Industrial Engineering & Management

To pursue Industrial Engineering & Management as a major, students take the following mandatory (m) CHOICE modules (30 CP)

• CHOICE Module: General Logistics (m, 7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: General Industrial Engineering (m, 7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: Introduction to International Business (m, 7.5 CP)
• CHOICE Module: Introduction to Finance and Accounting (m, 7.5 CP)

Thus, students will learn the fundamentals of industrial engineering, industrial management, manufacturing technology, logistics systems, and supply chains as well as the important business functions in the globalized world.

The remaining CHOICE modules (15 CP) can be selected in the first year of studies according to interest and with the aim to allow a change of major until the beginning of the second year, when the major choice becomes fixed.

In their second year, students will take a total of 45 CP from in-depth, discipline-specific CORE modules. These modules aim to extend the students’ critical understanding of the key theories, principles, and methods from both industrial engineering and management.

To pursue IEM as a major, at least the following mandatory CORE modules (30 CP) split in two units need to be taken:

1)    “Advanced Industrial Engineering”, consisting of the modules:

• CORE Module: Process Modelling & Simulation (m, 5 CP)
• CORE Module: Product & Production System Design (m, 5 CP)
• CORE Module: Production Planning & Control (m, 5 CP)

This unit takes an in-depth look into production systems, providing the students with understanding of product development and design activities, production planning and control methods, as well as the modeling and simulation of the entire manufacturing processes.

2)    “Advanced Industrial Management”, consisting of the modules:

• CORE Module: Operations Research (m, 5 CP)
• CORE Module: Lean Supply Management (m, 5 CP)
• CORE Module: Data Management and Analytics in Industry 4.0 (m, 5 CP)

In this unit, students will learn to model decision-making problems, to develop purchasing strategies, to employ advanced lean methods for the elimination of waste in industrial processes, and to manage innovation and technologies.

Students decide to complement their studies by taking the discipline-specific mandatory elective (me) CORE modules (15 CP) from the following unit:

3)    “Project & Strategic Management”, consisting of the modules:

• CORE Module: Applied Project Management (me, 7.5 CP)
• CORE Module: International Strategic Management (me, 7.5 CP)

or substitute these modules with CORE modules from other study programs according to interest and/or with the aim of pursuing a minor in a second field.

The “Project & Strategic Management” unit prepares students to set up, organize, manage and control projects as well as to evaluate and design strategies in international management.

Students prepare and make career decisions after graduation during their third year. They take a mandatory summer internship to explore options fitting individual interests and gain professional experience.

The 5th semester also opens a mobility window for comprehensive study-abroad options. Finally, the 6th semester is dedicated to fostering students' research experience by involving them in an extended Bachelor thesis project.

IEM students must take a total of 15 CP of major-specific or  major-related Specialization modules to consolidate their knowledge of the current state of research in areas of their choice.

IEM students can choose 10-15 CP from the following IEM major-specific Specialization Modules:

• Industry 4.0 and Blockchain Technologies (me, 5 CP)
• Advanced Product Design (me, 5 CP)
• Supply Chain Design (me, 2.5 CP)
• Integrated Decision Making in Supply Chain Management (me, 2.5 CP)
• Distribution & E-Commerce (me, 2.5 CP)
• Law of Transportation, Forwarding, and Logistics (me, 2.5 CP)

IEM students can choose a maximum of 5 CP from the following major-related Specialization modules

• Machine Learning (me, 5 CP)

As part of Constructor University's commitment to student employability, all students are required to participate in a mandatory internship program. The 4-month program-specific internship for the Industrial Engineering & Management (IEM) program, which takes place during the 5th semester, is a crucial component of the curriculum. It provides students with the opportunity to gain real-world experience in a professional setting, allowing them to apply their knowledge and understanding to a professional context, reflect on the relevance of their major to employment and society, and gain professional guidance. This experience can also serve as a stepping stone for their Bachelor's thesis project or future employment after graduation. The program also includes career advising and several career workshops throughout all six semesters to further prepare students for the transition from student life to working life and their future careers. As an alternative, students interested in starting their own company can opt for a startup option, which focuses on developing their business plan and reduces the full-time internship to 8 weeks (15 CP).

The CONSTRUCTOR Track is another important feature of Constructor University’s educational model. The Constructor Track runs orthogonal to the disciplinary CHOICE, CORE, and CAREER modules across all study years and is an integral part of all undergraduate study programs. It provides an intellectual tool kit for lifelong learning and encourages the use of diverse methodologies to approach cross-disciplinary problems. The CONSTRUCTOR track contains Methods, New Skills and German Language and Humanities modules.

Methods
Methods and skills such as mathematics, statistics, programming, data handling, presentation skills, academic writing, and scientific and experimental skills are offered to all students as part of the Methods area in their curriculum. The modules that are specifically assigned to each study programs equip students with transferable academic skills. They convey and practice specific methods that are indispensable for each students’ chosen study program. Students are required to take 20 CP in the Methods area. The size of all Methods modules is 5 CP.

To pursue IEM as a major, the following Methods modules (20 CP) need to be taken as mandatory modules:

• Methods Module: Applied Calculus (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Finite Mathematics (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Programming in Python (m, 5 CP)
• Methods Module: Applied Statistics with R (m, 5 CP)

New Skills Modules
This part of the curriculum constitutes an intellectual and conceptual tool kit that cultivates the capacity for a particular set of intellectual dispositions including curiosity, imagination, critical thought, and transferability. It nurtures a range of individual and societal capacities, such as self-reflection, argumentation and communication. Finally, it introduces students to the normative aspects of inquiry and research, including the norms governing sourcing, sharing, withholding materials and research results as well as others governing the responsibilities of expertise as well as the professional point of view. Students in this study program are required to take the following modules in their second and third year:

• New Skills Module: Logic (m, 2.5 CP)
• New Skills Module: Causation and Correlation (m, 2.5 CP)

These modules will be offered with two different perspectives of which the students can choose. The module perspectives are independent modules which examine the topic from different point of views. Please see the module description for more details.

German Language and Humanities Modules
German language abilities foster students’ intercultural awareness and enhance their employability in their host country. They are also beneficial for securing mandatory internships (between the 2nd and 3rd year) in German companies and academic institutions. Constructor University supports its students in acquiring basic as well as advanced German skills in the first year of the Constructor Track. Non-native speakers of German are encouraged to take 2 German modules (2.5 CP each), but are not obliged to do so. Native speakers and other students not taking advantage of this offering take alternative modules in Humanities in each of the first two semesters.