Invent and make new or improved products, services and systems that are useful for people and society.
Many industrial design engineers have clear ideas about how something can be improved and enjoy making something that people around them can actually use. In this Bachelor’s, you learn to translate the end-users' wishes into a products, systems or services that work well and look good. You do this by combining a variety of advanced technologies and a purposeful, systematic approach to engineering with firm knowledge and skills in design. You gain expertise in all the necessary disciplines, from mathematics and engineering to design and marketing. This helps you establish a solid foundation for further specialisation in the Master’s in Industrial Design Engineering.
With your knowledge and skills as an industrial design engineer, you are equipped to design smart, working solutions that make life more enjoyable, easier, better and sometimes even completely different, contributing to an ever-changing world.
Modules Industrial Design Engineering
During this three-year Bachelor's in Industrial Design Engineering, you will follow twelve modules: four modules per year. Each module covers a theme and brings together all the main aspects of your studies: theory and practice, research and solution design, self-study and teamwork.
Overview modules
- Year 1EC
- Module 1 | Ideation15
In the first module of the Industrial Design Engineering curriculum, you will get acquainted with all aspects of your future discipline. In a series of short design challenges, you will get familiar with the basic design process and the two 'languages' of the industrial design engineer: the design and engineering languages. Learning both languages will be supported by courses on design theory, statics, and mathematics. In the challenges, you will learn to use both languages with workshops in the studio. Every design challenge will be finalised with a presentation market where you -together with your group members- show your design results to your fellow students.
- Module 2 | Prototyping15
In the second module, you will learn to build a mechanical and functional prototype based on a given analysis and a programme of requirements. You will test this prototype and, based on this, make recommendations to improve its functionality. In the module you will learn technical product modelling, process and material selection and mechanics of materials. Learning these disciplines will support you in creating a functional prototype that can be validated.
- Module 3 | Human perspective15
In the third module your will learn all about taking the human perspective on the design process by working with an end-user, specifically someone with a physical disability. Learning about the principles of Human Centred Design and applying them in the project will result in a well-fitting product design for the specific requirements and context of the end-user. The courses are integrated with the project and will offer you the principles and tools needed to learn from and work with the end-user. You will apply the mechanics of interacting with a product, and visually communicate contexts and concepts.
- Module 4 | Mass production15
In this module, you will dive into the world of modern manufacturing. How do you get – and keep – a comprehensive overview of large, complex manufacturing processes? How can you enhance production efficiency, while taking into account safety and sustainability, but also maintaining low costs? You will learn to enhance production efficiency with simulations and technical modelling. With such simulations, you can optimise production techniques, identify challenges, and redefine assembly lines. In the project, you are going to transform a (working) prototype into a working mass product, taking into account the market needs, mechanical components and producibility.
- Year 2EC
- Module 5 | Data driven design15
In this module your focus is on understanding and evaluating the value of data in the design process. Each course in the module contributes to the goal of “getting, understanding and using data” for the design and use phase. It addresses the data-driven design (DDD) approach from multiple lenses (e.g., human-centredness, production, ethics, design of information systems) of industrial design engineering. DDD will be used to understand the ways of using data in the design process and during product or system use.
- Module 6 | Design for value15
In this module you will work on a multidisciplinary project. You start a design agency with students from Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) to design a consumer product for a realistic context. By applying Integrated Product Development you will learn to design a product that creates value for different stakeholders. The required theory will be covered in courses such as Market Research, Value Proposition Design and Product Data Management & Visualisation.
- Module 7 | Sustainable futures15
This module is all about empowering you as a designer to discover sustainable futures, and to understand your position in this process. You focus on designing and developing potential futures in the realm of packaging design, while dealing with trade-offs and reasoning based on uncertainties. You learn to act and design as a generalist (understanding basic knowledge about designing sustainable futures), and as a specialist to become an expert in a specific topic (such as packaging engineering, life cycle assessment, or consumer and market), in a transdisciplinary project.
- Module 8 | Product service systems15
This module provides an overview of the principles, methods and tools associated with the design and implementation of a Product Service System (PSS). You will specialise in the design of different aspects of a Product Service System and learn the value of extending traditional product development with additional services. This module will also focus on your personal development, offering various activities aimed at developing your vision, strengths and preferences as a future industrial design engineer.
- Year 3EC
- Modules 9&10 | Minor30
The first semester of the third year (30 ECs) consists of your Minor space, in which you can choose various options. We also encourage our students to spend this time abroad. Here are some options:
Follow subjects to deepen your knowledge of Industrial Design Engineering, or broaden your knowledge with subjects from other programmes, such as Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Industrial Engineering and Management.
Spend half a year (two modules, or one semester) studying at another university in the Netherlands or abroad. This experience will teach you to approach issues from different (cultural) angles and to develop the flexibility to work in different teams and conditions.
Join one of our student teams, like the Green Team, the Solar Team or the Electric Superbike Team.
Complete a pre-master’s in preparation for a Master’s degree other than Industrial Design Engineering, such as another technical Master’s, or one of our social sciences programmes.
Is your ambition to teach? Choose the minor Learn to Teach and get a second-degree teaching qualification. This allows you to work as a teacher at secondary school level.
- Module 11 | Design for transitions10
This module explores socio-technical transitions and equips you with knowledge and skills to navigate complex, uncertain system dynamics. Transitions are moments of technological, socio, cultural, economic, and industrial change that emerge from various socio-economical drivers. In this module you learn how to create a real-world (system) design that facilitates a transition and is embedded in society and social structures. It entails multidisciplinary subjects and transdisciplinary approaches.
- Module 12 | Bachelor's assignment20
During the last module, you conclude your bachelor's programme in Industrial Design Engineering. You demonstrate your capabilities and skills as an independent Industrial Design Engineer at the bachelor level. Your Bachelor Final Assignment can address a wide variety of topics, either with a practical or a more academic focus. After completing this year, you can officially call yourself a Bachelor of Science (BSc).
First time at university
When you are a first-year student, you experience many new things. Here we start explaining a few of them.
- You complete modules
During your three-year bachelor's programme, you will take 12 modules (4 modules per year). Each module, you will address a theme that is hot in society, business or industry. This theme will bring together all the components of your study: theory and practice, research, designing solutions, self-study and teamwork.
A fixed part of every module is the team project, in which you and your teammates apply the knowledge you have acquired to a current challenge and design a workable solution. This learning method is part of the Twente Education Model (TOM): an innovative approach to studying that you will only find at the University of Twente.
- Study points - how do they work?
Student workload at Dutch universities is expressed in EC, also named ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), which is widely used throughout the European Union. In the Netherlands, each credit represents 28 hours of work. You need to acquire 60 credits each year.
You will receive credits for every assignment you pass. Your programme assigns fixed numbers of hours to each assignment, project report or exam. In the first year, you need to get at least 45 out of 60 points and to fulfill the additional requirements set by the educational programme, to be able to continue to the second year.
- Did you get 45 EC or more and did you fulfill the additional requirements? Then you can enter the second year
Our goal is to get you to the right place as quickly as possible, which is why we apply the principle of a binding recommendation. All first-year students receive this at the end of the year. You will receive positive advice if you have achieved 45 EC or more and fulfilled the additional requirements set by the educational programme. Negative advice is binding and means that you have to quit the study programme.
Do personal circumstances such as illness or problems interfere with your study performance? Please contact the study adviser.