This program is ideal for students who love to develop new product and improve existing ones. The programme takes a holistic approach to product realization incorporating all life-cycle aspects of it from design to manufacturing to use and finally remanufacturing, reuse or recycling. Students get to be creative and develop new product ideas and concepts and to visualise them and test their functions using both virtual models and physical prototypes. The programme highlights the importance of successful manufacturing so the integration between design and manufacturing play an important role.

Product Design has two tracks, i.e. design and product life-cycle management (PLM). Students need to choose either of the two tracks.

• In the first track, the consumer experience, product aesthetics and product and user interaction are in focus.
• The second track address the development towards more individualized products, to better meet the specific needs of each costumer. This encompass, preparing for the individualization of products and automating repetitive tasks by using software and PLM.

The integration of the products and their manufacturing is emphasized in the program as well as the sustainability of the products. The two tracks form a perfect combination in product realisation giving students a great opportunity for careers as product developers.

Practical experience:

Many courses contain real industrial cases from companies in collaboration with the department of industrial product development, production and design. To further strengthen the connection to industry there is a industrial placement course for the design track, which contains practical work in industry.

After graduation:

Students will after graduation be able to have leading the roles in the development of new or improved products, considering the needs and wants of the customers. They will be able to analyze product proposals and to specify how to manufacture them and make assessments of the expected sustainability during the life-cycle of the proposed products.

Graduates from the program will also be able to take on the task of improving the product development process in companies and proposing how to improve knowledge reuse and to make the product development more efficient. In addition to the creative aspects of the programme, engineering analyses are also trained, involving for example structural analysis and optimization.

Students who have graduated from Product Design will be attractive in job market in that they will have insights in both the creative and analytical sides of product development. The program is also preparatory for a role as PhD students in Universities and institutes.