General project considerations subject independent

266 Chapter 10 n Final considerations n Higher degrees. If you are moving from an undergraduate bachelor’s degree to a higher-level course – an MSc, MPhil or PhD – you will have to adapt your way of thinking to some extent. MScs usually contain a project as a significant part of their assessment. MPhils, on the other hand, are represented almost entirely by a research project. In both of these cases, your depth of understanding and critical evaluation will have to be far more mature than at bachelor’s level. The nature of the PhD is also very much different to a taught degree project. It will need justification and contextualisation and it will certainly have to make a contribution to knowledge. These days, timing is also more critical. Departments are sometimes penalised by funding bodies if you take longer than you should to com- plete your PhD, so pressure will be on you from sources outside yourself to complete your thesis on time. You might also need to diversify your work into articles and papers for publication. As mentioned earlier, you might also have to do some teaching or help out with tutorials. An excel- lent book that can help you with the transition from a first degree to a PhD is Phillips and Pugh 2005, which provides some interesting information on doing a PhD.

10.6.3 Professional accreditation

Completing your degree may open professional doors to you. For example, when you start work you might wish to join a professional body that supports your particular field. Examples are the British Computer Society BCS in the UK and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE and the Association for Computing Machinery ACM in the United States. To become a member of the IEEE and ACM you will be required to hold some formal qualifications. To become a full member of the BCS, you will either have to complete some Society examinations or show that you have completed an academic course approved by the BCS. Check with your institution to see what level of exemptions or accreditations, if any, apply to your own particular course and which professional bodies are involved. You may find, for example, that while one course within your department is fully exempt or recognised, another is not. These Internet links will provide additional information on appropriate professional bodies: n The British Computer Society: http:www.bcs.org n The IEEE: http:www.ieee.org n The Association for Computing Machinery: http:www.acm.org n The Engineering Council UK: http:www.engc.org.uk n European Federation of National Engineering Associations: http:www.feani.org •

10.7 Top ten tips for successful projects

As a summary of the main points of this book, this section presents my top ten tips for completing student projects successfully. Although these tips will not guarantee that you achieve top marks for your project, they should ensure that your project is completed