General Engineering pre-arrival information
Here's some useful information for new students joining General Engineering in 2025. Our Welcome Week runs from 22 to 26 September, and offers our new students a chance to get to know their lecturers, classmates and the facilities they'll be studying in.
Registration reminder
How you prepare to join us in September is up to you, but the one thing you must do before arriving is register. You won't be able to start your course until you're registered so make sure to get it done in advance. But don't worry, it's super easy to do.
Here's all the information on how to register:
Registration for Home Students
Registration for International Students
You can’t start your course/attend lectures & seminars until you have registered with the University.
Welcome Week timetable
Monday 22 September
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 - 11:00 | Diamond Lecture Theatre 1 | Welcome to the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Professor George Panoutsos, Head of School, and Dr Anthony Rossiter, School Director of Education, will provide an introduction to the School and what to expect from your programme of study, as well as an overview of University support services. |
| 15:00 - 16:00 | Diamond Lecture Theatre 5 | Programme Specific Talk This talk is for students enrolled in General Engineering. You'll be welcomed to the GEE program by your Year 1 & 2 Tutor, Dr. Xiangbing Zeng, and Head of Program, Dr. Jonathan Aitken. They, along with other GEE staff, will give you a detailed overview of the course and provide specific information and helpful tips to get you started. |
Tuesday 23 September
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 - 12:00 | Diamond Lecture Theatre 1 | Introduction to Labs in the Diamond Meet the Multidisciplinary Engineering Education (MEE) team; they deliver your practical laboratory teaching in the Diamond. You will also receive an introduction to the Race Equality and Consent Conversations training run by the University’s student equality, diversity and inclusion (SEDI) team - all new students should complete this online training. |
Thursday 25 September
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 13:30 - 17:00 | 38 Mappin Street Workroom 2 | Design and Build Activity You'll be divided into groups to design and build a catapult using the provided materials and tools, including glue guns. Your group will then compete for a small prize. This is a great opportunity to meet your classmates and the GEE staff, learn how to work effectively in a team, and get a feel for what it's like to be a general engineer. You will receive your group number closer to the event. |
Friday 26 September
| Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Sir Frederick Mappin Building E125 | Meet your Tutor Group and Staff Enjoy a catered university lunch and meet the GEE staff. This is a great chance to ask any questions you have about the course before the term officially begins. |
| 13:30 - 16:30 | 38 Mappin Street Workroom 1 | GemSoc and Social This event is organized by GEMSoc, the GEE student society. The current committee will introduce themselves and give a talk about the society. Afterward, you'll have a chance to play some games and get to know your fellow students during a social event. |
New undergraduate student checklist
Get ready for studying at Sheffield by completing your to-do list tasks.
After registration
Here we've put together information you might find useful for after you've registered. Some of this you won't be able to access until after you've registered, so make sure to check back then.
Blackboard online learning environment
Blackboard is the name of the University’s online space where you can access weekly module content, participate in online teaching sessions, and submit assessments.
There is a Blackboard site dedicated to your Welcome Week, that you should be able to access. On this site there are copies of the presentations that will be given and links to further information and resources. If you are having problems accessing the Blackboard site, please contact us using the details at the end of this email.
Access the Welcome Week 2024 Blackboard site
Laptop PC requirements
If you are thinking about bringing your own Laptop computer with you to start your studies at Sheffield, then a Windows computer tends to run the software easier than a Mac and getting support for any problems is easier. Therefore, we encourage you to bring a Windows laptop if you have one.
You will also need to use Matlab and Simulink software during your studies, so you may want to check the system requirements for this software.
Teaching timetables
Your full teaching timetable will be published on the iSheffield app and you can download this now. But please be aware that timetables will be incomplete until after Welcome Week, as once you have registered we will begin to allocate new students to tutorial groups.
iSheffield is the University of Sheffield’s mobile and web app that allows you to access everything you need during your academic studies, including your timetable.
Optional resources and reading list
You are not expected to do any pre-sessional work during the summer before joining us. However, if you'd like to prepare yourselves for starting the General Engineering course, it would be useful to review your A-Level maths material and make sure you are comfortable with it.
While we don’t require A-Level chemistry, programming, or further maths, you may like to take a look at the content below, although there is no requirement to. Physics material is also listed at the end for anybody that would like a refresher, or if you have joined us via the “physics pathway”.
- If you haven’t studied chemistry
- If you haven’t studied programming
- Matlab Onramp and Matlab Fundamentals
- If you haven’t studied further maths
Physics is required as an A-Level, please contact us if you haven’t studied physics. We offer a physics pathway that enables you to still join the course provided you commit to self-study of any material in the links below that you feel you have not already covered:
If you’d like to develop your academic report writing skills:
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