Overview
The Bachelor's degree programme in applied polymer engineering (ape) at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt comprises 7 semesters of study
(6 theoretical and 1 practical).
The first stage of the programme, known as the foundation course, consists of two theoretical semesters. In this phase, students are taught basic mathematical, scientific and engineering knowledge, thus laying the foundation for an in-depth engineering education. They also have the opportunity to gain their first practical experience in the working world as part of a pre-study work placement.
The rest of the programme consists of four theoretical semesters and one practical semester. Here, students are mainly offered lecture subjects specific to plastics and elastomers. Numerous laboratories are available for important subject areas, in which the student has the opportunity to carry out practical experiments independently in order to consolidate the lecture content and exercises. Every student has to complete a number of such compulsory practicals accompanying lectures. This ensures that what is learnt in theory is underpinned by practical experience. The practical semester (as the 5th semester of study) must be completed in an industrial company. It serves to familiarise the student with engineering work in a company in the plastics or elastomer industry. This is followed by two further theory semesters. At the end of the degree programme, the student completes a Bachelor's thesis, which is intended to demonstrate their ability to work independently and in an engineering manner.
The "general engineering" range of subjects (e.g. measurement and control technology, design and machine elements, engineering informatics, etc.) provides students with a solid engineering education that enables them to communicate on an equal footing with engineers from other disciplines and to familiarise themselves with peripheral areas of their actual field of activity in a short space of time. Thanks to non-engineering subjects (e.g. English for engineers and business administration), which are also firmly anchored in the curriculum, the plastics engineer is also equipped for international tasks in terms of communication and can apply business management skills.
In addition, however, certain course contents should be particularly emphasised, as they belong to the core disciplines of plastics engineering and are therefore of central importance in the aplied polymer engineering degree programme:
One focus of the training is on materials science and testing as well as the chemical structure of plastics and elastomers. The structure and properties of polymers and their physical, chemical and mechanical testing are dealt with thoroughly and comprehensively.
Another important core discipline is the processing of plastics and elastomers, their influence on product quality and their component and mould design. The various processing methods are covered in detail; an injection mould must be designed with the aid of modern IT programs (3D CAD, Moldflow).
The surface finishing of plastics, particularly with vacuum and plasma-assisted processes, is playing an increasingly important role in industrial plastics processing, as it enables very high-quality components to be produced at low cost. Lectures and practical courses in this field are therefore a standard part of the curriculum.
The calculation and design of and with fibre-reinforced plastics must also be mentioned as a core competence of our degree programme. Knowledge of the special properties and characteristics of fibre-reinforced composite constructions is particularly important, as such highly resilient and extremely lightweight structures are becoming increasingly important in the engineering landscape, and application-oriented teaching provides students with an education based on scientific knowledge and methods that enables graduates to work independently and as qualified engineers in plastics and elastomer technology. Particular emphasis is placed on the practical relevance of the course content and a balanced relationship between theory and practice. Thanks to their comprehensive and wide-ranging training, students are able to begin their professional careers in a wide variety of areas such as the application, sales, project management, processing, design, development and testing of plastics, plastic composite systems and elastomers. Close contact with industry and commercial enterprises also ensures that the degree programme and course content match the requirements of the market in terms of training and qualification profile. This makes the degree programme particularly attractive and interesting for students. The industry thus receives a plastics technology engineer who is optimally trained according to its requirements and wishes. The high demand for engineers in plastics engineering and the positive feedback from industry on the previous diploma programme, which forms the basis for this bachelor's concept, can be seen as confirmation of a successfully implemented training system.