Industrial Asset Management - Master of Science Degree Programme

Industrial Asset Management brings a modern practical twist to the technical education, where students have the opportunities to develop their professional qualifications combining technical engineering, operational, and managerial disciplines related to modern industrial assets. The term "asset" for instance includes, industrial plants and facilities, energy production and distribution systems, manufacturing and processing, industrial systems and technical equipment, industrial processes, civil structures and infrastructure, transportation systems, medical and health care systems, etc. both in public and private sectors.

With a Master degree in Industrial Asset Management, students can acquire higher educational qualifications that are much in demand both in public and private industrial sectors.

Industrial Asset Management is a multidisciplinary study programme that combines practically oriented technical disciplines, for instance; industrial assets and modern uncertainties, decision analysis and processes, smart operations and maintenance, industrial logistics, condition monitoring and predictive analytics, asset economics, project management, modelling and simulation of performance dynamics, human-technology-organization, risk analysis, practical industrial training, etc. that can provide the new generation of graduates with core competencies for challenging and competitive careers.

The Master program Industrial asset management has two specializations, namely; the Specialization in Asset engineering and digitalization processes, and the Specialization in Sustainable assets and Smart operations. This Master program admits students who have bachelor degrees in engineering disciplines, as well as students who have bachelor degrees in non-engineering disciplines.

In general, graduate students will be qualified to participate in a range of engineering and operational tasks, both in the private and public sectors. As the study programme combines selected disciplines, they will be able to resolve challenges on advanced engineering and operational levels even outside their specialisation area in cooperation with experts from various other fields. Hence, the graduates will be qualified for many attractive job positions in modern land-based and offshore industrial sectors, as well as in the public sector.

The master's programme is an international study programme, and hence all courses are taught in English.

Programme content, structure and composition

The Study programme comprises 120 credits (ECTS) in total. In each Specialization, 70 ECTS points are mandatory courses, 20 ECTS points are elective courses, and 30 ECTS points cover the master’s thesis.

The coursework in the Study program in general consists of lectures, seminars, project assignments, group work, obligatory and voluntary exercises, and laboratory work.

The department offers a list of recommended and other elective courses. Elective courses beyond these must be approved by the department. In general, students will have considerable freedom to choose appropriate elective courses depending on personal interests and career opportunities. The students themselves must check that they have the basic knowledge and fulfil any prerequisites to be able to take these courses.

The master's thesis project can be done either at UiS or in cooperation with the industry. Majority of our students base their master's thesis on practical industrial issues in different organisations.

The University of Stavanger aims to offer all its programmes as planned, but the courses must still be subjected to the availability of resources and a more than a minimum number of student admissions. The content and extent of the programme and individual courses can also be changed over time due to changes in the subject environment, the use of new technology, new practices and theories, and general societal changes.

Through the master's programme in Industrial Asset Management, we aim to directly address several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by preparing future industry leaders with expertise on optimizing asset efficiency in the digital era, reducing societal impact and environmental footprint, and fostering sustainable practices. Our program aligns mainly with; Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), and Quality Education (SDG 4).

Learning outcomes

After having completed the master programme in Industrial Asset Management, the student shall have acquired the following learning outcomes, in terms of knowledge, skills and general competences:

Knowledge

K1: The candidate has advanced and interdisciplinary knowledge within industrial assets in the public and private sectors.

K2: The candidate has thorough and relevant knowledge on advanced, complex, and integrated nature of modern industrial assets w.r.t. new challenges and opportunities

K3: The candidate has thorough and relevant knowledge related to issues within their chosen field of specialization within Industrial assets.

K4: The candidate has knowledge of engineering, operations, and management of industrial assets that can be used for analysis, development, and innovation in new areas of practical and/or theoretical importance.

K5: The candidate has the ability to analyse practical or academic problems related to industrial assets based on history, traditions, and industrial and societal needs.

Skills

S1: The candidate can analyse existing theories, methods, and interpretations related to industrial assets and work independently with general practical and theoretical problem solving.

S2: The candidate can independently identify, map, analyse and communicate challenging issues based on relevant theories, practices, and modern understanding within their chosen field of specialization in Industrial assets.

S3: The candidate can use relevant methods and knowledge for research and professional development in an independent manner.

S4: The candidate can analyse and relate critically to various sources of information and use them to structure and formulate practical and/or academic arguments related to engineering, operations, and management of industrial assets.

S5: The candidate may conduct an independent, limited research or development project under supervision and in accordance with current research ethical standards related to engineering, operational, and managerial aspects.

General Competence

G1: The candidate can analyse relevant practical, academic, and research ethical challenges and be eligible to participate in the development and implementation of new technologies, methods, and principles for industrial assets.

G2: The candidate can apply knowledge and skills in new areas to carry out advanced tasks and projects related to industrial assets.

G3: The candidate can communicate comprehensive work professionally and independently, and master terminology, language, and expressions related to industrial assets.

G4: The candidate can communicate professional issues, as well as analyses and conclusions in the field, both with specialists and the general public.

G5: The candidate can contribute to new thinking and innovation processes in advanced, complex, and integrated industrial assets in all life cycle phases.

Career prospects

This multi-disciplinary study programme qualifies the graduates for challenging careers in modern private industry and public organizations, where reliability and availability, operational safety and security, cost exposure, digitalization, societal impact, and environmental footprint play critical roles in terms of value ​​creation and risk mitigation.

Since the core of the master programme consists of disciplines that are practically oriented, our graduate students can qualify for many attractive job positions in both the land-based and offshore industry, as well as in the public sector. The multi-disciplinary content of the study programme will also enable the students to resolve challenges at advanced engineering, operational, and managerial levels even outside their specialisation area in cooperation with experts from various other fields.

In general, the graduates will be well qualified towards many career opportunities in a range of organizations, inclusive of; facility/plant owners or operators, service and technology providers, engineering contractors, consultants, authorities, as well as public institutions who are involved in various types of industrial assets. The target sectors can include, for instance, energy production and distribution, manufacturing, civil structures and infrastructure, offshore systems and platforms, processing facilities, industrial and public services, transportation sector, medical services and health care, industrial technologies, supply chain and logistics, aviation, maritime, and a wide variety of other industries. Many will also have interesting job opportunities within research, education, or in the public sector devoted to control, regulation, policies, and law enforcement related to various industrial sectors.

A candidate with a completed master's degree in Industrial Asset Management with a minimum average grade of B for courses and a grade of A or B for Master thesis may qualify for admission to an engineering/technical PhD programme at the University of Stavanger.

Course assessment

The schemes for quality assurance and evaluation of studies are stipulated in the Quality System for Education.