The UK automotive industry is historically known for highly innovative engineering, with various technical centres of excellence recently set up in the UK by global car manufacturers and suppliers. The main challenge set for these engineering centres is to design, develop and manufacture the next generation of road vehicles capable of providing improved environmental impact whilst maintaining acceptable vehicle performance, reliability and cost. The exciting low carbon vehicle technologies being developed within the UK, coupled with significant recent growth within the industry, makes for a highly challenging and rewarding career for talented UK Automotive Engineering graduates. Automotive Engineering at Brunel aims to equip graduates with the key technical and managerial skills required to excel within industry. Specifically, the programmes of study have been constructed to give good balance between both the fundamental mechanical engineering subjects (including maths and engineering science) and the applied engineering disciplines (such as vehicle design and performance). The overall aim is to provide our graduates with excellent understanding of the fundamentals which, coupled with in-depth knowledge of the technical workings of current and future automotive systems, will allow them to become future technical or managerial leaders. "The UK automotive industry is leading economic recovery with increased manufacturing output, growing export volumes and new jobs being created on the back of major international investment in the sector. Our engineering expertise, workforce flexibility and renowned motoring heritage, combined with top level collaboration between industry and government, makes the UK an important location for the global automotive industry". Paul Everitt, Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Read about Student Industrial Work Placements. About Mechanical Engineering at Brunel From jet aircraft to air conditioning plant, from tunnelling machines to body-scanners, from technical consultancy to financial services such as insurance, mechanical engineers deal with the design and production of the machines, systems and structures that are taken for granted in the modern world. The range and diversity of career choice is consequently tremendous. In response to this diversity, we offer a variety of courses. Interacting with students from different specialisms and with different interests is an important part of the University experience. To help with this, we have introduced a multidisciplinary project for Level 1 students. This is a design-based competition between teams made up of students from a number of subjects. We also offer the Engineering with an Integrated Foundation Year course. The range of courses reflects several of our research interests: * energy and environmental engineering; * internal combustion engines and their fuels; * structures and materials; * fluid mechanics. Aims The MEng (four years academic study) programme aims to produce graduates possessing qualities and transferable skills for demanding employment in the automotive and related industries and the public sector, where additionally the exercise of leadership, initiative, personal responsibility and decision-making is required.

Strong research and industrial links Brunel has an excellent reputation in the field of mechanical engineering and the automotive subject discipline is one of our most active areas. Research centres include the Centre for Advanced Powertrain and Fuels, which is one of the best academic research facilities within the UK for advanced automotive powertrain research. Recent research projects have been undertaken in partnership with various industrial partners including Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus Cars, SAIC (MG), BP, Shell, Ricardo, MAHLE Powertrain and Delphi. The University was also recently awarded a multi-million pound contract from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to accelerate the introduction of future low carbon and lightweight vehicle technologies specifically in close collaboration with industry. Some of our graduates go directly into such sponsored research at Brunel, leading to the award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD), whilst others spend several years in industry first. Careers Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey These statistics relate to graduates from a number of different pathways – Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (MEng), Mechanical Engineering with Aeronautics, Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Design, Motorsport Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Aviation Engineering and Aviation Engineering with Pilot Studies. In 2011/12, six months after graduating: * 71.9% of graduates with a first degree were in employment * 13.5% were in full-time further study * 1.0% were combining work and study Read more about graduate destinations for this subject area If you opt for a sandwich course, you will have the added bonus of putting your academic study into practice and developing ideas about future careers. Some graduates are offered full-time graduate posts at the companies where they carried out their work placements. Students who complete the thick-sandwich course will be awarded their degree ‘with Professional Development’. Many Brunel graduates are currently working in key technical and managerial positions within the automotive industry. Recent destinations have included Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, McLaren Automotive, Bentley Motors, Ford, Nissan Technical Centre Europe, BMW (Mini), Lotus Cars, SAIC (MG), Changan, Tata Motors, BP, Ricardo, MAHLE Powertrain, Cummins, JCB, Perkins and Delphi. At Brunel we provide many opportunities and experiences within your degree programme and beyond – work-based learning, professional support services, volunteering, mentoring, sports, arts, clubs, societies, and much, much more – and we encourage you to make the most of them, so that you can make the most of yourself.