First year

You’re at the start of your UCT journey! Let us first tell you a bit about how the UCT curriculum works. Each semester is built around a central theme. Within that theme, you will choose a specific subject to delve deeper into during a team-based project. Next to this central project, you will follow courses. Some of these courses are mandatory to give you a solid basis within the three core domains – mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences – but there’s a lot of freedom in choosing your courses as well, and this freedom increases each semester.

Semester 1: Humans & Movement

What does it mean for humans to be able to move? We don’t often think about it, but mobility is highly important in our daily life. The rise of endless advanced technologies has significantly improved people’s mobility and ability to connect worldwide over the last century. But we have also seen how our mobility can be limited – and how this impacts our lives. Think, for example, of the corona pandemic. Quarantine, social distancing, and travel bans showed how we are usually related to others and the world around us, and how limitations can affect these relations (or not). Within this semester, you and your team members get to dive into a self-chosen subject related to the broad theme of Humans & Movement.

Courses

To ease you into the study programme and to give you some direction for your further study path, the first semester consists of fixed domain courses that will give you a solid basis in the domains of natural sciences, social sciences, and mathematics.

Semester 2: Sustainable Systems

Modern societies put increasing pressure on social and natural resources. This growing problem raises the need to develop sustainable systems that foster wealth, human well-being, and the environment. But moving towards a sustainable society is a complex and large-scale challenge that cannot be understood or solved by a single academic discipline or one particular group of professionals. We need an interdisciplinary approach, integrating different technological and societal perspectives. Within this semester project, you will focus on the implementation of emerging technologies that can contribute to the transition towards a sustainable society.

Courses

The second semester allows for more personalisation. You will follow three domain courses as well as three elective courses. Which electives you will follow, is all up to you! You can choose almost any course (at the University of Twente, but also at another research university), as long as it is in line with your Personal Development Plan (and you meet the entry requirements for the course).