Industrial Engineering and Management (300 credits)
Job opportunities and the future
Business and industry are in a constant state of change. By combining in-depth technical knowledge with expertise in advanced industrial economics, the preconditions are in place to be able to attack and solve complex problem in an appropriate manner based on several different perspectives. Professional positions for a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management primarily include technical business development within both established and growth industries. Consequently technical and management consultants, project managers, product developers, investment managers, marketers or entrepreneurs are examples of jobs graduates may take. Many take up management positions of various types quite soon after graduation.
Industrial Economics - The Subject
The subject area Industrial Economics and Organisation deals with theoretical and practical knowledge on innovation, production and marketing in established and growth industries. Centre stage are the development and organisation of efficient industrial operations, profitable technology-based business and how to create the preconditions for innovation, development and growth. The natural point of departure in research and educational programmes is the organisation (company/department/project) and its operations. As the organisation does not operate in a vacuum its history and surroundings are also included, as well as stipulations for technical and financial assessments and working conditions for organisation employees. Industrial economics and organisation is an applied subject in the borderlands of technology, social and human sciences.
The courses studies in industrial economics are specially characterised by the fact that they deal with issues in which technical and economic competence is necessary in order to solve problems in technology-based enterprises.
The programme
The Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management places great emphasis on the interplay between technical problem solution and the financial context. The programme underlines the integration of technology, economics and management and the ability to communicate and cooperate in the interfaces between different competences. Throughout the programme, students study courses in industrial economics that go deeper every year. From Year 1, in addition to courses in industrial economics, students also study mathematics and natural sciences. In Years 2 and 3 students learn more industrial economics, partially with a technical emphasis. Students then take courses together with students from other Masters of Science in Engineering programmes in order to gain knowledge within industrial economics and technology/natural sciences parallel throughout the entire programme at first level and in Year 3 this is concluded with a first level degree project.
In Years 4 and 5 students continue to extend their knowledge within the framework of the Master’s programme in Industrial Engineering and Management by studying courses in industrial economics and their selected technical specialisation. The educational programme is concluded with a second level degree project.
Many of the students admitted to Industrial Engineering and Management take the opportunity to spend one or two terms as an exchange student at a university abroad.
Year 1
In Years 1 students take courses in mathematics, programming and MATLAB plus mechanics. Students will also initiate their studies in industrial economics with three different courses during this year.
Mathematics, 22.5 credits
Mathematics is a vital tool for engineers. Year 1 mathematics courses deal with algebra and geometry, plus the analysis of one and multi-variables.
Industrial economics, 22.5 credits
In Year 1 students take three courses in industrial economics. The first is an introduction course that provides basic knowledge and a broad introduction to the subject and programme area of industrial economics. In this course students are also introduced to their future professional role as an engineer by studying problems that are so complex that they require competence from more than one field in order to solve them. In addition students receive training in project work, group dynamics and written and spoken communication. Their second course covers industrial project management focussed on the forms of management and working used in business, development and change projects in industry. This course places great emphasis on system project management theory, organisational theory, case studies, the client role and how conditions imposed by the surroundings affect project management. The third course is industrial marketing which provides basic knowledge on the core of marketing (needs, wants and demand, products compared to brands and transactions compared to relationships). In addition strategic marketing concepts are covered such as segmentation, targeting and positioning as concerns both industrial and consumer products.
Mechanics, basic course, 8 credits
This course takes up the basic natural laws governing time, space, matter and motion and how these are applied to solve practical problems.
Programming techniques and MATLAB, 7.5 credits
Students learn programming and basic knowledge and practical skills in the MATLAB program language so that they will be able to use computers as natural tools in their engineering tasks.
Year 2
In Year 2 students take compulsory courses within, for example, differential equations, numerical methods and statistics and in industrial economics. In this year students will also select a specialisation they would like to study more closely, so parallel with their courses in industrial economics they take courses in their chosen specialisation.
Industrial economics, 18 credits
In Year 2 students study a total of three different industrial economics courses. These deal with more in-depth study of financial control and analysis, production management and product development.
Courses common to all students in year 2:
Differential equations 6 credits
Differential equations describe how quantities change in time and space. This plays a decisive role in technical applications. Here students learn solution methods and applications as well as transformation methods.
Physics, 7.5
This course provides knowledge of the most important concepts connected to electrical and magnetic fields plus mechanical and electrical waves. Students gain knowledge on theories and models that describe fields and waves.
Numerical methods, 6 credits
This course provides knowledge on numerical methods so that students will be able to use computers to formulate and solve standard numerical problems within relevant areas of application.
Probability theory and statistics, 6 credits
This course provides students with basic knowledge of probability theory and the distribution of the various random variables. Students calculate, test and establish statistical models for actual situations.
Year 3
In Year 3 students continue to take courses in industrial economics parallel with courses within their chosen specialisation. Year 3 is concluded with a first level degree project worth 15 credits.
Courses common to all students in year 3:
Industrial economics, 18 credits
In Year 3 students take a total of three courses in industrial economics. These courses cover aspects such as extended financial knowledge, human resource management (HRM) and management plus management of technology.
Bachelor Degree Project, 15 credits
Year 3 is concluded by a first level degree project, for the Bachelor’s degree worth 15 credits. This degree project is carried out within the framework of a course at the department of engineering responsible for the other courses in the selected specialisation, in cooperation with the Department of Industrial Economics and Organisation. Here students make independent, critical assessments and independently identify, formulate and solve problems. When 180 credits have been gained, students may apply to take out a Bachelor’s degree if all requirements have been fulfilled.
Year 4-5
In Years 4 and 5 students continue on their educational programme by extending their knowledge within the framework of the Master’s programme in Industrial Management (Industrial Engineering and Management, TIEMM). This is achieved through parallel studies within both industrial economics and the selected engineering specialisation at second level.
In addition to the previously-mentioned professional skills and abilities, knowledge on technology-based business development and entrepreneurship are covered in Year 4 and 5 courses. The Master of Science in Engineering’s knowledge of the environment and sustainable development is extended as this approach is integrated into programme courses with its special aspects such as the life cycle analysis, environmental impact and material choices characteristic to the selected technical specialisation.
In Years 4 and 5, studies lead to a Master of Science in Engineering degree of 300 credits within Industrial economics (Master of Science in Engineering, Degree Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management).
Examples of specialisations
Currently the programme offers opportunities for in-depth studies in a number of different specialisations which have been developed to respond to application areas that are most in demand by both business/industry and by the students themselves. Consequently this programme contains both the essential leading edge expertise and also succeeds in providing insights into the different business and operational areas. At first level in this programme there are five specialisations: Biotechnology for Industrial Economics, Computer Engineering and Communication for Industrial Economics, Energy Systems and Sustainable Development for Industrial Economics, Product Development for Industrial Economics and Applied Mathematics for Industrial Economics.
At second level students are then qualified to select one of the various technical specialisations (linked to the specialisation chosen at first level), for example production or construction, financial or applied mathematics, computer science or human-computer interaction. This programme is, however, under continuous development, consequently these are only possible examples. New specialisations may be added and others may be withdrawn from the programme.
Biotechnology
The biotechnology business is currently in a strong expansion phase which brings totally new opportunities. The biotechnology specialisation provides students with a good foundation for working within the core areas of the field: laboratory research and development. By complementing this specialisation with, for example, a course on patent law or financing, opportunities to work with patent issues are also opened up.
Energy Systems and Sustainable Development
Energy supply is a central future challenge for the entire society. In the last decade deregulation of the energy market has been implemented. This, in combination with new environmental requirements and technical progress, has generated the need for engineers who are able to understand both the technical systems and how business is created and developed. The Energy Systems and Sustainable Development specialisation educates engineers who will fulfil this need and the programme provides graduates with a broad basis from which to work with sales of energy to the consumer.
Applied Mathematics
The Financial Mathematics specialisation provides qualified knowledge within the field of financial mathematical methods and the understanding of how such methods can be used. This specialisation must be regarded against the background that the financial sector is an important area for applied mathematics and that KTH possesses a strong level of competence in this field. Acting on the financial markets and using financial instruments has become increasingly complicated and requires ever-greater levels of expertise. This applies both to companies who supply financial services and consequently form the financial sector (banks, investment fund companies, insurance companies etc.), and companies and private individuals who use the services they supply. Knowledge of mathematics is essential for the analysis and understanding of financial services.
Product Development
The Product Development Specialisation is aimed at students wishing to learn more about how to both develop and manufacture complex products and systems such as vehicles, medical technology, electronics and power equipment. This specialisation provides an extremely broad basis for future operations within a medical care and treatment area of Swedish industry. The specialisation integrates a broad spectrum of subjects such as design and product development, construction and material engineering, logistics, manufacturing systems and economics and organisation.
Computer Engineering and Communication
This specialisation brings expertise in computer engineering which concerns designing data systems for all sectors of society and aims to provide a broad foundation with a focus also on business and business and product development. This first level specialisation allows students to develop and extend their knowledge and skills within programming and computer engineering. This is useful within, generally speaking, all the engineering professions. Many of the tools used in a number of industries today are computer-based and often a certain amount of programming skills are necessary to use them and produce good results, for example when analysing large volumes of data with the aim of improving and streamlining various operations and processes. Second level specialisations provide more in-depth knowledge either within computer science or human-computer interaction.
Read more about the KTH Master programmes and the Erasmus Mundus Programme
Master programmes and the Erasmus Mundus
Degree Project, Second Level, 30 credits
The Master of Science in Engineering in Industrial Engineering and Management is concluded by a second level degree project worth 30 credits. The aim of this project is to provide students with experience of, under realistic conditions, independently planning, implementing and documenting a complex task using good engineering practices. Consequently students will need to use all their knowledge acquired during their entire educational programme. This Master of Science in Engineering programme provides in-depth knowledge within both the selected specialisation and the subject Industrial Economics, which means that students may themselves determine within which field the degree project is to be carried out. Degree projects are undertaken within the framework of a course at KTH, often connected to a practical problem at a company.
