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Automotive Engineering

Male student working on robotics

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the Automotive Engineering resources page.

Here you will find out exactly what our academics are looking for in their students, including skills they look out for, some of the topics they want you to know, recommended reading and useful places to boost your knowledge.

So without further ado let's get started!

Skills we are looking for

  • Curiosity of how things work
  • Hands-on practical experience
  • Strong maths and physics skills
  • Multiphysics understanding of modern automotive systems

"These skills will help you to develop a deep understanding of Automotive Engineering and enable you to go on to design Automotive systems for yourself."

Automotive Engineering academic

Topics to know before you start

  • The anatomy of automotive vehicles
  • How combustion engines function
  • How electric motors function
  • How power electronics and controllers (e-drive systems) work
  • An understanding of forces, energy and work
  • An understanding of fluid flow and aerodynamics

Recommended reading to prepare for university

  • Adams, S. (2013) How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life. London, England: Portfolio Penguin. ISBN:9780241003701.
  • Burnett, B., and Evans, D. (2016) Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You. London, England: Chatto & Windus. ISBN:1784740241.
  • Norman, D. A. (2013) The Design of Everyday Things. Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press. ISBN:0262525674.
  • Smith, C. (1985) Engineer to win. Oxford, England: Osprey Publishing. ISBN:0850456282.
a female student sitting in our single-seater formula student race car

Programmes to know

  • Microsoft Office including Word, PowerPoint and Excel
  • How to use emails
  • How to use, save and edit PDFs
"As students go through their course they will be taught a range of industry leading software tools and often students can have their own software licence, from our experience Windows computers offer the best compatibility."

Automotive Engineering academic

Websites our academics recommend

Munro Live YouTube Channel:

A series of short and informative videos by Sandy Munro. His company is a world-leading engineering and manufacturing consulting firm. See tear downs of the latest automotive products to hit the market.

Formula 1 Tech Talk videos - YouTube:

For great motorsport insights, watch the series of Formula 1 Tech Talk videos by Hertfordshire locals Sam Collins and Craig Scarborough.

SAE International:

A very large resource for everything related to the automotive industry. Good for networking out of school/college and keeping up to date on the latest news in the automotive industry.

Professional bodies to research

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) strives to improve the world through engineering by:

  • Developing engineers
  • Promoting engineering
  • Informing opinion
  • Encouraging innovation

We'll be inviting them to come and meet you during your studies and membership is free while you're a student at Herts.

A student working one of the drill press machines in the workshop

Courses Herts offer

Interested in studying Aerospace Engineering here at Herts?

Take a look at our undergraduate courses below:

As part of these courses, you will have the opportunity to add an additional year to study abroad or do a work placement.

*Our MEng degrees allow you to achieve a Masters level qualification at an undergraduate level. These courses are 4 years long (instead of the standard 3 years).

Get a feel for studying at Herts

Contact us

We hope you all found these resources useful but we appreciate that you may have more questions.

If you have any questions regarding our campuses, facilities, accommodation or just general life here at Herts, you can contact current Herts students via Unibuddy.