NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Engineering and Technology Department of Production and Quality Engineering Memo Subject: Self-Assessment Study Program Product Design and Manufacturing (Produktutvikling og produksjon) Our consultant: Bjørn Andersen Date: 2007-10-31 Signature: File: Report Self-Assessment Product Design and Manufacturing Final Version Executive summary The self-assessment team finds that the PDM program is in quite good shape. Learning objectives have been clearly defined, and the courses that make up the study program seem well suited to fulfill these objectives. We have identified a weakness in lacking courses in electrical engineering and dynamics, but otherwise the courses cover the areas required well. There also a lack of integration horizontally across courses in the first two or three years. The study year is overall well utilized, but we feel strongly that the spring semester is weaker than it need be. Due to the mid-terms weeks not allowing mandatory activities, these are in practice vacation time for the students. The departments involved in the study program are fairly well staffed and equipped, both in terms of academic and support staff as well as infrastructure. We fear this might change should future retirements leave positions vacant. And we have identified highly varying lecturing and language skills in lecturers in courses delivered to our students from other departments and faculties. The application numbers and admission grade thresholds have been improving for several years. However, we are still far from fulfilling the objective of 2.5 primary applicants per space in the program. There is also a main challenge of many students leaving the program during the studies, leading to significantly fewer students graduating than what are admitted. We also see that our students average grades in shared courses are average or lower among the study programs. This also poses challenges. Table of Contents Executive summary...1 1. Introduction...2 2. Learning Objectives...4 3. Relevance between Courses and Learning Objectives...6 4. Resources...10 5. Research...24 6. International Educational Activities...26 7. Students and Results...26 8. SWOT Analysis and Discussion...28 9. Conclusions...31 Address Location Tel. +47 73 59 38 00 Page 1 of 32 N-7491 Trondheim S. P Andersens v. 5 Fax +47 73 59 71 17
1. Introduction This report documents the self-assessment conducted of the study program Product Design and Manufacturing (in Norwegian, Produktutvikling og produksjon) during the fall semester of 2007. The self-assessment has been executed by a working group composed of members from the permanent study program core team, and has consisted of (in alphabetical order) Bjørn Andersen, Detlef Blankenburg, Anja Halseth, Ruth Morch, Bjørn W. Solemslie, Lars Sætran, and Knut Sørby. In addition, the industrial representatives of the board of the industry association for the study program have been consulted. The study program Product Design and Manufacturing (PDM) was established in 1999, in connection with the transfer from 4.5 to 5 years studies, as a successor to the master program in mechanical engineering. Prior to this date, it was a more general program spanning many departments of the former Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. With the establishment of more focused study programs and the reorganization of four former faculties into the large Faculty of Engineering and Technology, the PDM program was founded. Covering three main areas, the mission of the study program is to provide research-based education within the chain of process understanding, product development, and manufacturing to serve the industry with highly qualified engineering competence. The client industry of the study program is not easily defined, as many sectors are logical employers of the graduates. Typical industries of relevance are: Manufacturing companies in different sectors, from mechanical products to electronics to textile and food. The large oil and gas cluster in Norway. Engineering and professional service consulting companies. Other energy-related industries. Logistics and other service providers. State and local authority institutions of different types. The students admitted into the program typically take three avenues to NTNU: Graduating from general high schools with the required course combinations of mathematics and physics, they apply directly to the study program to obtain a master degree after five years. Some also earn extra credit points from different activities between high school and NTNU before commencing their university studies. Graduating from general high schools with the required course combinations of mathematics and physics, they obtain a bachelor engineering degree from relevant regional university colleges before applying to the study program. These are admitted into a two-year program and awarded the master degree afterwards. Some take an even longer route, doing vocational training in high school. Supplementing such an education with pre-courses in mathematics and physics or qualifying through other types of educations, they are admitted into regional university colleges to earn a bachelor degree. Like other holders of relevant bachelor degrees, they can then apply to NTNU for a two-year master degree. In addition, some students join the study program by transferring from other programs at NTNU. The PDM program is a collaboration among three departments, all belonging to the Faculty of Engineering and Technology: Page 2 of 32
Department of Energy and Process Engineering, with a focus on thermal energy, industrial process technology, energy and indoor environment, and fluid engineering. Department of Engineering Design and Materials, specializing in product development, polymers and composites, manufacturing of metals, and structural integrity. Department of Production and Quality Engineering, with main scientific areas being production systems, production management, and reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety. The structure of the program, in terms of program options open for specialization to the students, also reflects the departments involved. After the second year, the students select one of three main program options: Energy, process, and fluid engineering. Product development and materials. Production and quality engineering. Each of these resides with one of the departments, and the students can choose further areas of specialization within the research areas of the respective departments. In addition, the PDM students can opt for a secondary program option of industrial mechanics. Having originally been established as a cross-program opportunity for students from the entire Faculty of Engineering and Technology inclined toward basic engineering subjects, this option almost exclusively recruits students from PDM. And finally, our students can choose to follow one of several relevant international master programs; project management, reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS), industrial ecology, and globalization. In such cases, they do not formally transfer to these programs, but compose a package of courses that gives them roughly the same specialization. Schematically, the structure of the five-year program is as follows: Four non-technical subjects scattered throughout the years Master program specialization during the two last years Choice of specialization Choice of program option 10 Master Thesis 9 Project + Specialization Subject 8 Courses Linked To The 7 Chosen Specialization 6 Courses Linked To The String 5 Program Option Of 4 Courses 3 Natural Sciences Basic Engineering Courses Special 2 For 1 Non-Technical Courses PDM String of natural sciences courses Basic engineering courses common for most study programs A string of courses, using problem-based learning, to give an overall insight into the profession of PDM Page 3 of 32
2. Learning Objectives The general learning objectives of a master degree at NTNU have been adapted to the study program in Product Design and Manufacturing. These learning objectives are presented below, with the specific adaptations to PDM shown in non-italic font: 1. Broad and profound knowledge of both basic natural sciences and engineering subjects as well as product design and manufacturing and the capability to apply this knowledge at an advanced level in the product, process, and production development discipline. 2. Broad and profound scientific and technical knowledge of the product design and manufacturing discipline and the skills to use this knowledge effectively. The discipline is mastered at different levels of abstraction, including a reflective understanding of its structure and relations to other fields, and reaching in part the forefront of scientific and industrial research and development. The knowledge is the basis for innovative contributions to the discipline in the form of new designs or development of new insights. 2.1 Energy, process, and fluid engineering: Thermal energy, industrial process technology, energy and indoor environment, and fluid engineering. 2.2 Product development and materials: Product development, polymers and composites, manufacturing of metals, and structural integrity. 2.3 Production and quality engineering): Production systems, production management, and reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety. 3. Thorough knowledge of paradigms, methods, and tools, as well as the skills to actively apply this knowledge for analyzing, modeling, simulating, and performing research with respect to innovative technological dynamic systems, with an appreciation of different application areas. 3.1 Knowledge and experience with theories, problems, methods, and techniques for analyzing and engineering energy, process and fluid systems. 3.2 Knowledge and experience with theories, problems, methods, and techniques for analyzing and engineering products and their materials. 3.3 Knowledge and experience with theories, problems, methods, and techniques for analyzing and engineering production and production control systems. 4. Capability to independently solve technological problems in a systematic way involving problem analysis, formulating sub-problems and providing innovative technical solutions, also in new and unfamiliar situations. This includes a professional attitude toward identifying and acquiring lacking expertise, monitoring, and critically evaluating existing or developing new knowledge, planning and executing research, adapting to changing circumstances, and integrating new knowledge with an appreciation of its ambiguity, incompleteness, and limitations. 4.1 Capability to decompose complex problems into sub-problems, to analyze these subproblems and formulate innovative solutions, and to interpret the results in terms of the overall problem formulation. This includes the ability to detect and reformulate ill-posed research and design problems, and to suggest remedies. 4.2 Capability to independently formulate and execute a research or design plan, and to steer adaptations if required by technological developments within the discipline or by changing external circumstances. Page 4 of 32
4.3 Capability to conceive knowledge gaps and to independently acquire expertise through studying the scientific literature on the discipline and/or to acquire this knowledge through other experts. Skill to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge or to design techniques in the area of specialization. 4.4 Capability to conceive alternative and innovative solutions to discipline-related problems, including the ability to work out the chosen solution up to the level of real-life implementation. 5. Capability to work both independently and in multidisciplinary teams, interacting effectively with specialists and taking initiatives where necessary, to create holistic solutions that can encompass several technological and non-technological subjects. 5.1 Capability to work independently and in teams on problems of high technological and/or scientific complexity. 5.2 Capability to set up and maintain a plan, to delegate and to coordinate tasks, to negotiate and handle conflicts, to recognize strong and weak points of themselves and of others. 5.3 Capability to handle tasks which initially seem straightforward, but at a later stage require additional knowledge. 5.4 Training in creativity and innovative work. 5.5 Stimulate an interest in innovation, entrepreneurial skills, and value creation. 6. Capability to work in groups and effectively communicate (including presenting and reporting) about one's work such as solutions to problems, conclusions, knowledge and considerations, to both professionals and non-specialized public in the English language. 6.1 Give well-structured presentations for different audiences using state-of-the-art presentation techniques. 6.2 Write well-structured and clear reports and contributions to scientific papers. 6.3 Convey acquired knowledge and results to others in a clear and convincing way. 6.4 Read, interpret and summarize literature; idem for verbal communication. 7. Capability to evaluate and assess the technological, ethical and societal impact of one's work, and to take responsibility with regard to sustainability, economy and social welfare. 7.1 Describe and implement sustainable development. 7.2 Recognize moral issues, argue who play a role in these and be aware of his / her own position. 7.3 Assess safety risks both qualitatively and quantitatively; methods for reducing safety risks. 7.4 Analyse and assess the technical, economic and social feasibility of engineering solutions. 8. Attitude to independently maintain professional competence through life-long learning. 8.1 Awareness of the (historic) development of the discipline, of its technological and scientific boundaries, and consequently of the necessity of life-long learning to maintain the desired level. Similar learning objectives descriptions have been developed for the program options, but these will not be included in their entirety in this report. Rather, some key elements from them will be included in the analysis of courses vs. learning objectives in the next section. Page 5 of 32
3. Relevance between Courses and Learning Objectives An importance issue to consider in this self-assessment has been the composition of the courses presented to the students throughout their studies. Two main questions in this respect are: Does the combined set of courses ensure that all learning objectives are likely fulfilled? Are there courses taught that do not seem to contribute to the fulfillment of any learning objectives? To answer these questions, a simple matrix has been constructed, placing the learning objectives along the x-axis and the courses along the y-axis. The learning objectives are short formulations of each of the eight objectives presented in the previous section, i.e., for the overall study program. In addition, a small number of key specific objectives for each program option have been included. The courses listed encompass all mandatory courses as well as the so-called A-listed courses of electives, i.e., the courses deemed sufficiently central to the study program and program option that an effort has been made to ensure collision-free lecture and exam scheduling. For each learning objective-course combination, an assessment has been made to what extent that course supports the attainment of that objective. Where no apparent link has been found, the corresponding matrix cell has been left empty. If the course seems to support the objective, a three point scale has been applied to indicate the level of influence; 1 = weak support, 2 = moderate support, and 3 = strong support. To improve the readability of the table, however, the numerical factors have been replaced with colors and smileys. For all courses contributing to the learning objective in question, a smiley has been applied, in orange for the value 1, in yellow for 2, and green for the value 3. The full table is presented below: Learning Objectives Courses 1. Sem. Autumn TMA4100 Calculus 1 Broad and profound basic knowledge as a platform for understanding methods, applications, change, academic renewal, and innovation Broad and profound scientific and technical knowledge of engineering subjects Knowledge Skills Attitudes Research-based knowledge in energy, process, and fluid engineering Research-based knowledge in product development and materials Research-based knowledge in production and quality engineering Capability to independently solve technological problems in a systematic way Training in creating holistic solutions that can encompass several technological and non-technological subjects Training in creative and innovative work Capability of working in groups and effectively communicate about one's work Stimulate an interest in innovation, entrepreneurial skills, and value creation Capability to evaluate and assess the technological, ethical and societal impact of one's work TDT4105 Information Technology, Introduction EXPH0001 Philosophy and Theory of Science TMM4115 Engineering Modelling 2. Sem. Spring TMA4105 Calculus 2 TKT4116 Mechanics 1 Attitude to independently maintain professional competence through lifelong learning Page 6 of 32
TMT4106 General Chemistry TMM4121 Engineering Design 3. Sem. Autumn TMA4110 Calculus 3 TKT4122 Mechanics 2 TFY4106 Physics TPK4100 Operation Management 4. Sem. Spring TMA4245 Statistics TEP4100 Fluid Mechanics TMM4100 Materials Technology 1 TEP4115 Thermodynamic Systems 5. Sem. Autumn TMA4130 Calculus 4N TIØ4256 Technology Management 1 TEP4135 Engineering Fluid Mechanics 1 TMM4135 Analysis & Assessment Based on FEM TPK4120 Safety and Reliability Analysis TPK4145 Manufacturing Systems 6. Sem. Spring TTK4105 Control Systems TEP4125 Engineering Thermodynamics 2 TMM4140 Materials Technology 2 TPK4105 Manufacturing Technology TEP4130 Heat and Mass Transfer TMM4112 Machine Elements TPK4115 Project Planning and Control 1 TEP4220 Energy and Environmental Consequences 7. Sem. Autumn TEP4185 Industrial Process and Energy Technology TMM4170 Corrosion TMM4175 Polymers and Composites TMM4182 Casting and Forming of Metals TMM4185 Mechanical Vibrations TMM4195 Fatigue Design TPK4155 Applied Comp.Int. in Intelligent Manufacturing TPK5110 Quality and risk management in projects Perspective course (other study culture than PDM) TEP4140 Engineering Fluid Mechanics 2 TEP4165 Computational Heat and Fluid Flow TEP4235 Energy Management in Buildings TMM4150 Machine Design and Mechatronics TPK4140 Maintenance Management Page 7 of 32
TPK4150 Data-integrated Manufacturing TEP4175 Energy from Environmental Flows TEP4180 Experimental Methods in Process Engineering TEP4212 Environmental and Cleaning Technologies TEP4222 Input-Output Analysis, Trade and Environment TEP4223 LCA and Eco-Efficiency TMM4130 Product Development and Information Technology TMM4135 Analysis & Assessment Based on FEM TMM4160 Fracture Mechanics TMM4165 Joining Technology TPK4160 Value Chain Control and Applied Decision Support TPK5160 Risk Analysis 8. Sem. Spring Experts in team Engineering course from other study program TEP4155 Viscous Flow and Turbulence TEP4170 Heat and Combustion Technology TEP4195 Turbo Machinery TEP4215 Proc.& Heat Integr. of Ind. Proc. & Utility Systems TEP4245 Building Environmental Design and Engineering TEP4255 Heat Pumping Processes and Systems TMM4155 Engineering Design and Materials Technology TPK4110 Quality and Performance Oriented Management TPK4175 Rapid Manufacturing TEP4150 Energy Management and Technology TEP4160 Aero Dynamics TEP4200 Mech. Design, Operation & Maint. of Hydr. Machinery TEP4205 Industrial Fluid Power TEP4220 Energy and Environmental Consequences TEP4265 Food Engineering TEP4250 Multiphase Transport TMM4140 Materials Technology 2 TMM4205 Surface and Coating Technology TMM4215 Wood Composites - Proc., Properties & Products TMM4220 Innovation in Technology TPK4125 Digital Control of Mechatronic Systems TPK4135 Logistics and Production Management TPK4170 Robot Technology and Automatic Arssembly TPK5165 RAMS Engineering and Management 9. Sem. Autumn Non-Technical Course 4 Page 8 of 32
TEP4510/15 Thermal Energy, Specialization Course & Project TEP4520/25 Ind. Process Techn., Spec. Course & Project TEP4530/35 Energy & Indoor Envir., Spec. Course & Project TEP4540/45 Eng. Fluid Mechanics, Spec. Course & Project TMM4500/05 Manufacturing of Metals, Spec. Course & Project TMM4510/15 Polymers & Comp., Spec. Course & Project TMM4520/25 Product Development, Spec. Course & Project TMM4530/35 Structural Integrity, Spec. Course & Project TPK4500/05 Project Management, Spec. Corse & Project TPK4510/15 Production & Quality Eng., Spec. Course & Project 10. Sem. Spring Energi-, prosess- og strømningsteknikk - Master project Product Development and Materials - Master project Production and Quality Engineering - Master project Color Codes Natural science courses Basic engineering courses String of courses of special interest for PDM Courses linked to the program option, Energy, process and fluid Courses linked to the program option, Product development and materials Courses linked to the program option, Production and quality engineering Courses linked to the chosen specialization, Energy, process and fluid Courses linked to the chosen specialization, Product development and materials Courses linked to the chosen specialization, Production and quality engineering Non-technical courses Project and specialization subject, Energy, process and fluid Project and specialization subject, Product development and materials Project and specialization subject, Production and quality engineering Master Thesis, Energy, process and fluid Master Thesis, Product development and materials Master Thesis, Production and quality engineering From the matrix, some findings emerge: Overall, all the learning objectives seem to be well supported. For most of them, a large number of courses contribute to their fulfillment, supposedly ensuring that the graduating students will possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes aimed for. Page 9 of 32
Most courses contribute to several learning objectives. This implies that the courses are useful and play a role in the structure of the study program. The only courses that seem to contribute to very few learning objectives are the non-technical courses, but this is perhaps not very surprising as most learning objectives are quite technical. 4. Resources To deliver a quality education, the departments involved must have the required resources to run the courses and take care of the student. On the other hand, to remain a competitive university, the delivery of the teaching must be resource-effective. Thus, assessing the availability and use of resources is important. First of all, the following tables present the human resources at three departments involved in the study program, indicating their position and main academic area (human resources at other departments delivering courses to the study program will not be presented in this level of detail). Department of Energy and Process Engineering NAME POSITION MAIN ACADEMIC AREA Odilio Alves-Filho Associate professor Industrial process technology Arne M. Bredesen Professor Industrial process technology Trygve M. Eikevik Professor Industrial process technology Truls Gundersen Professor Industrial process technology Ole Jørgen Nydal Professor Industrial process technology Erling Næss Professor Industrial process technology Ingvald Strømmen Professor Industrial process technology Ulrich Bunger Adjunct professor Industrial process technology Arne Olav Fredheim Adjunct professor Industrial process technology Roar Larsen Adjunct professor Industrial process technology Geir Owren Adjunct professor Industrial process technology Jostein Pettersen Adjunct professor Industrial process technology Trond Andresen student Industrial process technology Stian Jensen student Industrial process technology Michael Kock student Industrial process technology Daniel Stanghelle student Industrial process technology Michael Bantle student Industrial process technology Knut Maråk student Industrial process technology Helge Andersson Professor Fluid engineering Iver Brevik Professor Fluid engineering Ole Gunnar Dahlhaug Associate professor Fluid engineering Maria Fernandino Associate professor Fluid engineering Reidar Kristoffersen Associate professor Fluid engineering Per-Åge Krogstad Professor Fluid engineering Bernhard Müller Professor Fluid engineering Torbjørn Nielsen Professor Fluid engineering Lars Sætran Professor Fluid engineering Tor Ytrehus Professor Fluid engineering Jan Tore Billdal Adjunct professor Fluid engineering Stein Tore Johansen Adjunct professor Fluid engineering Page 10 of 32
Kari Haugan Research assistant Fluid engineering Kristian E. Einarsrud Research assistant 50 % Fluid engineering Luca Oggiano student Fluid engineering Anne Line Løvholm student Fluid engineering Vladislav Efros student Fluid engineering Simen Andreas student Fluid engineering Ellingsen Lars Eirik Bakken Professor Thermal energy Olav Bolland Professor Thermal energy Ivar Ertesvåg Professor Thermal energy Edgar Hertwich Professor Thermal energy Johan Hustad Professor Thermal energy Gernot Krammer Professor Thermal energy Ole Melhus Associate professor Thermal energy Kjell Erik Rian Associate professor Thermal energy Anders Hammer Associate professor Thermal energy Strømman Adjunct associate Thermal energy Marie Bysveen professor Hans Jørgen Dahl Adjunct professor Thermal energy Inge Gran Adjunct professor Thermal energy Anne Berit Rian student Thermal energy Hogne Nersund Larsen student Thermal energy Kristina Norne Widell student Thermal energy Bjørn Lilleberg student Thermal energy Bertha Maya Sopha student Thermal energy Bhawna Singh student Thermal energy Raquel Jorge student Thermal energy Sten Olaf Hanssen Professor Energy and indoor environment Kjell Kolsaker Associate professor Energy and indoor environment Vojislav Novakovic Professor Energy and indoor environment Per Olaf Tjelflaat Professor Energy and indoor environment Rolf Ulseth Professor Energy and indoor environment Adjunct associate Energy and indoor environment Jan Wilhelm Bakke professor Hans Martin Mathisen Adjunct professor Energy and indoor environment Adjunct associate Energy and indoor environment Jørn Stene professor Tore Hjerkinn Research assistant Energy and indoor environment Johan Halvarsson student Energy and indoor environment Rasmus Høseggen student Energy and indoor environment Department of Engineering Design and Materials NAME POSITION MAIN ACADEMIC AREA Fjeldaas, Sven Professor Geometric modelling Halmøy, Einar Professor Joining technology - metals Härkegård, Gunnar Professor Fatigue Page 11 of 32
Johnsen, Roy Professor Corrosion; Surface treatment Rølvåg, Terje Professor Dynamic simulations Dynamic simulations; Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) Sivertsen, Ole Ivar Professor Støren, Sigurd Professor Forming of metals; Ecodesign Thaulow, Christian Professor Fracture mechanics Tønder, Kristian Professor Tribology Valberg, Henry Professor Forming of metals Manufacturing technology - metal products Welo, Torgeir Professor Blankenburg, Detlef Associate professor Engineering design; Mechatronics Vedvik, Nils Petter Associate Professor Polymers; Composites Aasland, Knut Einar Associate Professor Engineering design methodology Dagestad, Sjur Adjunct professor Innovation in technology Echtermeyer, Andreas Adjunct professor Composites Hildre, Hans Petter Adjunct professor Engineering design; Mechatronics Langøy, Morten A. Adjunct professor Casting technology Stori, Aage Adjunct professor Polymers Kristensen, Kjetil Associate adjunct prof. Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) Moe, Per Thomas Associate adjunct prof. Forming of metals Bar, Eirin M. Skjøndal Research assistant Engineering design; Eco design Bratland, Magne Research assistant Dynamic simulations Widerøe, Fredrik Research assistant Engineering design; Mechatronics Solberg, Asbjørn Chief engineer Laboratory and workshop Johnsen, Iver Laboratory manager Laboratory and workshop Samdal, Tor Senior engineer Laboratory and workshop Wikmark, Jan E. Senior engineer Laboratory and workshop Hansen, Arnfinn Willa Senior engineer Laboratory and workshop Stolpnessæter, Bjarne Senior engineer Laboratory and workshop Holen, Børge Engineer Laboratory and workshop Nordtug, Per Øystein Apprentice Laboratory and workshop Department of Production and Quality Engineering NAME POSITION MAIN ACADEMIC AREA Alfnes, Erlend Post doc. Production management Andersen, Bjørn Professor Production management Bernhardsen, Thor Senior engineer Production management Inge Dreyer, Heidi C. Professor Production management Fagerhaug, Tom Associate professor Production management Haugen, Stein Adjunct professor Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety Hussein, Bassam Associate professor Production management Koch, Wolfgang Professor Production systems Lien, Terje Professor Production systems Rausand, Marvin Professor Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety Page 12 of 32
Rolstadås, Asbjørn Professor Production management Schjølberg, Per Førsteamanuensis Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety Strandhagen, Jan Adjunct professor Production management Ola Sunde, Leif Adjunct professor Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety Sørby, Knut Professor Production systems Thomessen, Adjunct professor Production systems Trygve Vatn, Jørn Professor Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety Wang, Kesheng Professor Production systems Øien, Knut Adjunct professor Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety Johansen, Vidar Chief engineer Production systems Hakvåg, Jan T. Senior engineer Production systems Sæther, Arild Engineer Production systems Rødseth, Harald Research assistant 50 Reliability, availability, maintainability, and % Hægstad, Andreas Research assistant 20 % safety and production management Production systems The three departments also possess many other resources utilized in the education of the students, as described in the table below: DEPARTMENT TYPE OF RESOURCE DESCRIPTION Laboratories Product Development; CAE; Realization; Rapid Prototyping; SMASH; Metal forming; Fatigue; Plastics and Composites; Metallographic; Casting; Tribology; Corrosion; Mechanical Workshop; Welding shop Student working areas Computer pool, reading rooms (120 seats), 12 study offices, 2 meeting rooms, recreational area with basketball curve and kitchenette Engineering Design and Materials Energy and Process Engineering ICT facilities and software 55 student computers, licenses for CAE software (NX, CATIA, ABAQUS, FEDEM, Laminate Tools; Nastran; Deform; Ansys; etc.) Laboratories 8 laboratories covering 6000 m 2 ; combustion and laser diagnostics laboratory, thermal engineering laboratory, refrigeration engineering Page 13 of 32
Production and quality engineering Student working areas Laboratories Student working areas ICT facilities and software laboratory, multiphase flow laboratory, energy and indoor environment laboratory, dewatering and food engineering laboratory, water power laboratory, and fluid engineering laboratory Computer lab, reading rooms, student study offices, etc. Manufacturing lab, robot lab, CIM lab, automation lab, metrology lab (all of these has become continuously more important in the teaching at the department, both at Master and levels) Computer pool, reading rooms (50 seats), 9 study offices, 2 meeting rooms, recreational area with ping pong table and kitchenette 30 student computers, licenses for CAD/CAM software (Pro/ENGINEER, AutoCAD, Cutviewer, GibbsCAM, PC- DMIS etc.) The table below summarizes some key data for the courses that are given in PDM. For each course, the table presents teaching resources (name, position, and role in the teaching of the course), and the number of hours of laboratory teaching/exercises, excursions, group work, etc. Page 14 of 32
Courses Title Name Role in the course Specialization area 1. Sem. Autumn TMA4100 Calculus 1 No information made available from the department responsible for the course TDT4105 Information Technology, Introduction Ass.prof. Wang, Alf Inge Lecturer student Hauge, Øyvind Lecturer EXPH0001 Philosophy and Theory of Science No information made available from the department responsible for the course TMM4115 Engineering Modelling Ass.prof. Aasland, Knut Einar Responsible Engineering design methodology Sen.eng. Stolpnessæter, Bjarne Assistent Laboratory and workshop Eng. Holen, Børge Assistent Laboratory and workshop Prof. Sørby, Knut Lecturer Metal cutting, Eng. metrology Prof. Hustad, Johan Lecturer Energy and Process Engineering 2. Sem. Spring TMA4105 Calculus 2 No information made available from the department responsible for the course TKT4116 Mechanics 1 No information made available from the department responsible for the course TMT4106 General Chemistry No information made available from the department responsible for the course TMM4121 Engineering Design Ass.prof. Aasland, Knut Einar Responsible Engineering design methodology Prof. Sørby, Knut Lecturer Metal cutting, Eng. metrology Prof. Hustad, Johan Lecturer Energy and Process Engineering Ass.prof. Blankenburg, Detlef Lecturer Engineering design; Mechatronics Sen.eng. Stolpnessæter, Bjarne Assistent Laboratory and workshop Eng. Holen, Børge Assistent Laboratory and workshop Sen.eng. Samdal, Tor Assistent Laboratory and workshop Sen.eng. Wikmark, Jan E. Assistent Laboratory and workshop Apprentice Nordtug, Per Øystein Assistent Laboratory and workshop Hours of laboratory teaching Hours of individual exercises Hours of group exercises Hours of excursions 4 10 1 8 8 Address Location Tel. +47 73 59 38 00 Page 15 of 32 N-7491 Trondheim S. P Andersens v. 5 Fax +47 73 59 71 17
3. Sem. Autumn TMA4110 Calculus 3 No information made available from the department responsible for the course TKT4122 Mechanics 2 No information made available from the department responsible for the course TFY4106 Physics No information made available from the department responsible for the course TPK4100 Operation Management Ass.prof. Fagerhaug, Tom Responsible Operations management 56 9 4. Sem. Spring TMA4245 Statistics No information made available from the department responsible for the course TEP4100 Fluid Mechanics Prof. Sætran, Lars Responsible Fluid engineering Prof. Helge Andersson Lecturer Fluid engineering Student Luca Oggiano Assistant Fluid engineering 56 56 42 Student Simen Ellingsen Assistant Fluid engineering TMM4100 Materials Technology 1 Adj.prof. Echtermeyer, Andreas Responsible Composites 1 8 TEP4115 Thermodynamic Systems Prof. Gundersen, Truls Responsible Industrial process technology Student Stian Jensen Assistant Industrial process technology 1 56 20 Post.Doc. Gabrielle Pipitone Assistant Industrial process technology 5. Sem. Autumn TMA4130 Calculus 4N No information made available from the department responsible for the course TIØ4256 Technology Management 1 No information made available from the department responsible for the course TEP4135 Engineering Fluid Mechanics 1 Prof. Krogstad, Per-Åge Responsible Fluid engineering Student Efros, Vladislav Assistant Fluid engineering TMM4135 Analysis & Assessment Based on FEM Prof. Sivertsen, Ole Ivar Responsible Dyn. Sim.; Knowledge-based eng. Lecturer, project Res.ass. Magne Bratland advisor Finite Element (FE) techniques Prof. Kjell Holthe Lecturer Analytical shell theory Prof. Per Haagensen Lecturer FE-based fatigue analysis TPK4120 Safety and Reliability Analysis Reliability, availability, Prof. Rausand, Marvin Responsible maintainability, and safety Reliability, availability, Prof. Vatn, Jørn Lecturer maintainability, and safety 56 7 2 25 Page 16 of 32
TPK4145 Manufacturing Systems Prof. Lien, Terje Responsible Production systems Prof. II Thomessen, Trygve Lecturer Production systems 5 16 35 Prof. Sørby, Knut Lecturer Production systems 6. Sem. Spring TTK4105 Control Systems No information made available from the department responsible for the course TEP4125 Engineering Thermodynamics 2 Prof. Ertesvåg, Ivar Ståle Responsible Thermal energy Student Lilleberg, Bjørn Assistant Thermal energy 56 Student Stanghelle, Daniel Assistant Thermal energy Student Løvholm, Anne Line Assistant Thermal energy TMM4140 Materials Technology 2 Prof. Thaulow, Christian Responsible Fracture mechanics Prof. Valberg, Henry Lecturer Forming of metals Research Res.ass. Widerøe, Fredrik assistant Engineering design; Mechatronics 7 2 Ph.D.stud. Olden, Vigdis Research assistant Metallography Sen.eng. Hansen, Arnfinn Willa Lab. assistent Laboratory and workshop TPK4105 Manufacturing Technology Prof. Valberg, Henry Responsible Forming of metals Coresponsible 4 28 Prof. Sørby, Knut Metal cutting, Eng. metrology TEP4130 Heat and Mass Transfer Ass. Prof. Melhus, Ole Responsible Thermal energy 56 Student Lilleberg, Bjørn Assistant Thermal energy TMM4112 Machine Elements Manufacturing technology - metal Prof. Welo, Torgeir Responsible products 7 2 TPK4115 Project Planning and Control 1 Ass. Prof. Hussein, Bassam A. Responsible Project management 10 10 TEP4220 Energy and Environmental Consequences Prof. Hertwich, Edgar Responsible Thermal energy 56 7. Sem. Autumn TEP4185 Industrial Process and Energy Technology Prof. Bolland, Olav Responsible Thermal energy Adj.prof. Fredheim, Arne O. Lecturer Industrial process technology Prof. Næss, Erling Lecturer Industrial process technology Adj.prof. Owren, Geir Lecturer Industrial process technology Page 17 of 32
Adj.prof. Pettersen, Jostein Lecturer Industrial process technology TMM4170 Corrosion Prof. Johnsen, Roy Responsible Corrosion; Surface treatment 6 2 TMM4175 Polymers and Composites Ass.prof. Vedvik, Nils Petter Responsible Polymers; Composites TMM4182 Casting and Forming of Metals Adj.prof. Langøy, Morten A. Responsible Casting technology 7 3 TMM4185 Mechanical Vibrations Prof. Rølvåg, Terje Responsible Dynamic simulations 7 2 TMM4195 Fatigue Design Prof. Härkegård, Gunnar Responsible Fatigue 7 2 TPK4155 Applied Comp.Int. in Intelligent Manufacturing Prof. Wang, Kesheng Responsible Intelligent Engineering 8 36 6 TPK5100 Project management 1 Professor Hussein, Bassam A. Responsible Project management 10 10 TPK5110 Quality and Risk Management in Co- Projects Prof. Vatn, Jørn Responsible Risk modelling Co- 12 10 Prof. Andersen, Bjørn Responsible Quality management TEP4140 Engineering Fluid Mechanics 2 Prof. Krogstad, Per Åge Responsible Fluid engineering 56 Student Oggiano, Luca Assistant Fluid engineering TEP4165 Computational Heat and Fluid Flow Prof. Müller, Bernhard Responsible Fluid engineering Ass.prof. Melhus, Ole Lecturer Thermal energy 70 Student Lilleberg, Bjørn Assistant Thermal energy TEP4235 Energy management in buildings Prof. Novakovic, Vojislav Responsible Energy and indoor environment Assistant prof. Dalehaug, Arvid Lecturer Energy and indoor environment Prof. Eikevik, Trygve M. Lecturer Industrial process technology Ass.prof. Hansen, Eilif Hugo Lecturer Industrial process technology 2 14 14 Prof. Hanssen, Sten O. Lecturer Industrial process technology Prof. Thue, Jan Vincent Lecturer Industrial process technology Prof. Wangensteen, Ivar Lecturer Industrial process technology TMM4150 Machine Design and Mechatronics Ass.prof. Blankenburg, Detlef Responsible Engineering design; Mechatronics Sen.eng. Stolpnessæter, Bjarne Assistent Laboratory and workshop Research 2 4 6 1 Res.ass. Widerøe, Fredrik assistant Engineering design; Mechatronics TPK4140 Maintenance Management Ass.prof. Schjølberg, Per Responsible Reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety 7 2 1 Page 18 of 32
TPK4150 Data-integrated Manufacturing Prof. Koch, Wolfgang H. Resposible Data integration in discrete manufacturing of parts with freeform shapes - both subtractive and additive 30 8 30 3 TEP4175 Energy from Environmental Flows Prof. Dahlhaug, Ole G Resposible Fluid engineering Prof. Nielsen, Torbjørn Lecturer Fluid engineering 6 32 6 TEP4180 Experimental Methods in Process Engineering Prof. Sætran, Lars Responsible Fluid engineering 56 56 28 Student Oggiano, Luca Assistant Fluid engineering TEP4212 Environmental and Cleaning Technologies Prof. Krammer, Gernot Responsible Thermal energy 20 10 Student Kock, Michael Assistant Thermal energy TEP4222 Input-Output Analysis, Trade and Environment Ass.prof. Strømman, Anders H Responsible Thermal energy Prof. Hertwich, Edgar Lecturer Thermal energy 28 Student Larsen, Hogne N Assistant Thermal energy TEP4223 LCA and Eco-Efficiency Ass.prof. Strømman, Anders H Responsible Thermal energy Prof. Hertwich, Edgar Lecturer Thermal energy 0 11 15 0 TMM4130 Product Development and Information Technology Prof. Fjeldaas, Sven Responsible Geometric modelling 6 4 TMM4135 Analysis & Assessment Based on FEM Prof. Sivertsen, Ole Ivar Responsible Dyn. Sim.; Knowledge-based eng. Res.ass. Magne Bratland Lecturer, project advisor Finite Element (FE) techniques Prof. Kjell Holthe Lecturer Analytical shell theory Prof. Per Haagensen Lecturer FE-based fatigue analysis TMM4160 Fracture Mechanics Prof. Thaulow, Christian Responsible Fracture mechanics Prof. Zhang, Zhiliang Lecturer Numerical fracture mechanics Research Ph.D.stud. Olsen, Jim Stian assistant Abaqus TMM4165 Joining Technology Prof. Halmøy, Einar Responsible Joining technology - metals Sen.eng. Samdal, Tor Assistent Laboratory and workshop Sen.eng. Wikmark, Jan E. Assistent Laboratory and workshop 7 2 7 2 7 1 1 Page 19 of 32
Apprentice Nordtug, Per Øystein Assistent Laboratory and workshop TPK4160 Value Chain Control and Applied Decision Support Prof. Heidi C. Dreyer Responsible Supply chain control 7 2 3 TPK5160 Risk Analysis Adj.prof. Haugen, Stein Responsible Risk analysis 20 10 Adj.prof. Øien, Knut Lecturer Human / organisational factors Prof. Rausand, Marvin Lecturer Reliability analysis 8. Sem. Spring Experts in team Ass.prof. Vedvik, Nils Petter Responsible Polymers; Composites 10 Experts in team Prof. Fjeldaas, Sven Responsible Geometric modelling 10 TEP4155 Viscous Flow and Turbulence Prof. Ytrehus, Tor Responsible Fluid engineering Prof. Helge Andersson Lecturer Fluid engineering 28 14 TEP4170 Heat and Combustion Technology Prof. Ertesvåg, Ivar Ståle Responsible Thermal energy Prof. Hustad, Johan E Lecturer Thermal energy 14 28 Ass.prof. Rian, Kjell Erik Lecturer Thermal energy TEP4195 Turbo Machinery Ass.prof. Ole G Dahlhaug Responsible Fluid engineering Prof. Bakken, Lars Erik Lecturer Thermal energy 8 10 4 8 Prof. Nielsen, Torbjørn Lecturer Fluid engineering TEP4215 Proc.& Heat Integr. of Ind. Proc. & Utility Systems Prof. Gundersen, Truls Responsible Industrial process technology 28 TEP4245 Building Environmental Design and Engineering Prof. Tjelflaat, Per Olaf Responsible Energy and indoor environment Prof. Hanssen, Sten O Lecturer Energy and indoor environment Ass.prof. Kolsaker, Kjell Lecturer Energy and indoor environment 6 8 9 Prof. Novakovic, Vojislav Lecturer Energy and indoor environment Ass.prof. Ulseth, Rolf Lecturer Energy and indoor environment TEP4255 Heat Pumping Processes and Systems Prof. Bredesen, Arne M. Responsible Industrial process technology Prof. Eikevik, Trygve Lecturer Industrial process technology Haukås, Hans Lecturer Industrial process technology 12 16 3 Student Bantle, Michael Assistant Industrial process technology TMM4155 Engineering Design and Materials Technology Prof. Rølvåg, Terje Responsible Dynamic simulations Ass.prof. Vedvik, Nils Petter Lecturer Polymers; Composites 10 Prof. Valberg, Henry Lecturer Forming of metals TPK4110 Quality and Performance Oriented Management Prof. Andersen, Bjørn Coresponsible, Quality management Page 20 of 32 20
lecturer Ass.prof. Fagerhaug, Tom Coresponsible, lecturer Quality management TPK4175 Rapid Manufacturing Prof. Koch, Wolfgang H. Responsible Time compression manufacturing technology 30 8 30 TEP4150 Energy Management and Technology Prof. Ertesvåg, Ivar Ståle Responsible Thermal energy 28 TEP4160 Aero Dynamics Prof. Krogstad, Per-Åge Responsible Fluid engineering 4 28 8 Student Efros, Vladislav Assistant Fluid engineering TEP4200 Mech. Design, Operation & Maint. of Hydr. Machinery Prof. Nielsen, Torbjørn Resposible Fluid engineering 8 10 6 8 Prof. Dahlhaug, Ole G Lecturer Fluid engineering TEP4205 Industrial Fluid Power Prof. Nielsen, Torbjørn Resposible Fluid engineering 8 10 6 8 TEP4220 Energy and Environmental Consequences Prof. Hertwich, Edgar Responsible Thermal energy Prof. Krammer, Gernot Lecturer Thermal energy 20 60 Ass.prof. Strømman, Anders H Thermal energy Lecturer TEP4265 Food Engineering Prof. Eikevik, Trygve M. Responsible Industrial process technology Ass.prof. Jonassen, Ola Lecturer Industrial process technology Prof. Nesse, Norvald Lecturer Industrial process technology Dean Strømmen, Ingvald Lecturer Industrial process technology 12 16 3 Student Bantle, Michael Assistant Industrial process technology TEP4250 Multiphase Transport Prof. Nydal, Ole Jørgen Responsible Industrial process technology Prof. Asheim, Harald A Lecturer Industrial process technology 8 10 8 Adj.prof. Larsen, Roar Lecturer Industrial process technology TMM4140 Materials Technology 2 Prof. Thaulow, Christian Responsible Fracture mechanics Prof. Valberg, Henry Lecturer Forming of metals Research Res.ass. Widerøe, Fredrik assistant Engineering design; Mechatronics 7 2 Ph.D.stud. Olden, Vigdis Research assistant Metallography Sen.eng. Hansen, Arnfinn Willa Lab. assistent Laboratory and workshop TMM4205 Surface and Coating Technology Prof. Johnsen, Roy Responsible Corrosion; Surface treatment 7 2 TMM4215 Wood Composites - Proc., Properties Prof. Støren, Sigurd Responsible Forming of metals; Ecodesign 7 3 Page 21 of 32
& Products TMM4220 Innovation in Technology Adj.prof. Dagestad, Sjur Responsible Innovation in technology Bratland, Research 1 4 6 1 Magne Res.ass. assistant Dynamic simulations TPK4125 Digital Control of Mechatronic Systems Prof. Lien, Terje Responsible Production systems 5 10 10 TPK4135 Logistics and Production Management Prof. Ola Strandhagen Responsible Production planning and control 3 7 3 TPK4170 Robot Technology and Automatic Arssembly Prof. Lien, Terje Responsible Production systems 10 10 Prof. II Thomessen, Trygve Lecturer Production systems Reliability, availability, TPK5165 RAMS Engineering and Management Prof. Rausand, Marvin Responsible maintainability, and safety Reliability, availability, 25 Prof. Vatn, Jørn Lecturer maintainability, and safety 9. Sem. Autumn TEP4510/15 Thermal Energy, Specialization Course & Project Prof. Bolland, Olav Responsible Thermal energy TEP4520/25 Ind. Process Techn., Spec. Course & Project Prof. Eikevik, Trygve M. Responsible Industrial process technology TEP4530/35 Energy & Indoor Envir., Spec. Course & Project Prof. Hanssen, Sten O. Responsible Industrial process technology TEP4540/45 Eng. Fluid Mechanics, Spec. Course & Project Prof. Nielsen, Torbjørn Responsible Fluid engineering TMM4500/05 Manufacturing of Metals, Spec. Course & Project Prof. Valberg, Henry Responsible Forming of metals 8 28 8 4 TMM4510/15 Polymers & Comp., Spec. Course & Project Ass.prof. Vedvik, Nils Petter Responsible Polymers; Composites 8 28 8 4 TMM4520/25 Product Development, Spec. Course & Project Ass.prof. Blankenburg, Detlef Responsible Engineering design; Mechatronics 8 28 8 4 TMM4530/35 Structural Integrity, Spec. Course & Project Prof. Johnsen, Roy Responsible Corrosion; Surface treatment 8 28 8 4 TPK4500/05 Project Management, Spec. Corse & Project Prof. Rolstadås, Asbjørn Responsible Project Management Prof. Andersen, Bjørn Lecturer Project Management 40 Ass.prof. Hussein, Bassam Responsible Project management TPK4510/15 Production & Quality Eng., Spec. Course & Project Prof. Dreyer, Heidi C. Responsible ICT based operations management Page 22 of 32 20
Prof. Koch, Wolfgang H. Lecturer ICT for time-compression manufacturing technologies 10. Sem. Spring Energy, Process and Fluid Engineering, Master Theses Prof. Hustad, Johan Responsible Thermal energy 8 40 8 8 Product Development and Materials, Master Dynamic simulations; Knowledgebased engineering (KBE) 8 40 8 8 Thesis Prof. Sivertsen, Ole Ivar Responsible Production and Quality Engineering, Master Theses Ass.prof. Schjølberg, Per Responsible Maintenance management 8 40 8 8 Page 23 of 32
How much can be read from this table is a good question. It clearly shows that the teaching modes in the courses vary significantly. One can also see marked differences in terms of how many persons are involved in each course. Perhaps the most important conclusion, which is perhaps more a sense among people involved in the study program more than it can be interpreted from the table, is that there is an emerging shortage of staff to deliver the teaching scheduled. With many retirements imminent and warnings that these positions will not automatically be re-filled, this represents a warning sign for future quality. 5. Research All three departments involved in the PDM program are research-intensive. All the departments enjoy significant external financing of research programs, both from the Norwegian Research Council, EU framework programs, and directly from industry sources, national and international. This is of course relevant for the teaching side of the departments, as research forms an important basis for continuously upgrading the contents of the courses as well as exposing the students, especially in the last two years, to leading edge academic activities. Since research is not a main role of the study program, but rather the responsibility of the departments, the topic is not covered in much detail in this report. However, the following lists some keywords pertaining to the ongoing research activities within the study program s areas. Department of Energy and Process Engineering: Large Research programs, EU: o ENCAP: Enhanced Capture of CO2. Integrated project in the sixth framework programme (Olav Bolland). o ENGAS RI: Environmental Gas Management Research Infrastructure, coordinator, sixth framwork programme (Arne Bredesen/Morten Grønli) o DYNAMIS IP: Towards Hydrogen Production with CO2 management, sixth framework programme (Olav Bolland) o WAVESSG: Full-scale demonstration of robust and high-efficiency wave energy converter, sixth framework programme (Torbjørn Nielsen) o PSIE: Postgraduate School of Industrial Ecology, Marie Curie Actions (Edgar Hertwich) o EXIPOL: A new Environmental Accounting Framework Using Externality Data and Input-Output Tools for Policy Analysis, Integrated project (Edgar Hertwich) Other large research projects: o Statkraft: Frame agreement about R&D within turbines/engineering in hydropower stations (Torbjørn Nielsen) o Scandpower Petroleum Technology: within multiphase flow with gas hydrates, under the PETROMAKS program financed by the Norwegian Research Council (Ole Jørgen Nydal) o BioSOFC: Technology development for integrated SOFC, biomass gasification and high temperature gas cleaning, KMB project financed by the Norwegian Research Council (Johan Hustad) o The effect of hydrogen addition to automotive fuels in SI-CI and HCCI internal combustion engines, project financed by the Norwegian Research Council (Johan Hustad) o ENI Norge: Multiphase Flow (Ole Jørgen Nydal) o NFR: Roughness and rotating fluid turbulence (Helge Andersson) o NFR/SINTEF Energy Research: Enabling Production of Remote Gas (Jostein Pettersen) o NFR/SINTEF Energy Research: Cost effective utilization of Bioenergy - Advanced Biomass and Waste Combustion (Johan Hustad) Address Location Tel. +47 73 59 38 00 Page 24 of 32 N-7491 Trondheim S. P Andersens v. 5 Fax +47 73 59 71 17
o NFR/SINTEF Energy Research: BIGCO2 (Olav Bolland) o NFR/SINTEF Energy Research: Efficient Hydrogen Liquefaction Processes (Arne Bredesen) o Statoil: Subsea compression (2004-2008) (Lars E. Bakken) o SIU: Cooperation programme with the Western Balkans (Vojislav Novakovic) Number of active students: 72 The external research funding is 50% of the total budget. Department of Engineering Design and Materials: Large research programs (over 0,5 mill NOK per year) o LPD - Lean product development; Research on how to develop the right new products, the right way in a competitive and global market place (Blankenburg, Rølvåg, Vedvik, Welo, Aasland) o PETROMAKS is the umbrella for most of the petroleum-oriented research supported by the Research Council of Norway (Johnsen, Thaulow). o COMPFORM, Competence in Light Metal Forming and Forming Technologies (Støren, Welo). o OPTIWELD; Research on optimization of the welding prosess for offshore applications (Valberg, Moe). o RESONATOR; Research on a new type of electric motor, using gassprings (Vedvik). o SMIOP, forging of steel and aluminum (Valberg) o CRI NORMAN, one of eight national centers for research-driven innovation established by the Research Council 2006, with a focus on the Norwegian manufacturing future (Blankenburg, Rølvåg, Støren, Welo, Aasland). The number of students active is 11. The external research funding is 26 % of the total budget. Department of Production and Quality Engineering: In general, the department works closely with SINTEF Technology & Society, with strong links to at least four departments. The integration is close, with academic personnel at the NTNU department contributing significantly to research projects at SINTEF and researchers from SINTEF contributing to the teaching at NTNU. Large research programs, a few examples: o CRI NORMAN, one of eight national centers for research-driven innovation established by the Research Council 2006, with a focus on the Norwegian manufacturing future. The center is led by SINTEF, but the department (together with IPM) plays an important role in the research. o PeMRO, Performance Measurement in Railway Operations, a large project to study how punctuality in the railway can be improved. o PROMISE, EU 5 th Framework Program Integrated Project on the use of RFID devices in manufacturing. o PRIME, EU 6 th Framework Program STREP to develop a serious game for teaching strategic manufacturing. Number of students completed the last years: 2004 = 4, 2005 = 2, 2006 = 5, and 2007 = 6, while at the moment 32 students are active External research funding represents more than 30% of the total budget. Page 25 of 32
6. International Educational Activities In general, many students from the PDM program go abroad to different international universities for one or two semesters, usually in the fourth year, but some also in the third and fifth. No data exists that documents how many pursue international exchanges during the studies, but a rough estimate is that 30-50% of the students stay abroad for at least one semester (the numbers vary, the last years between 30 and 50 students). The exchanges are targeted at a large number of different universities in many parts of the world, including Europe, North-America, Australia, and Asia. Through research cooperation and other relationships, some universities receive more students than others, but there are no close exchange cooperation agreements that push our students toward specific universities. On average, we find that the PDM program enjoys extensive links to international universities and research groups, and that our students benefit from this. 7. Students and Results The PDM study program is a fairly large one at NTNU, with a total of 588 active students per 2007, distributed over the five years. The distribution among the years is as follows: Admitted in 2007; 135 in total (of which 30 are female students), of which 117 for year 1 and 18 bachelors to start in year 4. In year 2, there are 131 students (37 female). In year 3, 120 students (21 female). In year 4, 87 students (19 female). In year 5, 97 students (18 female). It is noticeable that even with relatively stable numbers of admitted students, there are much less active students in the two final years than were admitted. This is a serious problem for most study programs, including PDM, and due to students quitting for various reasons and being held back a year from too many failed courses. For a typical year (in this case 118 students admitted into the first year in 2004), the lost students divide into groups as follows (the numbers for 2005 and 2006 have been collected and show the same trend, although with more active students since they have studied for a shorter time so far): Active; 76 (66 according to normal progression, 10 held back on year) 64.4%. Forced to leave; 7 5.9 %. Transfer to other study programs; 16 13.6 %. Temporary leave; 1 0.8 %. Quit; 17 14.4 %. Unknown status; 1 0.8 % These numbers are (both for 2004 and subsequent years) worse than for the average of the study programs (for 2004, 71.3 % are still active, forced to leave 3.2 %, transfer 9.8 %, leave 1.8 %, and quit 12.7 %). This is of course a major problem for the program! Industry expects a certain number of students to graduate each year, and the departments plan on servicing certain student bodies, and their expectations are naturally based on the official numbers of admission. When close to 30% of those admitted never make it through to graduation, the program is unable to fulfill the expectations. As a result of this, we have implemented several mechanisms to reduce the number of students that leave the program, including more precise information to potential students during recruiting efforts, closer Page 26 of 32
follow-up of students especially in the first year, motivating students better by teaching methods and relevant exercises in the traditionally difficult first two years. From the third year, the students choose a program option, and there has been a tendency the last years of a skewed distribution. Averagely, the distribution has been about: Energy, process, and fluid engineering; approximately 15%. Product development and materials; approximately 40%. Production and quality engineering; 25%. Industrial mechanics; 20%. In terms of lower admission point limit, this has shown a gradual and very positive development over the last years (these numbers are for the primary applicants, i.e., without any extra points earned through other activities beyond high school): 2003: 50.2 2004: 52.0 2005: 52.2 2006: 53.8 2007: 54.5 Looking at the number of applicants, these numbers have also increased over the last years. The total number of applicants selecting PDM as one their possible study options in 2007 was 1,212. Of these, 180 had indicated PDM as their first choice. This, however, amounts to only 1.44 primary applicants per place, significantly lower than the ambition of NTNU of 2.5. Even with a very positive development both in numbers of applicants and admission point limits, this is the main weak point of the program at the moment. One last observation about the students in the PDM program concerns the grade performance. It is interesting to compare this across study programs, and we have included a random sample from two courses; Calculus 1 and Philosophy and Theory of Science, both first year courses given to a large number of students in many programs. For the PDM students, the average grade in Calculus 1 during the last three years has been a D, with a very small improvement from year to year. Of the programs with Calculus 1, there are in fact 12 where the average grade is D (two with B, one with C, and one with E). Sadly, of those with D, PDM is the second lowest: Page 27 of 32
Calculus 1 Average Grades 5,00 4,00 3,62 3,60 3,16 3,00 2,00 2,46 2,42 2,34 2,31 2,23 2,01 1,97 1,96 1,85 1,83 1,78 1,71 1,43 1,00 0,00 For Philosophy and Theory of Science, the picture is slightly different. Our students have over the last three years seen a reduction in average grade, from C to another C to D. Compared with the other study programs, this places PDM quite squarely in the middle: Philosophy and Theory of Science Average Grades 5,00 4,00 3,00 2,00 3,58 3,43 3,16 3,09 2,91 2,83 2,81 2,75 2,72 2,53 2,50 2,48 2,20 2,19 2,08 1,87 1,00 0,00 Even with improved admission score limits, PDM is still lower than many of the other programs, and this is perhaps reflected in the average grades. We are certainly not content with the results, but we will keep working systematically to improve both the application numbers and grade performance. 8. SWOT Analysis and Discussion To summarize this self-assessment, we have performed a SWOT analysis, or rather a modified SWOT analysis. From experience in teaching and consulting projects on SWOT analysis, we know that very often the Os and Ts (opportunities and threats often end up as mirror entries of the Ss and Ws (strengths and weaknesses). When commencing the analysis, we did indeed experience this phenomenon, thus we decided to focus mostly on the strengths and weaknesses. The result is shown in the table below: Page 28 of 32
Structure of the study plan Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Many common Define a clear courses give less 3+2 structure specizlization Heavy theoretical courses the first two years can give students low motivation The "2+1+2" structure is unclear, should convert properly to 3+2 The first two years give the students a broad insight into the breadth of the study program The structure allows flexibility in changing study program and specialization Too many general theoretical courses in the first years increase the number of students quitting Progression of courses, overlap and gaps Clear responsibilities for courses and specializations among the departments Missing electrical engineering course in the study plan Less dynamics than ideal Create clearer links among courses Changing needs in industry make the composition of courses less relevant Composition, sequence, level, and extent/distribution of different types of courses Evaluation mechanisms applied in relation to learning objectives In total, a well composed study plan A varied mixture of evaluation forms are used The courses that run in parallel with the "PuP column" do not support the whole breadth of it, especially the bicycle project It might be wise to change the sequence of physics and chemistry Very few courses still use mid-term exams after mandatory activities were no longer allowed in the mid-term weeks The workload differs significantly among courses for mandatory work More direct cooperation with international universities could allow more variety in the courses offered Relax the rules to allow more flexible mid-term testing Heavy workload on teachers does not allow creativity in designing varied and exciting courses and teaching modes Students react negatively to increased workload from many mandatory midterm activities Organization of the study (lectures, exercies, seminars, self study, practice, lab) The use of mandatory exercises ensures a more steady progression throughout the semester Some dominance of lectures as teaching format and lack of practical demonstrations of theory Utilizing labs and industry excursions to a higher extent than today Heavy workload on teachers does not allow creativity in designing varied and exciting courses and teaching modes Page 29 of 32
Pedagogical assessments of needs for development, teaching capacity and competencies Several parallels of the same courses allows students choice of lectures The student assistance system is positive with good capacity The learning process and results depend very much on the lecturer in a course Retirement "wave" can allow replacing personnel with younger persons with fresh ideas Low wage levels in the university compared with industry makes it difficult to attract qualified academic personnel Utilization of the study year and expenditure of resources on the teaching The need for additional resources (ICT, labs, group rooms, etc.) Even with a well utilized school year, there is still time for a proper summer break with good opportunities for relevant work experience There are sufficient student facilities (some need refurbishing) The mid-term weeks are a waste of time since they cannot be used for anything worthwhile, they become vacation time for the students, especially in years of poor timing with regard to Easter Early semester start gives little time for continuation exams and summer vacation The computer labs are somewhat dated, as is the entire concept of computer labs, there should rather be a better system for supplying all students with laptops Restructure the mid-term actitivty weeks to allow better utilization of the study year Upgrading of labs and other reseurces as part of a future increase in reserach budgets Poor utilization of the study year gives NTNU and the study program a poor reputation among students and industry Reduced lab funding will make the facilities fall behind other countries Since not all entries in the matrix are equally self-explanatory, we will discuss some of the points (mainly weaknesses) we consider to be especially important: Study plan structure: There is no doubt the overall study structure must be as it is, i.e., with basic natural science and engineering course in the beginning. However, we think there is a link between the level of difficulty and abstraction in these courses and the high number of students that drop out during the first two years. This is something we need to take seriously, and one approach is to balance these theoretical courses with more application-oriented courses (as we do in the string of special PDM courses). Another is to ensure that both the lectures and exercises in these theoretic courses address and reflect the application areas our students will later face. This is done to some extent, but we still have a potential in working more closely with the persons responsible for these courses to supply them with material and understanding necessary to make the courses even more relevant for our students. Progression/overlap/gaps: This is essentially good, but with two clear weaknesses. We have not found room for a course in electrical engineering, which is important for students that follow at least the product development and materials option and the production and quality engineering option. Secondly, some years ago, dynamics as an individual course was removed from the study plan. This topic was meant to be handled in two other courses; physics and Page 30 of 32
mechanics 1. There seems to be problems in covering a sufficient amount of dynamics in these two courses, and this is a situation that must be addressed (we are involved in discussions about the curriculum in physics). Composition/sequence of courses: The main point to mention here is a lack of integration between the PDM string of courses from semesters 1-6 and the courses that run in parallel with it. As mentioned, work is ongoing to improve this. Evaluation mechanisms: A good mixture of evaluation mechanisms are used, but one regret is that most of the evaluation takes place at the end of the semester. Since the mid-term weeks do not allow mandatory activities, these are not used for mid-term tests, which we believe would have had a positive effect on promoting a continuous learning process. However, we also realize that the mandatory exercises given throughout the semester aid this goal. Teaching capacity and competencies: In general, inside the study program and our own courses, there is a fairly good match with competencies and capacity. However, we will see a retirement wave over the next few years, and there have been rumors that these positions will not be refilled. If this will be the case, we will soon face a capacity shortage. For courses delivered by other departments/faculties outside the program, we do notice a varying quality level that can be problematic. In some cases, where several parallels of a course exist, students flock to the lectures given by the lecturer perceived to be best, filling the rooms and capacity and more. There have also been complaints that the language skills of some lecturers are substandard, both Norwegian and English, and we must encourage the departments supplying such courses to ensure a better quality of lecturers. Utilization of the study year: We must express the fact that the mid-term weeks are controversial. At the moment, they seem mostly to be vacation time for the students, and especially when they are close to Easter, students can end up being away from school for four or five consecutive weeks. This is not a good use of the limited study time there is! Need for additional resources: In general, the study program is reasonably well equipped n terms of facilities, labs, and computer resources. On the weakness side, some buildings need refurbishment, and we see a future challenge in setting up and maintaining computer labs of sufficient quality. We even doubt the need for such labs, as most students probably will have personal laptops. 9. Conclusions To briefly recapitulate the analyses conducted throughout this self-assessment, we find the PDM program to be in quite good shape. Learning objectives have been clearly defined, and the courses that make up the study program seem well suited to fulfill these objectives. We have identified a weakness in lacking courses in electrical engineering and dynamics, but otherwise the courses cover the areas required well. There also a lack of integration horizontally across courses in the first two or three years. The study year is overall well utilized, but we feel strongly that the spring semester is weaker than it need be. Due to the mid-terms weeks not allowing mandatory activities, these are in practice vacation time for the students. The departments involved in the study program are fairly well staffed and equipped, both in terms of academic and support staff as well as infrastructure. We fear this might change should future retirements leave positions vacant. And we have identified highly varying lecturing and language skills in lecturers in courses delivered to our students from other departments and faculties. The application numbers and admission grade thresholds have been improving for several years. However, we are still far from fulfilling the objective of 2.5 primary applicants per space in the Page 31 of 32
program. There is also a main challenge of many students leaving the program during the studies, leading to significantly fewer students graduating than what are admitted. We also see that our students average grades in shared courses are average or lower among the study programs. This also poses challenges. Page 32 of 32