Automotive Mechatronics and Management

Innovations for the Future of Mobility Rapid developments in vehicle engineering have led to a merging of Mechanics, Electronics and Informatics fields. One cause of this is that vehicles meet customer demands through the optimal interplay of various mechanical and electronic components. Many functions in the areas of comfort, safety and efficiency are only made possible by mechatronic systems. In this context, specific expertise in the mechatronic disciplines, combined with social and business economics competences, will be central requirements of future employees and managers in the motor vehicle industry. Precisely these requirements are the focus of the new master’s degree program, Automotive Mechatronics and Management.

Study Focus → Automotive Mechatronics: Understanding the architectural components along with their physical properties and their real world applications (e.g. drive train architectures, sensors and actuators, driving assistance systems). → Automotive IT: Competences in the fields of automotive processing architectures, communication structures, Car2X, communication and embedded systems. → Model-based engineering: Algorithms taken from traditional fields of control theory, involving predictive algorithms, implementations of Artificial Intelligence or nonstandard approaches. → Management & Social Skills: Additional skills in the areas of innovation, quality, marketing and production management complemented by social skills competences

Full-time, Monday/Tuesday (sem. 2 & 3) are scheduled for internships. Therefore, some lectures are scheduled on Friday evening and Saturday

Graduates receive a targeted education in order to work as project managers or project leader in the field of Product Development of mechatronic systems. Typical tasks are in the following fields:

• project planning, risk management and resource planning for the development of mechatronic systems
• coordination of development projects culminating in series production readiness
• monitoring of development progress with the focus on quality, resources and time (R&D Controlling)
• coordination of international developer teams
• communication and coordination with customers and suppliers
• support of Quality Management in respect of feasibility and risk analysis
• securing projecct documentation

As a Development Engineer for Mechatronic Systems with the focus on the design and validation of mechatronic systems the typical tasks and activities are as follows:

• Requirements Management with the aim of a common understanding between the contractor and contractee about the mechatronic system to be developed.
• System design: establishment of the essential physical and logical effects of the future product in the form of a domain-spanning solution concept.
• System integration: integration of the results of the individual domains to a complete system
• planning and coordination of prototype production and execution of design and product validation
• Safeguarding of characteristics: matching of the desired system characteristics tot he system specifications
• Support of the industrialisation process in production facilities

As a Quality Manager in a company in the motor vehicle industry graduates of this program undertake the following tasks:

• Quality Planning/Quality Control within a QM team using QM methods and QM systems
• Recogition in-time of risk and mistake potential in running development projects
• Securing and executing quality requirements
• Further development of the Quality Management System following ISO TS 16949
• Responsibility for the keeping to clearly defined rules in the problem management process
• support of certifications and quality tests
• co-work on supplier evaluations and audits