UTFacultiesETNewsGreen light for new master Robotics
Jaap Eijsker

Green light for new master Robotics

The University of Twente has received the definite green light to add the new Master's programme Robotics to its education portfolio as of the academic year 2022-2023. A visitation took place recently by the NVAO, the accreditation body of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). The outcome was positive and the final hurdle has been taken.

Over the past months and years, the University of Twente has worked hard behind the scenes to go through all the formal steps. There has been close contact with the UT's employee representation bodies, who have the right of consent, and a positive recommendation from the Committee on the Efficiency of Higher Education (CDHO).

Robots on campus, 01-06-22

MULTIDISCIPLINARY MASTER’S PROGRAMME 

The Robotics Master’s brings together several UT disciplines and is primarily founded by two faculties: EEMCS and ET. The programme has three specialisation tracks:

  • Mechatronics and physical AI
  • Algorithms and software AI
  • Human-robot interaction and social AI

Huge milestone

The programme director was appointed some time ago: Dr. Jan Broenink. Broenink did a lot of preparatory work together with master coordinator Dr. Heidi Muijzer-Witteveen of the ET faculty. Both have a lot of experience in research and education within the field of robotics.

Broenink has extensive experience in research and education within the field of robotics.
Broenink: “This accreditation is a huge milestone and important for the UT and region. Robotics has been a fast-growing sector for quite some time now, and in recent years the speed of development has been staggering. Robots are used in healthcare to perform surgeries and other tasks, on factory lines and in our daily lives. At UT, we have all the resources needed to prepare students for a future in this field. This Master’s brings together a number of important UT disciplines, including computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. What’s more is that we also prepare students to become innovators and entrepreneurs in their field. We’re seeing that the demand for robotics experts is growing exponentially. Large companies like ASML, Demcon and VDL are eager to snatch up broadly trained robotics experts, and a quarter of the job openings in robotics are for research and R&D positions. That’s why the new programme will offer a combination of research, teaching and commercial knowledge transfer. There will also be a strong focus on Challenge-Based Learning, UT’s new educational vision. As part of this new approach, organisations and companies are actively involved in research and education projects. We invite them to share any challenges they might be facing and then get to work on them.”

Robots on campus, 01-06-22

EXAMPLES OF CUTTING-EDGE ROBOTICS RESEARCH @UT

Robotics students at UT can choose from a variety of cutting-edge projects and labs in this field. Some recent examples:

Labs and facilities:

 

Photos: Jaap Eijsker

J.C. Vreeman (Jochem)
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