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European Project Semester
The European Project Semester trains students to work together, providing tools and competence to realise ideas
What is EPS?
In an EPS, an international team of students work on a real-life project, that matches their area of study and field of interest. The project is supported by a study programme. EPS is hosted by Copenhagen University College of Engineering at the Export Engineering Department.
The language of communication is English. Students receive an international certificate upon successful completion of EPS. Furthermore they can obtain full credit (30 ECTS) according to the European Credit Transfer System, ECTS.
The EPS programme starts autumn and spring. Some courses are also available as part of Summer School
Who can participate in EPS?
The EPS projects focus on international teamwork, and therefore it is important that students have a solid academic background. Students should therefore have completed at least 4 semesters. It is also important that the students have good proficiency in English.
As the nature of the EPS is interdisciplinary, students from a broad variety of disciplines have participated, not only from engineering disciplines but also from business and marketing disciplines or areas of study that can be involved in a real-life engineering project.
Why was EPS designed?
Many observers consider that our present model of an engineering graduate needs some adjustment in order to satisfy industry’s requirements. Engineers must be capable of dealing with frequent and unexpected changes.
They usually acquire a good basic
knowledge of engineering, economics and management. However, they also
require training in a broader range of disciplines such as
international communication, teamwork skills and languages.
With the expansion of the European Union it is likely that mobility of
labour will increase. Many engineers will work in more than one
country, often on a short-term basis. To work in a foreign country
involves many skills.
In order to teach these, we have set up a European Project Semester designed to train engineering students to work in international teams.
The structure of the programme
The EPS semester is divided into two parts:
1. A study programme comprising short intensive courses, taught by
international teachers
2. A project-based period developing student initiative and individual
creativity. Here international teams of four to six students work
together on multidisciplinary projects that develop their co-operation
and communication skills considerably. Projects are chosen and provided
by Danish and international companies.
Subjects
The following subjects are included in the study programme:
The subjects are chosen to augment the work being done on the Industrial Project. They are taught by staff of the host university and visiting lecturers from the participating institutions.
Lauguage (English and Danish) count 4 ECTS, the project counts 21 ECTS and all the other subjects count 5 ECTS.
Programme contents
The semester prepares students to be part of a multi-context environment. The problems need to be solved irrespective of nationality and culture, and in this way the term adds versatile academic ballast.
The courses are taught partly by professors from the Engineering College of Copenhagen and partly by international guest professors.
See table which
summarizes the activities
- please note, that the autum semester typically covers 16 weeks
whereas the spring semester typically lasts for 17 weeks due to spring
holidays.
Academic recognition and Assessment
Academic recognition
Universities that would like to send students to a European Project Semester (EPS), should ensure that the EPS is an acknowledged part of their curriculum. Please require further details if necessary.
The semester is a recognized 30-credit unit course under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).The project work involved amounts to 25 credit units, and short intensive courses cover the remaining points.
Assessment
Marks are derived from the following
sources:
| Project |
• An individual, oral presentation.
|
||
| The study program: |
• Evaluation of student participation in the study program courses and various assignments |
Companies that have participated in EPS projects
Below you can see some of the companies that have participated with EPS-projects.
| Anhydro (Process equipment) | APV (Process equipment) |
| Batec (Solar heating) | Cenergia (Energy friendly buildings) |
| Chr. Hansen (Bacteria cultures & enzymes) | Club La Santa (Sports hotel) |
| Dansk Beton Teknik | DELTA, Danish Electronics, Light & Acustics |
| FLSmidth Automation | Grundfos DK (Pumps) |
| Haldor Topsøe (Catalysts) | Hamworthy Svanehøj (Pumps) |
| Helsinki Polytechnic | Inter-Acción (Spanish NGO) |
| Medtronic | Nilfisk Advance (Vacuum cleaners) |
| Nordjysk Folkecenter (Renewable energy) | Novo |
| Novo Nordisk Engineering | RUF International (Transportation system) |
| Sanovo Solutions (Process technology) | Scandic Hotel Group |
| Siemens Windpower | Skako Comessa (Vibro-transport systems) |
| Sony Danmark | Universidad Politécnica de Valencia |
| Wave Dragon (Wave energy) | Weishaupt (Heating systems) |
Project Examples
Examples of projects presented ind the EPS programme:
- Web-shop solution
- Web-site for Gastroprocess Technologies
- Marketing study for Gastroprocess Technologies
- Automation of industrial processes & system integration
- Efficient @business-business on demand
- Wave Dragon
- Drive system for Rapid Urban Flexible
- An allergy-friendly vacuum cleaner
- High level control applications
- e-learning needs for simulation product
- Solar heating system for Scandic Hotel Glostrup
- Development of a wireless communication system for swimmers
- Development of a spectrum analyser
- Solar heating system for “Station Nord”
FAQ - Frequently
Asked Questions
See the most frequently asked quesions by both students and lectures