Overview

The Department

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is a large department with a consistent record for excellent teaching and research. Our academic staff specialise in a range of areas including computational mechanics, energy technology, food technology, nuclear engineering, nanomaterials and medical engineering.

We ensure that our courses are relevant to the careers and industries that our students enter after graduation. Traditional engineering undergraduate courses are lecture-based and heavily orientated towards acquiring knowledge, whereas we have updated our programmes to help our students develop the skills needed by a graduate engineer in the twenty-first century. All of our MEng courses are accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and lead to the Associateship of the City and Guilds of London Institute (ACGI).

Our facilities and equipment mirror those used in industry. A designated student workshop and the Project Technical Centre are equipped with an extensive array of equipment for students to use in their projects. These include numerically controlled machines, a laser profiler, Instron machines for testing the strength of engineering materials, and field-programmable gate array kits for controlling mechatronic systems.

Through our close links with industry, particularly on programmes such as the Total Technology route to an MEng degree, many of our students leave Imperial with employment opportunities already lined up. Career opportunities include research and development, design, production or plant management. Several of our graduates work in Formula One or related industries, and the opportunity to specialise in nuclear engineering prepares many of our graduates for employment in nuclear industries.