Technical University of Denmark introduces Digital Bachelor of Engineering programme with brand-new format
When Head of Studies Jonas Kjær Jensen is asked about the difference between the analogue and digital BEng programmes in Mechanical Engineering, the answer is very clear. In terms of contents, there is no difference between them, but the format of the latter is completely new and has never been seen before at DTU.
The digital version is structured so that, for example, the students acquire the various competences that form part of the programme competence profile via four overall themes. The themes are distributed on the first four semesters, and they run in parallel to the basic courses of the study programme. This means that the students are constantly alternating between acquiring new competences and using them to perform specific engineering assignments.
“We’re using a brand-new format for the digital version of the study programme, and it will be exciting to see if it will rub off on the analogue version. The students have welcomed the structure with changing themes from semester to semester. In the first semester, the theme is, for example, wind turbine technology, and when the students have completed this, they will have learned a lot about materials, mechanics, and production technology, and they will have applied their new knowledge to parts of a wind turbine,” says Jonas Kjær Jensen, who is Head of Studies on both the analogue and digital BEng programmes in Mechanical Engineering.
The division into themes was based on a desire to encourage the students’ creative urge. In fact, the themes make it very clear that the students learn something, for example programming and mathematics, because it can be used to create something—in the first semester, as mentioned, they learn to construct a wind turbine, and in the second semester, the theme is sustainable product development.
“In the second semester, the students acquire insight into the development of sustainable products, which is in great demand in the business sector. For example, the students learn how to construct and dimension columns and beams in a structure using as few materials as possible without compromising on quality,” explains Jonas Kjær Jensen.
Jonas Kjær Jensen himself characterizes both his education as a qualified mechanical engineer and his time as a student at DTU as fantastic, and he is keen to give his students the same good and meaningful experience. Photo: Magnus Møller.
The good study experience
Jonas Kjær Jensen himself characterizes both his education as a qualified mechanical engineer and his time as a student at DTU as fantastic, and he is keen to give both the present and future students the same good and meaningful experience.
“It’s extremely important to me that the students feel that they’re making a difference by studying mechanical engineering because engineering is basically about being able to make the right choices when solving a problem, and society needs that,” explains Jonas Kjær Jensen.
For Jonas Kjær Jensen, the transition from being a student to being a PhD student, then a researcher, and today Head of Studies was completely natural. He himself says that he put down roots at DTU after completing his PhD, even though his plan until then had been to make a career for himself as a mechanical engineer in the private business sector. Instead, research and the role of educator attracted him more and more.
The digital BEng programme in Mechanical Engineering is very special because it makes it possible to take an engineering degree even if you live far away from DTU’s campuses in Kongens Lyngby and Ballerup, which together house the teaching facilities of the analogue version.. Photo: Magnus Møller.
Independent of geography
The digital BEng programme in Mechanical Engineering is very special because it makes it possible to take an engineering degree even if you live far away from DTU’s campuses in Kongens Lyngby and Ballerup, which together house the teaching facilities of the analogue version.
“The digital version makes it possible to live in, for example, Southern Jutland while taking a study programme at DTU that has the exact same competence profile as the analogue version. The digital version has 20 hours of scheduled teaching activities in the daytime per week, and there is a large amount of group work, so you aren’t left to fend for yourself,” says Jonas Kjær Jensen.
He continues:
“At the beginning, middle, and end of each semester, the students also attend classes in either Kongens Lyngby or our facilities in Ballerup, so they can do exercises involving large machines and equipment that they can’t get at home. It also gives them the opportunity to get to know their fellow students and DTU as a whole.”
Occasionally, Jonas Kjær Jensen talks with the students about how things are going, and the feedback is positive, especially from the students who live far away. They do not have to commute to their studies several times a week, and their academic competency is uncompromised.