Changing course at loughborough

Hey,

I originally applied for Mech Eng at Loughborough however when i received my results I was one grade below the entry requirements. I got ABC they wanted ABB. So I checked track and they decided to offer me a place on Product Design Engineering. I did call Lboro twice to get them to change my course to Mech Eng however they firmly declined it would be possible. When i spoke to the admissions tutor she told me that PDE is a reputable degree which is slightly similar to Mech Eng. She specifically stated at Mech Eng is 70% manufacturing and 30% design however PDE is a more even 50/50 split so "you get the best of both sides"

I'm just wondering if this is a money grabbing ploy or whether i should seriously consider this offer.

My insurance is Queen mary for Mech Eng and I've also checked that there are spaces at Sussex, Brunel and Aston.

Any comments from any Engineering student would be appreciated.

Reply 1

thenickoftime

I know a couple of people of the PD Engineering course (I'm a Civil Engineer) and it's meant to be very similar. In the first year, a lot of the lectures are shared with Mech Eng and Manufacturing Eng. If your results are pretty good in first year, you could transfer to the MEng course and get a Master's degree from Loughborough, which will get you a damn good job! I believe we rank higher for engineering than all of those universities you've quoted.
Don't let me sway you too much though.

Loughborough University

Loughborough

Reply 2

dogie

Original post by thenickoftime

PDE is not the same as Mech - its very very different even in 1st year. PDE tends to tag along with some Mech lectures in 1st year because its a small year group, however the depth of study isn't there at all.

You also can't swap from PDE to Mech, you'd have to be getting ridiculous results to do so. And then you'd join as BEng, the requirements to get up to MEng have been raised tremendously this year.

Reply 3

Selena4595

Original post by dogie

You seem to know what you're talking about, and I need to ask about the difference between Product design and engineering, and product design and technology.

I am really interested in studying product design, and I think engineering will be more prestigious and more highly thought of, but I don't want to be designing engines if that's what it means.. I want to be designing products.

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Reply 4

ElChapo

Original post by Selena4595

Engineering has nothing to do with engines lol... I don't know anything about PDE but my guess is that PDE will be about the industrial processes in Product Design such as injection moulding or vacuum forming, you'd probably be looking at those in an industrial scale at a guess, whereas product design and technology sounds very different and would be the study of product design and the study of technology, so you could learn about HDTV's for example in the technology side. But I'm just making guesses

Reply 5

roy.tam

A Product Design consultancy generally have a team of Product Designers to create the brief, and germinate the ideas with a team of product engineers (working with the client's team) to develop the details.

If it helps you focus, think a bit ahead. Product Design today is not limited to designing objects like the Dyson fan, it's also about the user experience. Have a look at the work of top design consultancies like Pentagram and Tangerine, the user interaction designs by IDEO and Method, and the Designer Maker approach by Heatherwick Studio. These draw on different skills informed by cultural, emotional, social and ethical awareness, which are usually taught in the BA Design courses (I think Loughborough offers one too).

I looked up a few courses under 'PD innovation' and 'PD engineering' and their boundaries are blurred, in fact one course came up under innovation in google, but the course title is engineering. Both are mechanically oriented. If you are referring to designing engines, that usually falls under the remit of Mechanical Engineers. If you want to design HDTV or Interactive Apps, they come under electronics or digital media arts.

In general, a Product Designer is slightly more focused on creating desirability by inventive thinking, and a Product Design Engineer is slightly more on solving problems by innovation. Which one are you?

Reply 6

Selena4595

Original post by roy.tam

This is really helpful. I am definitely more interested in thinking about the ergonomics and attractiveness of a design, however I e. I don't really understand what the difference is between the two things you described there. They both solve a problem with inventive thinking?

I dont really feel passionate about designing TV's or apps, I more find designing things that I design in my product design A-level, like furniture. However, I do really enjoy and find eco designs interesting, and one day would like to go into green products, like our kettle and toaster at home.

That seems to be a mixture of the two things you mentioned, so I dont really know what to do.

Reply 7

roy.tam

Have a look at this Loughborough site in the New Designers Exhibition:
http://www.newdesigners.com/page.cfm/Action=Exhib/ExhibID=139/loadSearch=190341_563

Then have a look at this De Montfort site:
http://www.newdesigners.com/page.cfm/Action=Exhib/ExhibID=137/loadSearch=190341_562

Generally, the first is more BA 3D, Product and/or Furniture design, and the second is more BSc Product Design, or PD Engineering/Innovation. I think you sound like the 2nd.

To see some other exhibiting universities in this category, go to www.newdesigners.com and search Exhibitors, Design Zone Product & Furniture.

Reply 8

dogie

tldr: PDE = engineering with a focus on product design
PD = product design with no engineering, you're not expected to have a clue how to make anything in reality. = concept artist CAD monkey