Transportation Engineering

In present days, industrial systems are under pressure due to growing demand, competition, a lack of space and the environment. Consumers however, expect industrial systems; transport- and production systems in particular, to be safe, flexible, efficient and reliable. To fulfil these expectations, systems with new logistic concepts and organisational structures are needed. The challenges for students of ‘Transportation Engineering and Logistics’ (TEL) lays in designing, developing and controlling these systems.

In  September 2012, within the MSc-track ‘ Transportation Engineering’, the specialisations ‘Transportation Engineering and Logistics’ (TEL) and  ‘Production Engineering and Logistics’ (PEL) were joined and now exist as TEL. This integration has led to a firm basis for any upcoming engineer. A TEL-student is able to analyse and describe processes in a structured way, hereby creating an overview and improving processes, on a logistic and technical area.

Master

To be able to design the industrial systems of the future, you learn a set of new skills within the TEL-master. For example, you learn how to optimize industrial organisations with the use of the Delft Systems Approach, a method based on the experience of big production companies as Stork Fokker and Unilever. You also learn the theory behind container- and bulk terminals, how to simulate and automate systems and how to design transport equipment. This obligatory part of the master is 45 ECTS in the first year. The remaining 15 ECTS are used for electives.

The second year consists of a literature assignment of 10 ECTS, an individual assignment of 15 ECTS and a graduation assignment of 35 ECTS. The individual assignment can be an internship, design assignment, simulation or research. Graduating usually happens within a company. Popular companies are the Port of Rotterdam, Post NL, Unilever and Heineken. Of course a career in research within the TU Delft is also possible.

Study association

‘Dispuut Transportkunde Pandora’ is the study association for the specialisation TEL. The association forms the link between students, professors, industry and the alumni.

Every year the new students form a tight relationship, the ‘jaarring’. To create this group the association organises excursions, cases, drinks, symposia and lectures with industry. The last year, we visited, for example, the Port of Rotterdam, Royal HaskoningDHV, Unilever and the mine of RWE in Germany. At the start of the study year, an introduction of two days is organised for new students. Three times a year, our magazine ‘ NetwerkNieuws’ is published for students and alumni. Finally, the association yearly organises a study tour, where interesting companies are visited. This year we will visit the Czech Republic.

There is room for a large range of students within TEL. We are looking forward to an enthusiastic new group of students. After two years, they will be able to systematically analyse problems, think of technically founded solutions and present them. This leads to the fact that TEL students are able to enter the business world very easily and are therefore wanted by a lot of companies.