REMS Programme Structure

REMS has successfully recruited and is training high-calibre engineers in a research environment working closely with the offshore renewable energy sector so that the research output, skills and knowledge gained by the doctoral students is industrially relevant and useful within a short-medium term. The focus for the centre is offshore structures, at the initial stages focusing on Wind Energy, but as the sector develops, tidal and wave energy aspects are included. These large structures are in the main fabricated of welded steel tubular and plate sections not dissimilar to structural details commonly encountered in the ship and offshore Oil & Gas sectors, but design requirements differ significantly due to environmental aspects, loading regime and low CAPEX and OPEX requirements. The REMS CDT is conducting research across the full spectrum of Offshore & Marine Renewable Energy structures integrating deep specialist areas such as geotechnical engineering, the soil-structure interface, whole-system structural design & optimisation, design for manufacture, inspection maintenance & repair and structural integrity including fatigue & fracture mechanics in the marine environment.

The research projects in the REMS Programme come under the following key areas:

The training is characterised by an intense period at the start of the four years based at Cranfield University, followed by return visits over the four years for specialist modules. In this way the students have a greater opportunity to develop strong links with each other irrespective of whether they are industry or university based along with the wider industry partners. This also allows flexibility in what is delivered to respond to the needs of industry. Students are developing wider skills by including in their individually tailored training portfolio, courses currently offered by a range of partners to postgraduates. These courses include topics such as; research practice and ethics, learning techniques, communication skills, writing and publishing and career management. Students are also learning the academic skills of effective dissemination of research results through attendance at workshops and conferences in the UK and beyond, and by publishing the results of their research in peer-reviewed journals.

The four elements of the Training Programme are: Core Skills; Advanced Technical Skills; Transferable Skills & Engineering Leadership (TSEL); Group Project activities. Students will need to take a number of the modules on the Training Programme to qualify for their doctoral awards, alongside demonstrable ability in communications skills monitored through assessed presentations at the annual REMS conference and EngD/PhD review days. Awards will be conferred by the university at which a student is registered with the training delivered collaboratively between the university partners.

The annual study requirements for the REMS Programme are as follows:

Year One ​Year Three
Induction Term: October – December Three weeks attendance in total
4 specialised modules 40 credits 2 specialised modules (1 week each) 20 credits
Group Project 40 credits 4 days TSEL and Review meetings
TSEL courses Attendance at the Annual Conference (2 days) in October
Year Two Year Four
Three weeks attendance in total One week attendance in total
2 specialised modules (1 week each) 20 credits 4 days TSEL and Review meetings
4 days TSEL and Review meetings Attendance at the Annual Conference (2 days) in October
Attendance at the Annual Conference (2 days) in October Submission of thesis and VIVA examination

 

Notes:

  • Assessments consider a pass when a minimum pass mark of 50% is achieved.
  • All students need to gain at least 120 credits in order to complete the Programme.
  • Modules taken in years 2 and 3 are to be agreed between Supervisor(s) and Student from a pre-agreed list of modules.
  • The plan above is the normal schedule however individual student plans may vary.