Bachelor's Degree Programme in Mechanical Engineering
Key learning outcomes
Do you want to be involved in planning products that support sustainable development and their production? In other words: do you want to do very important work? A mechanical engineer does it every day. Jamk's degree programme, which meets the international EUR-ACE quality criteria, enables you to do so.
Machines are needed to promote and support everyone's well-being. Easy-to-use and safe machines are one of today's most important sources of well-being. Affordable and high-quality production guarantees this source of well-being for most people and promotes sustainable development. In Jamk's mechanical engineering degree programme, you are trained to design and develop these machines and equipment as well as high-quality production. Depending on your specialisation, you graduate in product development and design or production technology. Through your personal learning plan, you can also specialise in industrial engineering and management, entrepreneurship or new emerging technologies.
After graduating as a mechanical engineer, you work with the design and introduction of the latest technologies in engineering workshops or in various tasks in product development and design of machinery and equipment.
After graduating, you have a clear idea of your learning, your possibilities of influencing sustainable development, and the importance of continuing your studies in working life. You are familiar with and know how to utilise the methods and software used in working life. Adopting new things in the field is quick and easy for you. You grow into a strong problem solver.
Education content and professional growth and know-how
Typically, you apply your competence to the actual environment as far as possible in your project and exercise assignments. You also have the opportunity to participate in our different research or development projects. Thanks to the extensive international cooperation network of the degree programme, you can collaborate with international students in some studies and projects. This contributes to your internationalisation skills, which are increasingly needed in the work of a mechanical engineer. You can also complete studies, a practical training, a thesis or a double degree at foreign partner institutes. The thesis, practical training and some studies can also be completed in foreign companies.
In the product development specialisation, you learn machine design and user-centred planning in particular. Similarly, you learn how to scale machinery, its components and equipment with modern software.
After graduating from production technology, your strengths include the development and problem solving methods of different production systems and networks. You learn to utilise production automation and sustainable manufacturing processes in addition to traditional ones. This specialisation also gives you competence in developing the maintenance of the machinery and equipment of modern companies. You learn what responsible production is and take it into account in your solutions.
Flexible studies
In full-time studies, you follow the weekly workflow which includes plenty of contact teaching in classrooms and laboratory facilities, although you can also complete some of the studies online. In addition, you have independent exercises and assignments (alone or in groups).
Participation in part-time studies requires that you have the skills to operate in digital learning environments. In part-time studies, you can flexibly combine independent studying and online and classroom work to reduce time and place dependency. This form of studying requires more independence from you. This form of studying is suitable for those who have previous competence in the field or, due to your life situation, you want more flexibility with regard to the time or place of completing the studies.
The product development specialisation can only be completed as full-time studies. In production technology, on the other hand, studies are part-time studies. The first two academic years include the same courses regardless of the specialisation. During the third year of your studies, you study specialised advanced professional studies in accordance with your chosen specialisation. After the second academic year, it is still possible to change your specialisation if there are no major differences in the group sizes of the specialisation options. In addition, you must meet the requirements for studying in the form dictated by the specialisation.
You can choose your alternative or elective studies from EduFutura partner institutions (University of Jyväskylä and Gradia) and international studies from European EUDRES higher education institutions. You can also choose from Finnish and foreign partner universities, such as other universities of applied sciences and universities. You can apply for accreditation of higher education studies that you have completed elsewhere.
Working life oriented learning
The working life orientation manifests as visits to companies in the local area, i.e. potential future jobs. Later, you will have the possibility to participate in projects and exercises in which assignments received from companies are resolved. Guest lecturers from companies present the latest practices in the field. Exercises in vocational subjects and laboratory work correspond as much as possible to the work tasks in working life.
The studies include a practical training, which you complete in your field's work tasks. This gives you a good idea of the work tasks of a recent engineering graduate. At the end of the studies, you write a thesis. Most of the thesis topics are development tasks for companies. They are often also written at the premises of companies.
At Jamk, the operating model for working life-orientated and student-orientated learning is Jamk Future Factory®. It brings together business actors, students, Jamk specialists and working life-orientated LAB and other learning environments. In addition to multidisciplinary and working life oriented project studies, it offers the opportunity to develop your future working life skills, career path and important working life networks.
Studification is also an opportunity for working life-orientated learning. It means combining work, project studies, Future Factory, or similar activities with studies. You draw up a studification plan and document your activities as agreed with the teacher.
Career opportunities and employment
The degree programme prepares you for industrial production development and expert tasks or various product development and design tasks. Since the studies during the first two academic years have the same content, it gives you good prerequisites to study the second area of specialisation later, if you wish. Companies appreciate this. The degree programme provides you with entrepreneurship skills and, as your track record accumulates, skills for supervisory tasks.
Graduates of the production technology specialisation have found employment in production development and control tasks and, as their track record accumulates, in the management tasks of production and its development.
Product development graduates have found employment in product development and machinery design roles and, with experience, supervisory and leadership tasks in product development and design.
With complementary studies, you have the chance to acquire targeted competence in various tasks, such as supporting procurement.
Qualifications
There are no specific degree-related or statutory qualification requirements in the field.
Further studies
You may, after graduating and gaining at least two years of work experience, apply for a master's degree level education. You can continue your studies by applying for e.g. Master's degree programmes in universities, vocational teacher education or Master's degree programmes abroad. The university of applied sciences offers opportunities for competence development in various institutes, such as the open university of applied sciences, specialisation training and work-oriented continuing education.
Education planning
The aim of the degree programme in Mechanical Engineering is to produce engineers that meet the needs of trade and industry. With that in mind, the competence targets of the degree programme have been determined based on the current and future needs of trade and industry, with the help of corporate employees, students, industry experts and public studies on future trends. The Head of Department is, together with the Programme Coordinator, responsible for resource management and monitoring the progress of the planning process for competence targets.
The competence targets are updated by a work group consisting of teachers of the degree programmes. The members of the group negotiate with representatives of trade and industry in their respective fields on competence needs in the labour market. The group then compiles the competence targets and defines them for the degree programme.
The competence targets are divided into competence areas and their internal competences and included in the degree programme structure as different study modules and courses included in them. Jamk’s Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's degree) is a degree programme that meets the requirements of the international EUR-ACE accreditation criteria, which is visible e.g. in determining the competences of different competence areas.
The competence targets are considered by the advisory board, which consists of representatives of business life, student members and the head of department and the programme coordinator.
Contact Information
Petri Luosma
Senior Lecturer, Industrial Engineering
+358407468605
firstname.lastname@jamk.fi