Abstract
Engineering foundation courses at British universities have been successful in attracting students with diverse academic backgrounds. Such student are often uncertain with regard to career choices within the various engineering disciplines and the reported work describes a means of providing these students with an experience in mechanical design that relates to the challenges of professional practice. A structured, problem solving methodology is presented for the analysis of simple mechanical artefacts that provides a basis of practical experience on which students can devise design proposals for new products. The individual elements of practical and academic skill required to make realistic design proposals and the role of creativity are described. The influence of the school background and student perceptions of design are discussed as factors in the recruitment, retention and motivation of engineering students.