Design Technology and Product Development in Mechanical Engineering

Graduates of this course are optimally suited to challenging specialist and leadership roles in design and product development or to the pursuit of further (doctoral) study around specific scientific questions from the field.

The course provides opportunities for students, working independently or in teams, to explore academic challenges in the field of product development, analysing and structuring the brief and developing bespoke solutions. Alongside recourse to existing methods and tools, students get a chance to evolve their own and to evaluate the potential and limitations of new technologies. This experience during their degree course means our graduates have what it takes to succeed in a career field where the pace of change in tech and processes is fast.

This degree course is aimed at those who have completed a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree in mechanical or automotive engineering or a related discipline and who intend in their careers to pursue high-level specialist and management roles in the fields of design and product development or to engage in doctoral research in these areas.

The degree course is three semesters in duration and features a curriculum with considerable scope for students to choose their own individual foci.

In the first two semesters, students select required elective modules from two distinct blocks: the core modules and a course-specific advanced study area. The core modules explore transdisciplinary topics from engineering and management, while the advanced modules are as follows:

• Machine elements and systems
• Methods and processes in product development
• Virtual product development

Additionally, students take an elective module freely chosen from any module taught in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science.

This Master’s degree course features a high proportion of project work, with two small-group projects (3-5 students per group) focusing on problems and challenges from industry or from research currently in progress at HAW Hamburg. These projects, which in the ideal case build on one another, are intended to enable students to experience the entire product development process chain, culminating in the construction and testing of initial physical prototypes. In this way, our graduates leave us with authentic experience and skills in working on and managing complex development projects of significant relevance to the real-world challenges awaiting them in their careers.

The course concludes in semester 3 with the Master's thesis, via which students demonstrate their ability to work independently at a high scientific level by exploring a substantial and complex topic during the course of a semester. Many of our students complete their Master's theses in close cooperation with an industrial organisation, which has the dual advantage of promoting research and technological transfer and ensuring a real-world emphasis to the course.

Essential:

• A Bachelor’s degree, worth 210 credit points, in mechanical engineering or production technology and management or in a discipline related to either of these
• OR a Diplom degree (or non-German equivalent) in mechanical engineering or production technology and management or in a discipline related to either of these
• Diploma Supplement/Transcript of Records
• Proof of proficiency in English at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (as stipulated in section 7, paragraph 1 of the General Admissions Regulations [HAWAZO])
• International applicants are required to demonstrate proficiency in the German language at level C1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) or above via a recognised language test, which should be one of the following: Goethe Institute C1, TestDaF 4, telc C1 Hochschule, DSH2, Deutsches Sprachdiplom issued by the KMK (Kultusministerkonferenz), or Kleines or Großes Sprachdiplom issued by the Goethe Institute.

Submitting additional documents increases your chances of being selected:

• Letter of motivation
• CV
• Documentation of any previous relevant professional/work experience (e.g. written reference from your employer)
• A letter of recommendation

N.B.: Applicants whose Bachelor’s degrees are equivalent to 180 credit points are required to attain a further 30 credit points in order to enrol fully in this Master’s degree course. The Examinations Committee will determine which courses and examinations you will be required to undertake. If this applies to you and your application is successful, your enrolment will be provisional subject to demonstrable attainment of the required additional 30 credit points.