Technical Innovation and Product Management
Master of Engineering (M. Eng.)

Training revolves around processing the entire innovation project alongside teaching theoretical knowledge. The ideas for projects are suggested by participating industrial companies, for which small teams can then pitch to work on.

Our innovative teaching concept means that all relevant aspects of the innovation process are covered, including the appropriate methods. This ensures that the fundamental process – reaching from the product idea through to market launch – is covered in the right chronological order. You will spend the first and second semester working as a part of team (max. five students) on the innovation project set by our industrial partners. You will be taught the necessary theory in block courses to work on your projects and present your results at certain points in the relevant modules.

The programme is completed with your master’s thesis in the third semester. Seminars are also run to assist you in refining your skills in scientific working methods.

The university awards students who successfully complete the programme the academic title Master of Engineering (M.Eng.).

Modules during semesters 1 and 2

Project-related modules:

• Project part 1 10 CP
• Product definition 5 CP
• Product realisation 7 CP
• Project part 2 10 CP
• Product launch and PLM 5 CP

Accompanying modules:

• Self- and leadership skills 5 CP
• Business processes and quality management 5 CP
• Comm. aspects of the innovation process 5 CP
• Compulsory elective modules 8 CP

Semester 3

• Master’s thesis 25 CP
• Seminar 5 CP

While the lifecycles of investment goods get shorter and shorter, the demands placed on products keep on going up. Technical products are turning into increasingly complex systems made up of mechanical, electronic and IT components. To launch goods and services successfully on the market in ever-shorter times, the potential of new technologies has to be spotted early on and quickly made marketable.

As a product manager, you will work at this interface between product development, high customer expectations and rapid change, as an “entrepreneur within the company”. However, the skills you acquire will be applicable beyond product management in many interface activities such as technical procurement and sales, as a project manager or in consultancy.

If you graduated in industrial engineering , engineering sciences or in a comparable technically based subject then you’re the right kind of applicant for this master’s programme. Graduates in other fields can also be admitted if they earned at least 30 Credit Points in STEM subjects (mathematics, computing, natural sciences and technology) or have gained sufficient professional experience in technical product management.

Applicants to the master’s degree programme in Technical Innovation and Product Management wishing to major in start-up engineering must both hold adequate qualifications for a postgraduate degree and also complete an aptitude test to ascertain their suitability for advanced studies in this field. Going to this effort during the selection process ensures that you and your fellow students on the degree programme have the same interest in all matters surrounding innovation management or entrepreneurship. The first step in this two-stage application process is to submit the documents stipulated in the programme and examination regulations. This includes:

• A personal statement written in German (approx. 2,500 characters), stating your reasons for applying to study on this degree programme.
• Your self-composed curriculum vitae, highlighting aspects relevant to the selection criteria cited below.
• For Start-up Engineering, additionally a 4–5-page exposé on your business idea as the focus for your master’s degree, providing A brief description of your business idea, the advantages/benefits for the customer, your target group; initial thoughts on a possible revenue model and potential competition.

All the latest information and details on applying together with the admission requirements are provided by Academic Registry under Applications & enrolments

Members of a selection panel appointed by the faculty will evaluate your application documents (personal statement and curriculum vitae) according to the following criteria:

• Extent of knowledge and skills acquired during first degree studies that relate to the modules on the master’s degree programme.
• Extent of technical knowledge required for successfully working on the projects for this degree programme. Applications presenting a not-technical first degree will be checked for either a minimum of 30 Credit Points in STEM subjects or sufficient professional experience in technical product management or entrepreneurship.
• Extent of skills and knowledge acquired beyond studies that relate to the training content for technical product management or entrepreneurship.
• Extent of experience in managing projects, which can also lie in social or political spheres.

This evaluation will form the basis for pre-selecting generally suitable candidates. Applicants who pass pre-selection are invited to interview, where necessary. If suitability can be ascertained in the first stage of the process, you will already be notified of your acceptance on the degree programme at this point.

Applicants might be asked to attend a second-stage, structured interview lasting approx. 45 minutes under test conditions in order to ascertain:

• Does the candidate have adequate underlying knowledge of the economic and technological subject matter related to the modules on the master’s programme?
• Is the candidate able to analyse typical economic/technical issues?
• Does the candidate possess skills in the field of technical innovation and product management or entrepreneurship?
• Can the candidate present potential solutions to problems in the field of technical innovation and product management or entrepreneurship in a logical and factually correct manner?

Candidates’ performance will be evaluated by at least two members of the selection panel, who will both have to deem them suitable. The procedure is specified in detail in the Programme and Examination Regulations for the master’s degree programme in Technical Innovation and Product Management.

We ascribe to the values of openness, tolerance and acceptance. Our aim is to teach everyone involved at Kempten University of Applied Sciences about education in an international context. As part of this aspiration, we support university-wide, inter-faculty measures to promote international projects and cross-cultural interaction.

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