Master of Science (MSc) in Engineering (Electro-Mechanical System Design) 2017

1: Preface

Pursuant to Act 261 of March 18, 2015 on Universities (the University Act) with subsequent changes, the following curriculum for the Master's program in Electro-Mechanical System Design is stipulated. The programme also follows the Joint Programme Regulations and the Examination Policies and Procedures for the The Faculty of Engineering and Science.

2: Basis in Ministerial orders

The Master’s programme is organised in accordance with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s Order no. 1328 of November 15, 2016 on Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at Universities (the Ministerial Order of the Study Programmes) and Ministerial Order no. 1062 of June 30, 2016 on University Examinations (the Examination Order). Further reference is made to Ministerial Order no. 111 of January 30, 2017 (the Admission Order) and Ministerial Order no. 114 of February 3, 2015 (the Grading Scale Order) with subsequent changes.

3: Campus

The programme is offered in Aalborg.

4: Faculty affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under the The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University.

5: Study board affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under the Study Board of Mechanical Engineering and Physics.

6: Affiliation to corps of external examiners

The Master’s programme is associated with the external examiners corps on Nationwide engineering examiners/Machine.

7: Admission requirements

Applicants with a legal right of admission (retskrav):

• Aalborg University offers no bachelor’s programmes with a legal right of admission to this Master's programme

Applicants without legal right of admission:

Bachelor’s programmes qualifying students for admission:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing, Aalborg University

Students with another Bachelor degree may, upon application to the Board of Studies, be admitted following a specific academic assessment if the applicant is considered as having comparable educational prerequisites. The University can stipulate requirements concerning conducting additional exams prior to the start of study.

8: The programme title in Danish and English

The Master’s programme entitles the graduate to the Danish designation Civilingeniør, cand.polyt. i elektro-mekanisk systemdesign. The English designation is: Master of Science (MSc) in Engineering (Electro-Mechanical System Design).

9: Programme specifications in ECTS credits

The Master’s programme is a 2-year, research-based, full-time study programme. The programme is set to 120 ECTS credits.

10: Rules concerning credit transfer (merit), including the possibility for choice of modules that are part of another programme at a university in Denmark or abroad

The Study Board can approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from other Master’s programmes in lieu of programme elements in this programme (credit transfer). The Study Board can also approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from another Danish programme or a programme outside of Denmark at the same level in lieu of programme elements within this curriculum. Decisions on credit transfer are made by the Study Board based on an academic assessment. See the Joint Programme Regulations for the rules on credit transfer.

11: Exemptions

In exceptional circumstances, the Study Board study can grant exemption from those parts of the curriculum that are not stipulated by law or ministerial order.  Exemption regarding an examination applies to the immediate examination.

12: Rules for examinations

The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published by the faculty on their website.

13: Rules concerning written work, including the Master’s Thesis

In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's formulation and spelling ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation. However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.

The Study Board can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).

The Master’s Thesis must include an English summary (or another foreign language: French, Spanish or German upon approval by the Study Board). If the project is written in English, the summary must be in Danish (The Study Board can grant exemption from this). The summary must be at least 1 page and not more than 2 pages (this is not included in any fixed minimum and maximum number of pages per student). The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole.

14: Requirements regarding the reading of texts in a foreign language

It is assumed that the student is able to read academic texts in modern Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English and use reference works, etc., in other European languages.

15: Competence profile on the diploma

The following competence profile will appear on the diploma:

A Candidatus graduate has the following competency profile:

A Candidatus graduate has competencies that have been acquired via a course of study that has taken place in a research environment.

A Candidatus graduate is qualified for employment on the labour market based on his or her academic discipline as well as for further research (PhD programmes). A Candidatus graduate has, compared to a Bachelor, developed his or her academic knowledge and independence so as to be able to apply scientific theory and method on an independent basis within both an academic and a professional context.

16: Competence profile of the programme

The graduate of the Master’s programme:

Knowledge

• Has gained an extensive knowledge within the areas related to analysis and design of electro mechanical systems.
• Has knowledge in one or more subject areas that, in selected areas within electronic, mechanical or control engineering, are based on the highest international research in the subject areas.
• Can understand and, on a scientific basis, reflect over the subject areas within electro mechanical system design and identify scientific problems.

Skills

• Excels in the subject areas, scientific methods and tools and general skills related to employment within the subject area.
• Can evaluate and select among the subject area’s(s’) scientific theories, methods, tools and general skills and, on a scientific basis, advance new analyses and solutions.
• Can communicate research-based knowledge and discuss professional and scientific problems with both peers and non-specialists.

Competencies

• Can, on a highly qualified manner, take part in technical development and research.
• Can manage work and development situations that are complex, unpredictable and require new solutions.
• Can independently initiate and implement discipline-specific and interdisciplinary cooperation and assume professional responsibility.
• Can independently take responsibility for own professional development and specialization.

17: Structure and Contents of the programme

The MSc programme in Electro-Mechanical System Design aims at educating graduates who are qualified to take part in technical development and research and who are able to direct the technical management of development projects within the industry.

The graduates are expected to have gained a broad knowledge within the areas of mechatronic system design, modelling and analysis of electro mechanical systems, information technology and control theory. Emphasis will be put on disciplines such as modelling of multi domain systems, simulation, system optimisation, and control engineering.

The programme is structured in modules and organised as a problem-based study. A module is a programme element or a group of programme elements which aims to give students a set of professional skills within a fixed time frame specified in ECTS credits, and concluding with one or more examinations within specific exam periods defined in the curriculum.

The programme is based on a combination of academic, problem-oriented and interdisciplinary approaches and organised based on the following work and evaluation methods that combine skills and reflection:

• Lectures
• Classroom instruction
• Project work
• Workshops
• Exercises (individually and in groups)
• Teacher feedback
• Reflection
• Portfolio work.

18: Overview of the programme

All modules are assessed through individual grading according to the 7-point scale or Pass/Fail. All modules are assessed by external examination (external grading) or internal examination (internal grading or by assessment by the supervisor only).

The 3^rd semester offers different ways of organisation – depending on the student’s choice of content; project work at Aalborg University, study visit at an educational institution in Denmark or abroad, voluntary traineeship with project work at a company in Denmark or abroad, or a semester programme that comprises cross-disciplinary programme elements composed by the student. The total work load of the semester must be equivalent to 30 ECTS of which up to 15 ECTS can be elective courses. The project may be finalised with a project report or in the form of a scientific paper, or, if the project is continued on the 4^th semester, with a midterm evaluation. For further information about the organisation of the module, please see the Joint programme regulations and the study guide for the MSc programme in Electro-Mechanical System Design.

The academic traineeship has to be approved by the study board before the beginning of the semester.

On the 4^th semester, the Master’s Thesis is completed. The Master’s Thesis may be combined with the 3^rd semester in an extended Master’s Thesis. If choosing to do a long master thesis, it has to include experimental work and has to be approved by the study board.

19: Additional information

The current version of the curriculum is published on the study board’s website, including more detailed information about the programme, including exams.

All students who have not participated in Aalborg University’s PBL introductory course during their Bachelor’s degree must attend the introductory course “Problem-based Learning and Project Management”. The introductory course must be approved before the student can participate in the project exam. 

20: Commencement and transitional rules

The curriculum is approved by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science and enters into force as of September 2017.

Students who wish to complete their studies under the previous curriculum from 2016 must conclude their education by the summer examination period 2018 at the latest, since examinations under the previous curriculum are not offered after this time.

21: Amendments to the curriculum and regulations

Minor editorial changes have been made in connection with digitisation of the study curriculum.