PDEng Process and Product Design

The post-masters program Process and Product Design is directed at the broad field of the process and product industry and aims to prepare the course participants for leading functions in the field of process design and knowledge-intensive product development. The objective is to develop their ability to define feasible targets, to identify and acquire the available means, and to synthesize these skills in the form of a completed result within the time agreed on. Linked to this all is the ability to work in and lead a usually multidisciplinary team. These are characteristic qualities for the profession of design engineer in the process and product industry.
During the first (curricular) year of the program, advanced knowledge and skills are taught in block courses by lecturers who nearly all come from industry. All courses have been set up specifically for trainee design engineers and are completed mostly in teams (but students are evaluated individually). The composition of the group of course participants in the program Process and Product Design is multidisciplinary and of an international nature.
After the curricular year, the technological design projects are carried out in the second year of the program. These are challenging projects with a high reality value that are aimed at the development of the trainee design engineers' abilities. In the project, a specific design objective must be reached within a restricted period of time and with limited means. Projects have an integrative character through the application of several (sub)disciplines. A design assignment is distinct from a research assignment in that the emphasis lies on synthesis (rather than on analysis), and account is taken of the technical and economic preconditions. You will be coached by experienced design engineers from industry and by TU/e staff with clear and relevant design experience. You will acquire independence and learn to make choices and work well in a project-based manner.
After having completed all components of the curricular part and defended the design project in a public presentation and in a closed session with an examination committee, course participants will be presented with a certified diploma by their supervising professor during a graduation ceremony of the Stan Ackermans Instituut. The design engineers are entitled to bear the degree 'Professional Doctorate in Engineering' (PDEng) and will be entered as PDEng into the register of the Royal Dutch Institute for Engineers (KIvI).

The Post-Master's Program Process and Product Design (PPD) is open to recent university graduates and in particular to engineers and Master's graduates from the disciplines of chemical engineering, applied physics, mechanical engineering, food technology, and bio-process and environmental engineering. Graduates from other disciplines must follow a supplementary program that is agreed upon in consultation.

Intake in the PPD program is both multidisciplinary and international. Candidates must have an academic degree (MSc) with a technological or similar background. Foreign course participants must have a firm background in chemical engineering. In addition to the common program, Dutch and English courses are provided for the foreign students. The Dutch course is not compulsory for foreign students.