Discover ACSE
We have been at the forefront of research and teaching within the field of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering for over the last 50 years.
In that time Systems and Control Engineering has become of great importance in almost every aspect of our lives. Modern industry, cities, homes and appliance depend on crucial systems that have to operate independently to achieve a specified purpose, both accurately and safely.
We try to make your student life the best experience possible, through:
- student feedback - to help us improve our teaching and update the modules on offer
- our mentoring scheme - which helps you settle in and make the most of your time here
- a personal tutor - who will give you advice and guidance throughout your course.
You'll also benefit from innovative teaching approaches and technologies, such as our out-of-hours web laboratory, and a variety of web-based approaches for additional support.
Our teaching is based on the latest thinking. We regularly introduce new modules in response to current developments in research and demands in the careers market.
You'll build key transferable skills and qualities, through individual and group projects, that will help you stand out as a professional engineer – skills like teamwork, creativity, project management and commercial awareness.
On this page:
Virtual tour
Our students have access to the latest equipment and technologies, including a dedicated natural robotics, computer, control and power systems laboratory, as well as teaching laboratories in our state-of-the-art engineering building, The Diamond. You'll find yourself building systems in the Electronic and Control Lab, and you can use the student-run makerspace iForge to fabricate your own projects, or work as part of our student-led projects. You can take a 360 tour of the Diamond below.
Virtual Learning & Teaching
Digital online teaching
As an engineering department we are well placed to take advantage of the university's online learning environment. Digital recording of lectures is standard, we can deliver virtual classrooms, online assessments and you can engage in collaborative learning with your peers. We also have innovative work in the department that shows how we make the most of our connections: from working with robots in virtual environments to our digital twins of industrial equipment.
Our lecturer Dr Jonathan Aitken runs sessions for undergraduate students with a virtual robotics lab using the Robot Operating System (ROS) and Gazebo 3D physics simulator. The students can log in remotely from anywhere in the world and control the virtual robot using exactly the same software that controls the physical robot in the lab. Watch the robot navigate its virtual and physical environment.
Example of virtual learning
Below is a video demonstrating virtual learning in ACSE. Dr Mahnaz Arvaneh, a lecturer in the department, teaches a 3rd year lab session where the students are given a lab instruction and work on the problems using MATLAB. In this virtual class, the students share their screens, demonstrate their results and Dr Arvaneh provides feedback.
Meet our inspirational academics
Professor Visakan Kadirkamanathan specialises in signal and information processing. He applies his research as Director of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre, working on Intelligent Systems, Decision and Control related research. He also teaches on our undergraduate module in System Identification, an optional module in the third year of our degrees.
Meet our students
Chat with our students
Student profiles
Life as a student
Extra-curricular projects
Our department leads the faculty's extra-curricular projects. These student-run teams give you an opportunity to put your academic knowledge and skills to practical use: with the teams often taking part in international competitions.
Last year student team SunrIde, designed and built a rocket that set a new UK altitude record! Our students are involved in projects that cover all areas of engineering: from space telescopes, to synthetic biology; and from underwater robotics to satellite systems and more! Through projects like the Global Engineering Challenge, you'll join forces with engineers across the faculty to solve real-world engineering problems.
Facilities
iForge
The iForge is housed in the University's flagship Diamond building, our innovative facility, The iForge, is giving students the opportunity to collaborate, create and 'make' outside of their academic studies.
Mindsphere Lounge
The MindSphere Lounge, situated in the Diamond building, is a collaboration between Siemens, the University of Sheffield and the Sheffield City Region to accelerate digitalisation, boost digital skills, and promote technology and knowledge exchange to meet the needs of an increasingly digitalised industry. It is also the home to ACSE's FESTO CP lab.
Dr Payam Soulatiantork is our Academic Lead for Industry 4.0 and the Cyberphysical Lab. He guides us through why having this FESTO CP lab is great for hands-on experience of the way the digital and smart factories of the future will work.
