Project proposal#
Important
This page was for 2024/25 academic year and is archived for reference. The deadlines and procedures described here have expired and may change for future academic years.
For students only!
This page is only for students. If you are a potential supervisor and would like to offer a project to our students, please check the archive/call-for-projects page.
We strongly encourage all students to find the main supervisor and develop the project proposal. Proposing a project is an excellent opportunity to align the IRP with your interests and career goals. You can approach any academic or professional at any university or company worldwide, asking them to be your main supervisor.
The projects can come from different fields. For instance, in previous years, our students worked on computational research and commercial projects in environmental science, geoscience and engineering, physics, mathematics, chemistry, healthcare, finance, computer science, climate modelling, and many others. However, all projects must be computational and include a substantial coding component to address a relevant research question or tackle a commercial challenge. Specifically, a student is expected to:
develop a simulation or data analysis code from scratch,
substantially extend the capabilities of an existing code, or
build a model to analyse and interpret a substantial dataset.
Student’s work on the project must begin on the first day of the IRP and the final report and code must be submitted before the deadline. We do not allow projects to begin earlier or later then required.
Note
For the ACSE and EDSML MSc courses, the projects can come from any field. On the other hand, for the GEMS MSc course, the project must address a geoscience and engineering problem.
The student must submit the project proposal and include the main supervisor’s contact information, project title, and project description. The IRP Team will then consider it and, if approved, allocate the student to the project.
Tip
To propose a project, you don’t need a second supervisor. If we approve your project proposal, the IRP Team will help assign the second supervisor at a later stage. However, if the main supervisor is external (not affiliated with the ESE Department), we strongly encourage you to approach a staff member in the Department and ask them to act as your second supervisor and to include them in the development of the project proposal.
The IRP Team will consider the project proposal based on how well it fits the project requirements. The project proposal must be concise (maximum 300 words) and contain the following information:
Problem description: Explain the problem you will address, emphasising its importance and relevance. Provide context to demonstrate why solving this problem is important to the research community or the company.
Computational methodology (and data): Outline the computational methods you will employ to tackle the problem. If you will use any datasets, specify their origin. This part of the proposal must demonstrate that you will develop the simulation or data analysis code from scratch, substantially extend the capabilities of an existing code, or build a model to analyse and interpret a substantial dataset.
Expected deliverables: Define the expected outcomes or deliverables expected from the project. Ensure these deliverables align closely with the identified problem.
📝 Project proposal form 🌟
To propose a project, fill out the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/JABaUSNgq2
Tip
Projects evolve, and we recognize that not all details can be defined upfront or explained in less than 300 words. Please note that projects can diverge or grow beyond its initial description.
If you have already submitted your project proposal and want to make any changes, submit the form again. We will only consider your most recent submission.
Warning
The project proposal deadline is 9 April 2025, 10:00 BST.
If you need more time to complete the project proposal, please contact the IRP Team as soon as possible to discuss if a deadline extension is possible.
Warning
You cannot propose a project unless you have discussed it and obtained an explicit agreement and approval from the potential main supervisor to supervise you. By submitting the project proposal form, you confirm you have all the necessary agreements and permissions from the main supervisor.
All project proposals will be considered by the IRP Team soon after the deadline. If for any reason, such as travel arrangements, you need a decision earlier, let us know. If your project proposal is approved, we will allocate you to the project. If your project proposal is not approved, we will contact you to discuss the reasons and potential next steps.