Master in Engineering Design KTH Royal Institute of Technology

The master's programme in Engineering Design covers product development and its growing complexity driven by rising demands for functionality, sustainability and innovation. Students in the programme acquire essential technical and organisational skills for the successful development and engineering of a wide range of technical products. The programme consists of two tracks offering specialised expertise in key areas of engineering design: Machine Design and Mechatronics.

Engineering Design at KTH

The master's programme in Engineering Design provides tools, models and methodologies for designing mechanical products and industrial systems. Applicants to the programme choose one of two specified programme tracks: Machine Design or Mechatronics.

The first semester starts with courses introducing various aspects of engineering design and enhancing essential skills within the chosen track. For the second and third semesters, the courses deepen the specialisation, culminating in the advanced project courses that tackle real-life industrial challenges or research problems in close cooperation with industrial companies. Throughout the programme, traditional lectures, as well as exercises, seminars, assignments and laboratory experiments, are learning tools in the courses.

Your degree will conclude with an individual degree project in which you work closely with a local industry or a KTH research group.

Machine Design track

Students on the Machine Design track learn how to create, select, dimension, optimise and verify high-quality and cost-effective technical products. We supply these skills through efficient aid and support from industrially relevant and state-of-the-art tools and methods. The track focuses on developing and engineering innovative technical systems and high-performing components and relies on a holistic design approach and specialist knowledge.

Mechatronics track

The use of electronics and software to enhance mechanical products is here to stay, and its complexity is growing rapidly. The functionality and performance of traditional mechanical systems are often dependent on mechatronics – the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, control and software engineering.

A challenge facing many engineers today is the sheer scale of information exchange and communication required in product development projects. This particularly affects Mechatronics engineers since their work requires not only reliance on their multidisciplinary knowledge and skills, but also an increasingly broad awareness when interacting with design teams across other disciplines. Students on the Mechatronic track gain the skills needed to handle these challenges.

This is a two-year programme (120 ECTS credits) given in English. Graduates are awarded the degree of Master of Science. The programme is given mainly at KTH Campus in Stockholm by the School of Industrial Engineering and Management (at KTH).

Topics covered

Machine design, systems engineering, machine elements, mechatronics, embedded systems.

Sustainable development

Graduates from KTH have the knowledge and tools for moving society in a more sustainable direction, as sustainable development is an integral part of all programmes. The three key sustainable development goals addressed by the master's programme in Engineering Design are:

• 7. Affordable and Clean Energy
• 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• 12. Responsible Consumption and Production

Affordable and clean energy

There is a shift to focusing on developing methods and products that can harness natural power sources such as the sun, wind and ocean waves. Studies in this master's programme will give the student an understanding of the subject and the ability to be part of a development team working for future clean energy generation.

Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Innovation is essential to build a new complementary infrastructure for future sustainable transportation to meet both the needs of industry and the daily needs of ordinary people. This study programme will give the student an understanding of the subject and the ability to deal with these issues after graduation.

Responsible consumption and production

One important issue we have to face in future is that resources are limited, and alternative sustainable production and consumption are essential. After completing this programme, you will have an understanding of the subject and the ability to design and manufacture products with a high level of recyclability and reuse, thus having higher sustainability.

These goals will be addressed both as embedded activities and project tasks, as well as separate courses in the programme.

The master's programme in Engineering Design gives you the competence and ability to identify complex engineering and technical problems and to solve those using modern methods and tools. You will be well prepared to work in product development, engineering design or research within leading companies or academia. Some key industries and sectors for graduates involve vehicles (road, rail, air, off-road), industrial automation (robotics, processes, electronics, tools), and medical engineering (aids for the disabled, life-support systems, simulators). Graduates from the programme work at, for example, Scania, ÅF, ABB, Saab, Bombardier, Atlas Copco, Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Cars, Electrolux, and smaller medical engineering and consulting companies. The programme also opens the way for a possible career in academia, as many graduates go on to doctoral studies.

After graduation

Product developer, design engineer, technical consultant, and researcher.