What does the everyday working life of industrial engineers at FH look like?

Industrial engineers FH work in industrial and service companies, in public administrations or at management consultancies. They take on management tasks at the interface between business administration and technology, where they can use their mathematical, technical and economic skills. The details of their tasks depend on the sector and type of company. Possible activities include

• Quantitative description and computer-aided optimization of complex operational problems, e.g. optimization of the value chain
• Preparation of financial mathematical and economic analyses
• Analysis of business processes or economic-technical contexts in all areas of the company such as production, procurement, marketing, quality and service management
• Monitoring the market, recognizing the relevant market signals and developing suitable measures
• Development, customer-oriented design and marketing of products and services
• Development of new strategies and operational processes, e.g. in supply chain management (SCM), transportation and warehouse logistics
• Evaluation, planning and optimization of production systems, production facilities and equipment
• Project management, technical leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration with specialists

(Note: The distribution of tasks (weighting and frequency) may vary depending on the task profile/job profile or function and company).

Target group and skills: Who is the industrial engineering course at a university of applied sciences suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The Bachelor's degree courses in "Industrial Engineering Bachelor (FH)" are aimed at people with a commercial or technical education who are just as interested in technology and IT as they are in business management issues. If you like mathematics as much as accounting figures and are fascinated not only by the technical side of a product, but also by the question of how to produce it cost-effectively and market it best, you have very good prerequisites for a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering.

If you are also communicative, enjoy interdisciplinary collaboration with various specialists and can quickly grasp logical and abstract contexts, then you are well suited to this course.

Requirements for admission to the industrial engineering degree program at a university of applied sciences:

The respective universities of applied sciences decide independently who can study industrial engineering*.

For admission to the Bachelor's degree program in Industrial Engineering and Management, you must generally meet one of the following requirements:

• Apprenticeship qualification with EFZ in a field related to the field of study with a technical, commercial or design vocational baccalaureate
• High school diploma and at least 1 year of professional experience in the field of industrial engineering or an internship contract for admission to the practice-integrated degree program
• For graduates of certain degree courses in HF Technik, there are shortened courses of study, known as "passerelles".

In addition:

• For part-time courses, a minimum of 50% professional activity in a relevant field is required.
• Depending on previous education and experience, it is sometimes possible to have credits recognized. Here too, the decision lies with the universities of applied sciences.

Note:Some universities of applied sciences offer voluntary preliminary courses (e.g. mathematics, languages). Find out the details directly from the provider of your choice.

*As already mentioned, the respective universities of applied sciences decide on admission to studies. They can largely design their courses themselves. Institutional accreditation in accordance with the Higher Education Funding and Coordination Act (HFKG) (Chapter 5.) of the federal government is a prerequisite for the designation right "university of applied sciences" or "university" and "university of teacher education", the granting of federal contributions and program accreditation.

Subject matter and content of the course

The respective university of applied sciences is basically free to decide on the structure of an industrial engineering degree program.

There may therefore be differences with regard to the learning content and the defined thematic emphasis/focus.

The Industrial Engineering and Management degree generally consists of the main parts of technology, economics and industrial processes and also offers the opportunity to develop an individual skills profile by choosing specialization subjects.

Technology:

• Mathematics, statistics, physics
• Applied programming, CAD and simulation methods
• Technical basics of computer science, electronics and mechanical engineering

Economy:

• Business and economic fundamentals (finance and accounting, organization and management)
• Analysis of markets, development of sales concepts and business models
• Legal basis for companies
• Business processes from a business management perspective

Industrial processes:

• Production, logistics, SCM
• Product management, marketing, sales
• Innovation and technology management
• Quality, risk and project management

Examples of possible specializations:

• Digital Business / Entrepreneurship
• Business mathematics
• Data and service engineering
• Digital transformation
• Industrial Engineering
• Supply Chain & Production Management
• Strategic resource management

Costs and financing of further training

The costs vary depending on the provider, location and training model and also depend on the sponsorship of the university of applied sciences (public, semi-private, private). In general, the following costs can be expected for the 6-8 semester degree course in industrial engineering:

• Course feesCourse fees: between CHF 700 and CHF 1000 per semester for Swiss residents. Students from abroad must expect higher course fees.
• Application/registration feebetween CHF 200.- and 300.-
• Examination fees (per semester)are normally included in the course fees
• Additional costsSome providers charge extra costs for teaching materials, training documents, copies/printouts, student ID/campus card, locker keys, etc.

Duration of study, number of teaching hours, training model, teaching format and learning effort

• Duration of studies and training modelThe Bachelor's degree program in Industrial Engineering and Management at UAS level has a modular structure. It is offered in different time models:
  • Full-time study, 6 semesters, full-time teaching from Monday to Friday
  • Part-time or part-time study, 8 semesters, approx. 12 lessons per week, which can be spread over 2-3 days in different ways
  • Distance learning, 9 semesters, approx. 80% self-study and 20% classroom teaching, e.g. every second Saturday
• Number of lessonsStudy achievements are expressed in so-called ECTS points (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System Points), a kind of tool for the standardized study structure of Bachelor's and Master's degree courses at universities. As a rule, 180 ECTS points are required for a Bachelor's degree, which corresponds to 4,500-5,400 hours of work. (One ECTS point corresponds to a student workload of 25 to 30 working hours). This includes all study units such as lectures, tutorials, exercises, coursework, semester examinations, etc.
• Teaching formatTeaching is mainly carried out in lectures, group lessons and exercises/projects. In addition to traditional classroom teaching, many universities of applied sciences now also offer online courses and forms of learning.
• Learning effort: You should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons as well as for self-study - how much depends on your previous knowledge, working style, learning speed and chosen training model.

Degree, diploma and title

What achievements are required for the Bachelor's degree?

Study-related qualification procedures

The course has a modular structure and each module is completed individually. This means that the study-related qualification process is spread over the entire course. Students also work on practical projects throughout the course.

Degree

Towards the end of their studies, students write a Bachelor's thesis in which they address a current issue from industrial practice, often in cooperation with a business partner.

The Bachelor's thesis is usually an individual piece of work and is supervised by a lecturer. It usually takes 16 weeks with a workload of at least 20 hours per week.

Diploma and title

Successful graduates of the Bachelor's degree course receive a Bachelor's degree from a federally accredited university of applied sciences and may use the following recognized and protected title:

• Bachelor of Science FH in Industrial Engineering