New degree programme: International orientation and focus on sustainability Bachelor Sustainable Engineering of Products and Processes starts in the winter semester

The first bilingual Bachelor’s degree programme at Technische Universität Braunschweig will be introduced in the winter semester 2021/22. It will bring together international and German students in a special way. Prospective students can apply for the restricted admission degree programme until 31 July.

Holistic approach

The “Sustainable Engineering of Products and Processes, B.Sc.” degree programme offered by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering aims to provide a holistic approach to the issues of mobility, product design and manufacturing, process engineering and energy supply. Future graduates should be prepared for the changes already underway in the traditional fields of engineering due to global challenges such as climate change and the problem of limited resources. The programme therefore places particular emphasis on the consideration of the entire life cycle of products and systems, the economic balance and social impacts, and their interaction.

“In view of the enormous challenge of climate change and the resulting upheavals that our economy and industry will experience in the coming decades, engineers with a holistic mindset are needed to develop sustainable technical solutions to the most pressing problems,” says Professor Georg Garnweitner, head of the working group for the design and implementation of the SEPP degree programme.

The new degree programme “Sustainable Engineering of Products and Processes, B.Sc.” teaches this from the first semester, without sacrificing a solid education in the fundamentals of engineering. From the third semester, students can choose an individual specialisation in one of three areas of focus. Aspects of a holistic approach and sustainability are specifically anchored in each area.

Internationality

“The new degree programme is an important building block in the internationalisation of engineering at TU Braunschweig. In order to establish strategic partnerships with leading international universities, it is essential that we also offer teaching in English in the future areas of our research. This enables a continuous exchange in teaching and research. This is particularly true for our research focus on mobility. From 2019, we will be internationally visible in this area with the Cluster of Excellence ‘Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation’,” explains Professor Rolf Radespiel, Head of the Institute of Fluid Mechanics.

Requirements: Language skills

The degree programme follows a new language concept at TU Braunschweig and is designed to appeal to both foreign and German prospective students and prepare them for their future professional life in a globalised society.

The aim is to enable graduates to analyse subject-specific and interdisciplinary problems in German and English, to develop sustainable solutions and to present these convincingly from a technical and interdisciplinary perspective. For this reason, the basic engineering courses in the first three semesters are offered in both languages. Some courses are held separately in German and English, and video recordings of some lectures are available in the second language. In-depth courses on sustainability are held in English. International students are required to improve their German language skills by the end of the third semester. Courses in the higher semesters are usually offered in one of the two languages, so that all students attend both German and English courses.

Different areas – one goal

Technological change is essential for a sustainable and liveable future. Individual and collective mobility, product development and manufacturing, efficient material conversion and energy supply all require sustainable alternatives and the methods and knowledge to implement them. At the same time, future engineers must think and act internationally in order to implement effective and sustainable technical solutions in a globalised economy. Students on this degree programme will meet these challenges. They can choose from three specialisations:

Sustainable Energy and Process Engineering

… deals with the energy and material conversion processes that provide us with the heat and electricity we need every day, as well as products such as sugar, toothpaste and medicines. While the engineering of these processes has been very successful in enabling mass production at low cost, sustainability requires holistic optimisation. Aspects such as climate impact, waste and pollution, impact on society on a global scale or dwindling resources need to be considered. Novel approaches, ranging from continuous integrated production processes to bio-inspired systems and miniaturisation, promise to combine economic and environmental benefits.

Sustainable Production

Technical products are complex systems that have an impact on the environment through the use of energy and raw materials and the generation of emissions. Solutions to achieve sustainable development require a life cycle approach. The aim is to optimise costs and returns and minimise risks and environmental impacts throughout the product life cycle. Digital twins – linking the physical world with digital models – provide a framework for assessing both energy and material efficiency in a production process.

Sustainable Mobility

… considers surface and air transport as an integrated system. With fossil fuel-based transport systems responsible for 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions, a new balance of technical, economic and environmental considerations is required in the design of future transport modes. Disruptive technologies such as green hydrogen, electrification of powertrains and machine learning algorithms will help shape this paradigm shift in mobility. Beyond traffic simulation and aircraft/vehicle design, the interaction of the use of different transport systems for a route needs to be included in a sustainable mobility concept.