engsci electives

Hi! Welcome back to yet another Part II Engsci blog! This will be more of a unique blog as I have gotten input from mates about how they found their respective electives, whether they enjoyed it and what the content was like 😙

This particular blog will focus on the possible electives that you can take in Semester 2 of Engsci. Now, I’m sure by now that you all have realised that Engineering Science is super broad and there are many different ways you can customise your degree to fit your interests. The main way that you can do this is through electives! Each (regular) Part II Engsci student gets 2 electives in Semester Two, with the exception of conjoint students who get one elective.

Okay!! Now we have gone over all the preamble, lets get in to each elective and what they are about! This blog will go over some of the main electives but do not assume that you are bound by these electives- you can quite literally chose anything that matches your fancy and email to ask about it. Chances are they will approve of it and you’ll be on your way 😀

This blog will talk about the following electives:

• MECHENG222
• MECHENG220
• MECHENG211
• COMPSCI220
• STATS210
• COMPSCI225

Massive thanks to all of the other Engsci Part II students who gave insight into their current electives! I could not have written this blog without them 🕺

Course Name	Content	Best thing about the course	Others
MECHENG222	Continuation of ENGGEN121 but focuses on kinematics and kinetics which branches into new topics/methods like 3d kinematics, rotating coordinate systems, impulse and momentum, and vibrations (in MM2).	– The two lecturers in the course (this guy called Lihua Tang and Hazim) are really good. – The course is very organised and can get kinda interesting sometimes.	The course is pretty fun if u enjoyed ENGGEN121 but it gets hard sometimes, and it doesn’t really fit into Engsci. The first part is pretty light with course work but it increases in the second part with Hazim.
MECHENG270	Object oriented programming (OOP) in C++. Its much more in depth in 233, which is more of a speedrun of OOP and ADT (Abstract Data Types) and we don’t really get to properly learn the concepts.	– Its super interesting, really good to get you more familiar with programming, but more of a practical aspect	So. Many. Pointers. But also great for forcing you to learn more about basic programming concepts- additionally the assignments are very satisfying when you finish. The lecturers are really good and because its a compulsory mechatronics course there is a lot of help available. Because we kind of did it in 233 the learning curve is not as steep.
MECHENG211	Course is split into three parts: 1. Thermodynamics: Steam tables in 140 and apply 1st law of Thermodynamics. 2. Heat Transfer: Focuses on conduction, convection and radiation (<-kinda). Doesn’t really overlap with BIOMENG221 as it’s more ‘mechy’ analyzing pipes and fins 3. Fluids: Overlaps a bit with BIOMENG221 (We do the same jet momentum lab)	The tests and exams are much easier than what is taught and the coursework is very light compared to ENGSCI263.	I wanted to do it because I thought I’d like fluids and thermodynamics. Kind of regret because it is something that will be covered in ENGSCI343 anyways and its ‘too mechy’ (-> learning about heat exchanges and boilers)
COMPSCI220	Data structures and algorithms.	The content is good for tech/software interviews and the course is well structured.	Some people like it, others don’t. Depends if you mind doing a hard course because the content is interesting.
STATS210	Statistical distributions and it’s more of a math-heavy stats paper than pure statistics	The first lecturer is great and the first half of the semester is easy considering that you learn it already in ENGSCI211 (the compulsory math course in Semester 1)	Great for the data analytics pathway
COMPSCI225	Very mathematical; lots of math graphs and proofs.	– MATHS120 or any other proof-ey math paper, or good mathematical intuition sets you up pretty well for an easy time. – No quizzes (only 4 assignments) and there is only one 20% test Semester 2. – The course is really interesting.	If you like maths, you’ll like this course. However, it can be challenging depending on your previous math knowledge (if you don’t, it will take extra effort in order to do well). Some of the lecturers aren’t that good and there is no cheat sheet for the test or exam (so you need to remember everything😭 .

That’s all for now! Hope this helped open your eyes to the many different skills that can be gained under the Engsci umbrella.

Remember that the elective you take does not limit you in terms of your pathway- everyone graduates with an Engineering Science degree regardless. And at the end of the day, even if you don’t like the elective you take- at least you know that you don’t enjoy the subject !

Till next time,

Amanda <3