German Doctoral Studies in Engineering — An International Perspective

Abstract

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to speak at this important colloquium on the international perspective for doctoral studies in engineering in Germany. It is very interesting and timely to consider the developments in Germany in recent years. I have reviewed the twelve recommendations of acatech¹ and the perspective that I bring is that from the United Kingdom and primarily from Ireland rather than from the United States. But I believe it is a somewhat representative view of the Anglo-Saxon system. In the case of my university, which is University College Dublin, Ireland, we have introduced a structured PhD programme (see figure 1) in recent years. After twelve to fifteen months a transfer assessment of the student takes place — this represents the first stage of the PhD programme. Stage two then continues followed by a final assessment. A PhD programme takes approximately four years. We did not hear much about the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) as yet in this symposium — we award 240 credits for the research component of the PhD programme. In addition there are taught elements to the PhD programme. We also have a doctoral studies panel and so the supervisor is not the sole academic involved in the PhD programme. A plan for research and professional development also forms a part of the PhD programme. These are the main elements of the structured PhD at University College Dublin. The panel examining the PhD thesis does not include the supervisor of the work and so the supervisor does not have any influence on the examination.

At the TU Berlin, he also undertook the German doctor’s degree Dr.-Ing. In 1993, he took up the chair of mechanical engineering at the University College Dublin, where he is the College Principal for Engineering and Architecture, the Dean of Engineering and the Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Science Research Centre. Byrne is a former president of the Collège International pour l’Étude Scientifices des Techniques de Production Méchanique (C.I.R.P.) and a former president of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and of the Irish Academy of Engineering. Moreover, he is a member of the National Academy of Science and Engineering Germany and of the academies of engineering in Ireland and Great Britain.