Simulation Driven Product Development, master programme

What is unique about Simulation-driven product development?
The programme offers a mix that we believe is unique. The students get to learn numerical calculation and simulation methods with specialisation in material mechanics and structural dynamics. The students will also acquire knowledge about experimental mechanics and signal processing. This combined provides the students with good knowledge about how reliable measurement data is collected and evaluated. The programme contains a more extensive course in product development from a larger perspective, as well as a course in industrial production. The aim of the latter is to provide the students with an understanding of how products that are developed are then produced in an efficient way.

In Sweden, only a few programmes with similar content are offered. The combination of calculation technology, experimental methods, and product development from a larger perspective makes the programme Simulation-driven product development unique.

To develop the products of the future sounds exciting, tell us more!
The products that are comprised are, in short, all products! It can be anything from aeroplanes, bicycles, and tall buildings to furniture and cell phones. To a large extent, the development work is carried out using models in computer environments.

Naturally, there is also a need for good ideas to choose from. After the selection process, models of different types are developed; most commonly CAD and numerical models. The latter are also used to calculate how the product will behave, the life-span of the product, and so on. Somewhere along the development chain, verification tests are often carried out to secure that the calculation models that have been used represent the real product to a satisfactory degree and that the results provided by the models are correct.

Will students have contact with the industry during their studies?
Yes, a number of companies have shown support for the development of the programme. We will establish a programme council with representatives from the industry. It should also be mentioned that we have lab facilities and a workshop that will be used frequently on the programme, located in the completely new EPIC building. Epic was inaugurated in 2018 and is a large building on campus in Växjö, filled with the latest equipment within manufacturing and measurement technology. EPIC is the result of a collaboration between primarily the department of mechanical engineering at Linnaeus University, Växjö municipality, and the business cluster GoTech. EPIC is a place where natural meetings with representatives from the industry can take place.

What job opportunities do I have after completing the programme?
We are currently offering a 1-year master’s programme and virtually all students on that programme get a job within the manufacturing industry shortly after completing their studies. The 2-year master‘s programme Simulation-driven product development will replace the current 1-year master’s. The competence that that our students will have acquired after completing the new programme will be considerably greater than after completing the current programme. A 2-year master’s is also the standard in the industry and presents new possibilities for employment at larger companies that often require a 2-year master’s or a degree of master of science in engineering.