Sustainable Engineering & Materials

In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, smart engineering integrates latest technology with traditional engineering principles to design solutions that are efficient, sustainable, and groundbreaking and thus becomes the foundation of a modern society. Robotics and automated production are key enabling technologies for the next decade and require a sound academic qualification. The international friendly bachelor’s degree program Smart Engineering offers the unique opportunity to acquire not only a cutting-edge engineering degree but also German language skills and the possibility to enter the European high tech job market. The program offers two German taught specializations in: automation engineering and mechanical engineering as wells as an English taught specialzation in branch electrical engineering.

Automation Engineers develop, optimise and automate equipment. Or in other words: by means of sensors and special software they cause machines to perform intelligently. For example, they ensure cash machines dispense the right amount of banknotes, engines are high-precision and airbags are sure to open in a crash. Eco-engineers develop environmentally-optimised solutions for production plants, electric vehicles or solar- and wind power stations. Wels students recently invented Austria’s first pizza dispensing machine. They also recently programmed a regulation system for the hybrid drive of the BRP CanAm Spyder, a guidance system for single-track railways.

Intelligent Production Engineering offers a specialization in automation technology in the field of modern manufacturing processes and materials technology. In addition to the general technical content, the courses and company projects cover in-depth knowledge of manufacturing processes, planning and operation of production systems including robots, production engineering, company organization and mechatronic systems. The course is organized in a part-time, work-integrated form from the 3rd semester onwards. Students spend at least 3 days at the university and the rest of the time, including lecture-free periods, at the partner companies.

In view of rising fuel and energy costs and the carbon dioxide problem, motor vehicles and aircraft must use less fuel in future. The rotor blades of wind turbines, various sports equipment such as tennis rackets, skis or Formula 1 cars (fibre-carbonmonocoque) must also be lighter but at the same time measure up to the highest safety standards. Lightweight construction will be the central concern in industry in the future. Everywhere where material is moved in large quantities e.g. in robotics or plant construction, lightweight construction developments will play a role in order to save costs. The job prospects for graduates in this field are commensurately promising.

Mechanical Engineering is ubiquitous in our modern world. We move around in motor vehicles, trains and aircraft. The manufacture of all our utility goods is achieved by means of machines which are in turn designed, developed and optimised by mechanical engineers using the latest methods of calculation, CAD, materials science, thermodynamics and simulation for their creative work. Mechanical Engineering graduates are highly sought-after in industrialised Upper Austria.

High-quality aircraft-, vehicle- or engine parts, hard-wearing sports equipment, long-lasting and perfectly-shaped consumer goods all beg the same question: Which materials or combinations of materials are the most suitable? How can such products be produced and their quality and characteristics reliably checked? These are the questions which students of this degree programme must answer. Because choosing the right material is essential for all products: the function, safety, design and longevity are all determined by them. In this practice-orientated and researchfocused degree programme students put their knowledge of chemistry and physics into practice and develop metals, composites or plastics and their processing processes further.

International companies need more industrial engineers who can solve problems related to engineering and economics. This degree programme is aimed at people in work with the academic standard for university entrance. Suitable HTL graduates with several years of career experience can join the degree programme in Semester 2. Large parts of the degree programme can be integrated with work.

Process Engineering is the practical application of basic physical and chemical principles for the industrial production of solid, liquid and gaseous substances. Process Engineers work on the plants and processes. They are concerned with physical, chemical and biological steps – they crush, mix, modify, separate and purify raw materials – and thus create new products. They ensure that pills contain enough active ingredients or that the ingredients of yoghurt, lipstick, fuels or building materials are correctly mixed. Their knowledge and competence ensure that production processes are configured in an environmentally-friendly and energyefficient way.

In Upper Austria there are many internationally-successful plant construction companies. Plant constructors, as project managers on plant construction projects, conclude the plant purchase contract under consideration of the framework conditions (costs, deadlines, performance guarantee). They are the interface to the customer or the supplier and coordinate the participating specialist departments and sub-contractors, such as process engineering, design, automation, construction, assembly, accounting or the legal department. plant constructors work mostly internationally and need excellent English and leadership skills.

Digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence have become indispensable in today's industry. Automation technology is a strong beneficiary and at the same time innovation driver behind these technologies - also in Austria! The master's degree program in automation technology enables students to specialize individually in their later working life or field of interest through elective courses. Special emphasis is placed on the proximity to companies and also to research. Starting in the 2nd semester, students can work at least 2 days a week in addition to their studies and put their ideas into practice. In addition to the elective subjects, the necessary cornerstones of a modern automation solution are anchored in the curriculum with the topics of digital factory, control technology and IT security.

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.

Mechanical engineering is a tried and tested study programme that has its finger on the pulse of the times with its many modern trends such as simulation, lightweight construction or bionics. The development of increasingly lighter and at the same time highly stressed components in automobiles, aircraft or also in the manufacturing or plant industry requires the use of sophisticated, innovative calculation, simulation and analysis methods. This degree opens the door to the fascinating world of modern mechanical engineering research and development.

In view of rising fuel and energy costs and the carbon dioxide problem, motor vehicles and aircraft must use less fuel in future. The rotor blades of wind turbines, various sports equipment such as tennis rackets, skis or Formula 1 cars (fibre-carbonmonocoque) must also be lighter but at the same time measure up to the highest safety standards. Lightweight construction will be the central concern in industry in the future. Everywhere where material is moved in large quantities e.g. in robotics or plant construction, lightweight construction developments will play a role in order to save costs. The job prospects for graduates in this field are commensurately promising.

Work in companies of the mechatronics industry has changed enormously because of the increasingly dynamic and complex business environment. The need for industrial engineers with interdisciplinary skills is growing continuously. This degree programme aims to meet this need by offering a higher qualification in selected fields of Mechatronics and Business Economics and also development and management competence.

Robotics has become an indispensable part of the current production world and is also leading to disruptive developments and enormous progress in other sectors such as agriculture or medical technology. However, robotics is only half the story. In order to develop an intelligent system, not only the machine itself is required, but also state-of-the-art sensor technology and a great deal of computer science. Robotic Systems Engineering offers an optimal education in the areas of the latest software algorithms and technologies for the implementation of complex automation tasks with robots. Holistic engineering approaches are taught, which digitally support man, machine, software and hardware from the first idea to the running operation.

The economical, ecological and targeted use of materials and their efficient processing represent an essential competitive factor for Austrian industry. In view of the increasing quality requirements in production and in the use of new materials, more and more experts are required who are familiar with the specific requirements in processing and using these materials. The required quality of many products can only be achieved with appropriate processing technologies and their specific effects on the characteristics of materials. There is no comparable FH degree programme in all of Austria.