University of Groningen

MSc in Mechanical Engineering

Digital technology, Artificial Intelligence and data science are integral and essential parts of the 21st-century mechanical engineering discipline. 21st-century mechanical engineers must be versed in both the classical design and construction of complex mechanical systems, as well as the physical, mathematical and digital representation and analysis of these systems.

At the Faculty of Science and Engineering, we offer students a Master's degree programme in Mechanical Engineering that fits the needs of digital technology and digital society. The university is a unique place where engineering, natural sciences and social sciences meet to tackle urgent societal challenges. It prepares students for an international digital and high-tech career in industry.

The close collaboration with the Innovation Cluster Drachten, a cluster of high-tech companies in the north Netherlands, offers students a unique opportunity to be part of research and development teams where innovative high-tech systems, products and solutions are developed using cutting edge technologies. Some exemplary Mechanical Engineering design projects are the development of hydrogen refuelling tank systems at Resato B.V., sensor systems for radio astronomical applications at ASTRON, robotic and data analytic solutions for the production and quality monitoring of consumer products at Philips Drachten, mechatronics and robotics solutions for medical lab equipment at BD Kiestra B.V., along with many others. The programme plays a central role in the Smart Industry Hub of North Netherlands, in the Offshore Wind Innovation Centre, and in the smart and green mobility centre of Hive. Mobility as well as in a number of other engineering initiatives in renewable energies and in smart and circular economies.

Mechanical Engineering in Groningen has a long-running tradition of top research. Exemplary research projects: nano- and microfabrication technology and advanced material at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (ZIAM); 3D metal printer, smart micro sensor and actuator systems, the Ocean Grazer project, smart energy systems, collaborative multi-robotic systems, digital twin and systems & control at the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG); advanced instrumentation systems at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute (KAI); and fuel-cell and hydrogen conversion at the Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG) & ENTEG.

The mission of the master’s degree programme in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Groningen is:

To train and prepare students to apply principles of engineering, science and mathematics in the modelling, analysis, design and realization of physical systems, components and processes; special focus is on advanced instrumentation, smart factories, and smart & green energy savers.

Main compulsory courses

• Computational Solid Mechanics
• Introduction to Data Science
• Experimental Design

Advanced instrumentation

With the track-specific compulsory courses on Basic Detection Techniques, Analysis and Control of Smart Systems, and Advanced Instrumentation and Extreme Environments, you will learn the fundamental of detection technologies, gain knowledge on control systems that are crucial for high-precision of advanced instrumentation and understand state-of-the-art technologies in advanced instrumentation that can function under extreme environment, such as cryogenic, ultra-high vacuum or high temperature.

Additionally, in the advanced instrumentation track, you have the opportunity to follow five elective courses out of more than twenty elective courses. Examples of electives in this track include Space Mission Technology, Bio-signal Processing for Human-Machine Interaction, Advanced Detection Techniques, Microfluidics, Advanced Vibration, Applied Optics, Opto-mechatronics, Medical Imaging Instrumentation, and many more.

Smart factories

Through the track-specific compulsory courses on Robotics, Advanced Processing for Complex Materials and Analysis and Control of Smart Systems, you will gain knowledge of crucial technology for smart factories in the era of Industry 4.0. You will learn the fundamentals of robotics and its control, understand techniques and methods relevant for the processing of advanced and complex materials used in high-tech systems, and learn control systems required for the realization of smart factories.

Within this track, you will be able to specialize in Materials for Mechanical Engineering or in Robotics, Mechatronics & Smart Systems. In each specialization, you will be able to choose five elective courses out of more than twenty elective courses. Examples of electives in this track include Multibody and Nonlinear Dynamics, Robotics for AI, Smart Materials for Engineering, Opto-mechatronics, Fracture of Materials, Metamaterials, Fitting Dynamical Models to Data, Data-driven Optimization and many more.

Smart and Green Energy Systems

The track-specific compulsory courses on Thermodynamics of Energy Conversion, Introduction to Electrochemical Engineering, and Advanced Process and Energy Technologies allow the students to understand the fundamentals of the thermodynamics involved in the energy conversion of smart and green energy systems, to learn various advances in electrochemical engineering involved in batteries, electrolysers and fuel cells, and to gain state-of-the-art knowledge of process and energy technologies.

You will be able to choose five elective courses out of more than fifteen elective courses which allow you to specialize in processes and electrochemical systems or in renewable energy systems. Examples of electives in this track include Microfluidics, Hydrogen, Fuels and Electrolysers, Fuel-Cell Systems, Capita Selecta in Smart Grid, Capita Selecta in Ocean Energy, and many more.

Why study this programme in Groningen?

• Unique tracks in Advanced Instrumentation, Smart Factories and Smart and Green Energy Systems, with state-of-the-art facilities both on campus as well as at the high-tech industrial partners in the north of the Netherlands
• Education provided by researchers from the world's top-ranked research institutes: the Automation and Control field has been ranking consistently in the top 20 according to the Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects
• Internship possibilities at local high-tech companies or abroad
• The University of Groningen has defined Energy and Sustainability as two important societal themes in which Engineering & Technology and Artificial Intelligence are intertwined with researchers in social sciences, business and economics and legal & regulations. Furthermore, the university plays a key role in the EU energy transition agenda to mitigate climate change through large-scale hydrogen transition activities and renewable energy and is an academic partner of the New Energy Academy and Centre of Expertise Energy.