs) or academia.

The programme addresses key concepts in subsurface energy and CO2 storage, geothermal energy or transitional gas while integrating geoscience, engineering, political and societal aspects. It will appeal to geoscientists, reservoir engineers, governmental stakeholders and all those interested in the management of subsurface reservoirs used to switch from a fossil fuel-driven economy to a decarbonised one, using natural gas as a transitional energy resource. Its production from unconventional reservoirs comes with environmental risks that we have to assess and control. This degree is delivered jointly by The Lyell Centre and the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering.

The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts serious consequences from further emitting CO2 into the atmosphere, thereby accelerating man-made climate change. This requires a drastic decarbonisation of our economies by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energies like wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal or by implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) at scale. Renewable energies can readily be used in the form of electrical power. When electricity production exceeds the demand, electricity can be stored in grids or batteries at limited capacity. At larger scale, electricity can be stored in the subsurface after conversion to, for example, hydrogen, thermal energy, or compressed air until needed, allowing for back-production within short and longer time scales of hours to years.

In comparison to temporary energy storage, CCS aims at safe and permanent storage. The UK and especially offshore storage sites in Scotland are attractive targets for CCS and considered to extend the lifetime of oil and gas reservoirs significantly, thereby strengthening the related industrial sectors. The combined technologies of geothermal energy production, subsurface energy storage or CCS refer to the geoengineering aspects of subsurface energy systems (SES). In this context, SES rather refers to the integration of geoenergy applications with energy production at the surface as well as economic, societal and policy aspects.

There is a significant demand globally for research and training in these technologies, given that many small and large integrated oil and gas companies are decarbonising their assets, which at the same time, needs to be monitored and regulated by governmental bodies. Councils across the UK and Europe are increasingly looking at the subsurface for storing or producing energy.

The MSc International Management and Business Communication with Marketing programme concentrates on developing professional communication skills in business and marketing contexts, as well as an understanding of intercultural and international business and marketing issues.

The structure of the programme is designed to provide graduates with access to a range of professions and managerial careers within businesses engaged internationally, but in particular in the area of marketing.

Alongside the practical skills and knowledge acquired, students will also engage in independent research, providing a potential route to research training in cognate disciplines at a higher level.

Heriot-Watt University's Interpreting and Translating MSc degree is a twin-focus programme of study which will prepare you for an exciting, international career as a professional translator and interpreter in one or two of the following languages combined with English:

• Chinese
• French
• German
• Spanish

This specialist programme has been tailored to meet the needs of industry and will allow you to develop the ideal balance of theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

Studying MSc Interpreting and Translation at Heriot-Watt University will give you access to our excellent translation and interpreting facilities which include our recently refurbished interpreting labs.

Your learning will focus on developing a professional standard of expertise in specific areas of interpreting and translation such as:

• Technical and scientific translation
• Subtitling and audio-visual translation
• Use of Computer Aided Translation tools
• Sight translation
• Simultaneous interpreting
• Consecutive interpreting and note taking
• Sight translation

You will develop these skills to the highest standard and learn about the different approaches and skillsets required from interpreters when working in distinct professional contexts such as healthcare, court and legal, educational and conference interpreting.