Study overview of Industrial Design Engineering

Overview modules

• Year 1EC

  • Module 1 | Introduction to IDE15

    In this first module – your introduction to Industrial Design Engineering – you design a consumer product. The project offers a great way to learn about the different phases of an industrial design engineering process. You also gain technical knowledge, with subjects like Statics and Materials. For example, you familiarise yourself with the effects of forces and deformation of products, material behaviour, and choice of materials. Other subjects include Mathematics, Design Sketching 1 and Introduction to IDE.

  • Module 2 | Ideation15

    The focus in the second module is on creating a concept. You learn how to design a consumer product, with an emphasis on generating and visualising (partial) solutions in which you take into account form, functionality and (technical) feasibility. The subjects in this module are Construction, Production 1, Technical Product Modelling 1 and Discovery. 

  • Module 3 | Realisation of products15

    In the third module, you further develop your concept from Module 2 and create a prototype. You look at the relationships between geometry, material and production process, in both single-piece and mass production. You work out a product for mass production in detail on paper. Subjects like Design Sketching 2 and Production 2 are closely linked to the project, as well as Mechanics of Materials. As in the other modules, Mathematics plays an important role.

  • Module 4 | Smart products15

    What should a ‘smart product’ look like? In Module 4, you learn to design a smart product. Together with your team, you apply a combination of mechanics, electronics and software solutions. Your first task is to analyse the target group of the smart product. The next steps are generating several product concepts and choosing the most suitable one. The result is a design with a corresponding prototype. Your challenge is to find the right balance between the partial solutions found in the various domains: mechatronics, sensors and software. You will also look at human-product interaction by carrying out a user test.
• Year 2EC

  • Module 5 | Human-product relations15

    In this module, you investigate all aspects of the relationship between people and products, such as use, behaviour and styling. This module also deals with the various levels at which these relationships are created: the individual level, the social level (in contact with others), and the societal levels (culture, environment and so on). In preparation for Module 6, you also expand your technical knowledge with subjects such as Production 3, Energy & Heat Transfer and Physical Ergonomics.

  • Module 6 | Consumer products15

    In Module 6’s multidisciplinary project, you team up with students from Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) to design a consumer product. This can be anything from a coffee machine to a shaver, and from a beer tap to a multifunctional conference table. An external company provides you with the assignment, while also sharing specific information about the project topic through guest lectures. You cover the corresponding theory in lectures such as Graphic Design, Technical Product Modelling 2 and Product Market Relations.

  • Module 7 | Designing for specific users15

    The project central to this module is all about designing a product for a specific target group. Think, for example, of people with physically strenuous jobs (bricklayers, firemen, or police officers), children, the elderly, or people with a disability. To come up with a good design, you must be able to put yourself in the shoes of the people in your target group. You attend lectures on subjects such as Cognitive Ergonomics, Design & Styling and Linear Algebra.

  • Module 8 | Virtual product development15

    In the final module of the second year, you learn to deal with the large variety of tools available for designers. The focus is on product design, making well-founded scientific choices, and integrating (virtual) tools in the project, such as a product-service combination in a public environment. Concrete examples include a bracelet-based tracking system that allows parents to keep tabs on their kids, or friends to find each other at a festival; a payment system for events; or movable shipping containers fitted with sleeping places for festivals. In this module, the main subjects are Dynamics and Introduction Finite Element Method.
• 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 | Systems in context10

    In this module, you get to design a complex system in a  realistic situation. Consumers expect more and more products, and product possibilities are continuously expanding. This means that today’s products are becoming increasingly complex. The challenge is to make such complex products in such a way that all the individual system components function properly. To do this, you have to be able to deal with complexity, vague standards and modern technologies. In this module, you will study subjects you can immediately apply to the project: Philosophy and Sociology of Technology, Design and Meaning, and Design of Mechatronics and Systems.

  • Module 12 | Bachelor's assignment20

    During the last four months of your studies, you are busy preparing and implementing a design for a consumer product - either at the university or at a company. Your job is to prove that you can apply the knowledge and skills you have gained during your studies. After completing this year, you can officially call yourself a Bachelor of Science (BSc).