Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering – Management Curriculum (L-9)

Bachelor’s degree programme in Industrial Engineering – programme overview

The present degree course is aimed at providing suitable knowledge to carry out professional activities in various industrial fields. The study course is divided into five curricula: mechanical, electronic, management, agro-industrial, biomedical, each of which is targeted at training professional profiles who possess skills of considerable utility in modern industry.

Graduates in Industrial Engineering are able, according to the chosen educational pathway, to dimension and verify mechanical, electronic and biomedical components and systems, as well as to address problems related to the production, management and organisation of manufacturing systems, and the analysis of processes for agro-food production, to conduct risk analysis, safety management in the prevention and emergency phases, in free professions, manufacturing or service companies, and public administrations.

The expected learning outcomes mainly concern:

• the methodological-operational aspects of mathematics and other basic sciences which allow the interpretation and description of engineering problems;
• the areas related to Industrial Engineering, useful to identify, formulate and solve problems by using updated methods, techniques and tools; techniques and tools for dimensioning and verifying components, systems and processes, capability to plan and conduct experiments, as well as to analyse and interpret the results;
• the ability to conduct analysis, optimisation and development of products, processes, machines and complex systems, maintenance and management of production departments, as well as the performance of measurement and control, verification and technical assistance, the identification of risk factors and the analysis of safety conditions, in processes and industrial plants.

Within the framework of some of the professionalising disciplines, laboratories give the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to future engineers to be able to interpret the specific needs of clients and propose possible solutions.

Online degree

The online Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering – Management Engineering Curriculum – is designed for those who are unable to attend traditional education programmes due to distance or professional commitments. Through the Unicusano online degree, classes will adapt to your schedule. Lectures and assignments can be watched and completed at whatever time it is most convenient for students, while exams can be taken at the nearest local exam centre. Thanks to the quality of our teaching and the broad number of
authorised exam centres spread across Italy, Unicusano is today the best choice for those students willing to pursue an online degree in Management Engineering.

Job profiles
Possible job roles:

Graduates in Industrial Engineering – Management Engineering Curriculum – find their natural place of employment in all companies and areas where technological, economic, management and innovation elements coexist. In the light of the specific training objectives, graduates possess both broad-spectrum skills to manage complex systems and specific skills to manage industrial production, as well as safety and protection of industrial plants.

Consequently, the predominant sector of employment is manufacturing, where graduates can carry out professional activities in various company functions (logistics, production, commercial, administrative). Such professional figure is of particular interest for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies which, in the current economic phase, need to manage complex and interconnected processes of specific competence of the managerial engineer.

Acquired competences

Industrial managerial engineers possess a broad spectrum of both skills to manage complex systems and specific skills to manage industrial production, as well as safety and protection of industrial plants.

Specifically, graduates in Industrial Engineering know the fundamental laws of the economic system and master the account, management control, organisation of both company and human resources, financial analysis, management of industrial plants, the main industrial processing methods and the main elements, electrical and mechanical, constituting an industrial plant.

Career Opportunities

Typical career opportunities for managerial engineers include:

• the manufacturing and industrial transformation sectors;
• energy production and management sectors;
• high-tech industries, such as aeronautics, transport, aerospace, energy, etc;
• the traditional services and management sectors.

The Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering prepares students for the following careers (ISTAT DATA):

1. Mechanical technicians – (3.1.3.1.0);
2. Electronic technicians – (3.1.3.4.0);
3. Manufacturing production technicians – (3.1.5.3.0);

Entry requirements

In order to be eligible for the Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Managerial Engineering, students are required to possess a high school diploma or international equivalent. The knowledge of principles of mathematics and physics, usually developed in high school courses, is also mandatory.

The access to the degree of Industrial Managerial Engineering is subjected to a non-binding test, which all students enrolled have to take. Assessment modalities are defined by the regulations of the course of study. If the test is unsuccessful, students will be assigned with additional learning requirements (or OFA, from the Italian equivalent) which can be filled by attending bridge classes. In that regard, Math and Physics courses have been predisposed and uploaded on the elearning platform. Both courses envisage an evaluation test; by passing the test, students fill their OFAs in the area.

Educational aims and course plan outline

The main educational aim of the present degree course is training highly qualified engineering technicians, who are capable of addressing problems and offering the most suitable solutions for the specific industrial economic and social contexts thanks also to a solid scientific and applicative background.

Bachelor’s graduates in Industrial Engineering are engineering technicians with academic education, who are thus capable of designing and developing facilities, products and processes, choosing materials, programming and installing equipments, maintaining and managing departments and production systems, as well as carrying out activities of measurement, check, verification and technical assistance.
Thanks to their acquired skills, bachelor’s graduates in Industrial Engineering are capable of working professionally in manufacturing, as well as in other sectors, such as industrial engineering, service companies and public bodies. Such flexibility in terms of career opportunities stems from the multi-purpose training, which is aimed to deepen and strengthen specific professional fields.

The present degree course has been designed taking into account the range of the professional fields which may benefit from Industrial Engineering. Through a close interaction between the subjects of the degree course, students are trained so as to be capable of ranging from individual parts to whole systems.

Training highly flexible professionals is possible due to 5 educational pathways, which share elements related to products life cycles (namely, designing, choosing materials, producing and managing), methodologies (such as computer-aided designing and producing tools) and integrations with smart functions (measurement, checking, diagnostics).

The degree course envisages the successful completion of 20 exams, a curricular internship and the dissertation of a thesis amounting to 180 CFU/ECTs credits throughout three years. The learning process of graduates in Industrial Engineering comprises two levels:

1. basic training in maths, physics and chemistry (basic subjects);
2. fundamental knowledge of the characterising fields of mechanical engineering and industrial, energetic and managing security procedures, which provide a proper cultural background (characterising subjects).

The degree course also envisages 5 educational pathways to be chosen:

1. “mechanical” – interdisciplinary in nature, this path focuses on innovative materials, production technologies, mechanical design, fluid dynamics, machinery and energetic systems;
2. “managerial” – this path is aimed to provide specific expertise in technologies and processing systems, as well as dimensioning and managing production plants;
3. “electronic” – this path is targeted at addressing matters concerning measurement systems, electronics, automation and their applications in the industrial area;
4. “biomedical” – this path takes into account industrial matters concerning the realisation of biomedical systems;
5. “agroindustrial” – this path is targeted at provide expertise in technologies and processing systems characterising the agri-food sector, as well as in dimensioning and managing systems involved in agri-food production.

Broadly speaking, the degree course envisages for the 5 educational pathways 108 shared CFU/ECTS credits, namely, 54 in the basic subjects and 54 in the characterising subjects. In particular, all educational pathways envisage 54 CFU/ECTs credits in the following basic subjects: geometry (MAT/03), mathematical analysis (MAT/05), informatics (INF/01), physics (FIS/03) e chemistry (CHIM/03). “Electronic” and “biomedical” pathways are also characterised by 6 CFU/ECTs credits aimed at deepening the knowledge of electromagnetism. Additionally, the 5 educational pathways are characterised by 54 shared CFU/ECTs credits in the characterising subjects of mechanical engineering and industrial, energetic and managing security procedures. The characterising disciplines in common are: electronic equipment and systems (ING-IND/08 and ING-IND/09), applied mechanic to machines (ING-IND/13), manufacturing technologies and systems (ING-IND/16), industrial and mechanical plants (ING-IND/17), science and technology of materials (ING-IND/22), electrotechnical (ING-IND/31). Upon completing their educational pathways, students can choose between an enterprise internship and internship at the University, followed by the realisation and dissertation of the thesis.

In summary, the Bachelor’s degree focuses on the following macro-areas:

• specific training in energetic and machinery fields, aimed to provide expertise on industrial processes in different sectors of energetic production and its respectful of the environment exploitation;
• specific training in technology and industrial plants fields, aimed to provide expertise on materials and processes of transformation and mechanic manufacturing of both individual components and whole systems;
• specific training in the designing field, targeted at providing expertise on dimensioning and mechanic design;
• specific training on management, meant to provide methodological expertise on administering industrial processes and technological innovation;
• specific training on electromagnetic fields, electronic and measurement systems, the theory of signals applied to industrial systems.

Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and comprehension skills

The students enrolled in the BA in Industrial Engineering will acquire in-depth knowledge and comprehension of basic scientific disciplines and the ability of applying such acquired skills to understand specific concepts of Industrial Engineering related sciences, with particular attention paid to mechanics, electronics, production and safety.

The aim is to enable Industrial Engineering graduates to interpret, analyse and solve Industrial Engineering typical problems. Knowledge and comprehension skills are acquired through maths, numerical analysis, physics and chemistry courses. Industrial Engineering contents will be learnt through educational activities that are typical of Mechanic Engineering, safety and automation.

The Industrial Engineering course includes the attendance to online and frontal classes, seminars, exercises, tutoring programmes, constant and continuous dialogue with professors and independent study. Laboratories, seminars and speeches held by specific field experts may be part of the course. Internships in research entities and/or private companies can also be included. Students have access to books, lecture notes, multimedia supports, several scheduled teacher meetings. Knowledge acquisition is usually assessed by oral and written exams and/or tests.

Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension skills

Students of Industrial Engineering course will acquire:

• the ability to apply their knowledge and comprehension skills to identify, express and solve Engineering problems using consolidated methods;
• the ability to apply their knowledge and comprehension skills to analyse Engineering products, processes and methods;
• the ability to choose and apply analytical and modelling methods.

Such abilities are mainly acquired by undertaking planned exercises. Knowledge acquisition is usually assessed by oral and written exams and/or tests.

Making judgements

Industrial engineers’ competences include independent judgement, ability to select, elaborate and interpret data, technical and bibliographical information, ability to make the necessary methodological and technical choices to solve project and management problems of average difficulty.

Industrial Engineering graduates will be able to assess cost parameters and performances of mechanical devices, electronic or energetic systems, of processing technologies or industrial processes and to value the results in relation to the choices made. The required techniques for dimensioning, for choosing tools, for evaluating and validating, as well as for technical-economic analysis are mainly tackled in the characterising subjects and reinforced through e-tivities, drills and laboratories.

The course is aimed to develop teamwork skills. Further activities such as internships or final exam preparation can involve a development of judgement and decision making skills.

Communication skills

Graduates in Industrial Managerial Engineering are required to possess the ability to organise their work results in a communicatively efficient manner. Such aim implies the acquisition of technical-scientific writing and speaking skills, also by using modern presentation technologies.

The present course is aimed at facilitating the ability of using technical-scientific jargon in non-specific contexts, in order to make clear presentations, especially in social and business contexts. High level of oral and written competences in Italian language are assumed as already acquired, while further competences are gained and verified throughout the course, by using the appropriate communication techniques, especially during exams (oral, written, essays, etc.).

Learning skills

The Bachelor’s degree course of Industrial Managerial Engineering is organised so as to provide students the necessary training to a prompt entry into employment after graduation and the required learning abilities to access to subsequent studies (master degrees and PhD).
The study plan of the present degree course is organised so as to allow graduates to solve engineering problems of average complexity, through both the methodological rigour distinctive of the basic subjects and the study of specific questions and methodologies concerning the characterising subjects.

The Bachelor’s degree course of Industrial Engineering is designed so as to permit students to develop their learning abilities gradually, moving from developing logical “hypothesis-thesis” reasoning, approaching and solving basic maths, informatics, physics and chemistry problems, until preparing technical engineering reports and solving technical and organisational problems, directly applicable to the labour market.

Writing the dissertation for the final exam represents a fundamental step to develop this skill; during the process, students face new topics, which require further knowledge not necessarily provided by professors.

Final exam

The Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering is earned after passing a final exam. The final exam consists of the preparation and presentation of an original Thesis, which can be theoretical, practical, mixed or project-like. How to present the thesis will be defined by the programme regulation of the course.