Automotive technologies have changed dramatically over the last five years, with electrification and connectivity central to the industry's future. Manufacturers are modernizing engineering activities accordingly, with significant pressure to reduce development time and cost through digitization of the engineering process. The Automotive Engineering program at Loughborough will enable you to specialize in subjects directly relevant to a rapidly changing industry and the future of ground transportation.
Our dedicated Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering (one of only two in the UK) has taught Automotive Engineering and worked with primary UK industries for over fifty years. Our course is based on our heritage of working alongside industry, and from the outset, we use automotive-specific examples in teaching the engineering fundamentals, an approach that differs from many other automotive engineering courses in the UK. Our ongoing exchange of knowledge with industry ensures that our taught courses are immediately relevant to the problems industry faces today.
From topics related to new powertrain architectures to specialist modules, including Battery Technology and Machine Intelligence, the course also includes more foundational issues such as Aerodynamics, Materials, Structures, and Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics. These provide a comprehensive knowledge of the underlying and unchanging physics of automotive systems essential to modern automotive engineering.
As an automotive engineer, you will use your theoretical and analytical skills extensively. Still, it is also essential for you to appreciate the more practical aspects of engineering. Practical activities are integral to our course; for example, by spending a week at HORIBA MIRA proving ground, you will learn how to collect and analyze vehicle handling, off-road dynamics, noise measurement, braking performance, and wet weather driving data. This and many other ‘hands-on’ activities will enable you to put the theory you have learned into practice.
Teamwork and management skills are critical to you as you develop your career and move to more senior positions. During the course, you will have many opportunities to develop these skills, including working as part of a team to design a vehicle of the future. In your final year, you will manage your original research project to solve a real-world engineering problem.
As these courses are taught within a Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, our teaching staff are engaged in exciting research into air and ground transport which helps keep our system up-to-date. We bring together outstanding facilities, superb teaching, and strong industry links to ensure you are completely ready for your future career.