Product Development, MSc

Programme description

Product development is both an organisational and a technological challenge. It requires identifying needs, making decisions under uncertainty, balancing objectives, and combining materials, digital tools, and engineering knowledge, to create genuinely useful, valuable products. The programme prepares you for the full span of that process, and the entire lifecycle of products.

The opening courses include product development management, and advanced CAD, as well as AI in digital geometric modelling. A course in product planning then addresses how needs and market opportunities are identified and structured into development decisions.

A central part of the programme is a major product development project. For this you will work in teams of around 6 students, from different educational backgrounds. The first step is identifying an initial need or technological opportunity, using methods such as needs elicitation and conceptual design. Then, your team develops and evaluates solutions before moving into physical prototyping. The project follows the same ‘control gate’ structure used in industry, with regular design reviews where you present your results for approval. The final outcome of the project includes presenting physical prototypes, computer models and a business assessment. This work is supervised by both research staff and external industry partners from local and international companies.

After these foundations, you will have the chance to pursue elective courses within different specialisations, depending on what most interests you.

Chalmers has long-standing collaborations with many relevant industry partners in Gothenburg and beyond, including the Volvo group, GKN Aerospace, Husqvarna, IKEA and more, including startups, smaller companies and healthcare providers like nearby Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The content of the programme is informed and updated by industry practices, and external partners are involved in the design and delivery of the education. This means there are ample opportunities to make early career contacts through these networks, and you may be able to complete your master’s thesis together with an external partner.

Job opportunities

There is high demand for engineers who can conceive, design, and realise products from start to finish across many industries. As an example, the Volvo group's global technology and product development organisation employs nearly 10,000 people, around 10% of its global workforce.

Graduates typically go on to work in sectors such as the automotive, healthcare, and consumer goods industries. This includes roles such as product and project manager, design engineer, or innovation consultant, at companies like Scania, IKEA, Electrolux, ABB, as well as engineering consultancies like Semcon and Afry. Chalmers has connections with many of these companies and organisations, and you may be able to complete your master’s thesis together with one of them.

Another possibility during your studies is to apply for ‘Chalmers Teknologkonsulter’. This is an organisation where students work part time as industry consultants, and are often in contact with local partners to provide their expertise. This is an excellent opportunity for you to gain early career experience.

The programme also provides an ideal foundation for further studies at the doctoral level.

Research

Research at several departments at Chalmers feeds directly into the programme’s content. The Department of Industrial and Materials Science contributes expertise in areas like systems design, geometry assurance and robustness, and applied AI. Much of this work is connected to the Wingquist Laboratory, a Chalmers competence centre where researchers and industry partners collaborate on digital product realisation.

The Department of Technology Management and Economics has a focus on the organisational side of things, like how organisations nurture their capacity for innovation, and leadership in digital transformations. This is particularly relevant for the innovation management specialisation.

The Centre for Additive Manufacture Metal (CAM2) works with diverse areas like mega-casting, structural batteries, and polymer recycling. Chalmers also carries out research into micro and nanoscale materials, including graphene and biomaterials. These are the kind of advances that are reshaping what is possible in product design.

All these research areas feed directly into the content of the programme, and help provide a natural stepping stone to studies at doctoral level.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in: Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management, Production Engineering, Product Design Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Automotive Engineering

Prerequisites: Mathematics (at least 24 cr. including Linear Algebra, Multivariable Analysis, Numerical Analysis and Mathematical Statistics or Probability Theory), Mechanics, Strength of Materials or Solid Mechanics, Engineering Materials, Product Development (including Machine Design or Design Methodology), Industrial Economics, Control Theory or Automatic Control or Mechatronics, Programming

English language requirements: Prove your English proficiency

How to apply