The structure of the final year of the course is very different from a standard undergraduate course. Teaching is organised in intensive modules, interspersed with periods in industry doing real industrial projects. Terms are longer than Cambridge teaching terms, and learning is achieved through seminar-style sessions and practical experience, rather than from formal lectures. Assessment is through project reports, a number of short assessments through the year, and two three-hour examinations at the end of April. In addition to the modules and projects, students attend language classes and are encouraged to take exams leading to a formal qualification.
Languages offered are currently Spanish, German and Japanese.
The lectures are strongly practically-oriented, and are often delivered by leading industrialists. Marketing and business policy Projects Students undertake industrial projects which draw on material covered in the modules. Pairs or small groups of students spend two weeks in industry working on a real problem for the company. However, students have to be largely self-reliant and use their own initiative and resources. At the end of the project the students make a presentation of their findings to the company, to an audience which may include managers and shop-floor workers.