Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department Master of Science in Engineering Management

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15 February 2010 | Qatar University

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department

Master of Science in Engineering Management

Background

Today’s technological society is constantly changing and this change brings along the need for engineering managers who can address the technology that is driving the business today and the technology that will change the business in the future. Qualified Engineers with excellent techno-managerial skills and superior business acumen are needed to lead Corporate Qatar in the next decade.

As economy grows, it becomes increasingly global. In this economy, product and process technologies advance at a faster pace. As a result, the handling of enterprises becomes more complex and imposes new difficulties.

Challenges appear in the areas of Product & Process engineering, design constraints, Technology/materials considerations, operations planning hassles, utilities management, environmental & safety constraints. These challenges need to be dealt with a deeper and higher scale. Consequently, all progressive companies will need technically trained managers cum engineers to handle these engineering challenges. This proposal aims at developing a Masters program in Engineering Management as an answer by QU for increasing importance/ growing need of this field.

This program is designed to prepare professionals for the Qatari industrial world at levels higher than those requiring an undergraduate degree, and at the same time it will prepare them for doing advanced research.

The program is suited to students seeking advanced credentials for the better employment in industry. Also, professionals and experts can upgrade their skills and credentials. The program is an afternoon/evening program tailored towards providing continuing education opportunities for the working professionals. It is designed around three tracks:

 Logistics and Supply Chain Track  Operations Track.

 Construction Track.

We also have plans to offer a new track on “Energy and Utility Management” within 2-3 years of operation.

The program is designed to accept students with undergraduate engineering degrees in Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial, Civil, Electrical and Computer programs. Students with undergraduate degrees in other engineering programs which are related to the previous engineering discipline can also be considered for admission to this program.

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1 15 February 2010 | Qatar University

Rational: Why Master of Science in Engineering Management by QU?

The following points form the rationale for offering a master program in engineering management by the MIE department at QU:

According to the vision 2030 of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, the state should be seen as knowledge based economy. Two of the important growth areas for Qatar are Resources Management & Networks and Engineering and Technology. These two areas necessitate that the state of Qatar needs qualified engineering managers for key sectors such as:

 Infra-structure management and construction sector.  Gas & Petroleum processing and logistics sector.  Utilities and power /Energy sector.

 Materials, metallurgy / mineral processing sector.

All the above sectors primarily deal with engineering and project type of situations where a number of design and engineering changes, design constraints, technology/materials considerations, operations planning hassles, resource management, environmental, safety and recycling/waste disposal constraints are dealt with at a deeper and higher scale. A formally trained engineering manager can address these needs in a better way.

 Qatar is in the process of developing its own capable resource base. This requires fundamental change in thinking and implementation expertise. This even requires altogether new types of technically qualified leadership and engineering/technically sound communications. The engineering management (EM) program is intended to definitely boost the quality of technical managers.  Preliminary market analyses clearly suggest that there is a strong demand for

graduate studies in engineering management in Qatar.

 The program is in line with the Qatar’s recent emphasis on research and application based education to build and achieve sustained growth and development of Qatar society.

 This is one of the first initiatives in Qatar to study engineering management.  The program will provide the students with the opportunity for higher study;

hence, promoting the objective of 'lifelong learning'.

 The program is expected to assist greatly in building a potential feeder stream of students to various projects in Qatar. The program could be the first breeding ground to produce potential engineering managers in Qatar.

 The program aims for excellence in teaching and learning, with significant contributions to the engineering management areas that have regional, national, and international importance. Hence, QU would align itself with the vision of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, who has recently stressed the need for more research by kindly allocating 2.8% of the country's revenue to support research. The proposed program not only addresses the research and higher learning needs of Qatari society, it also supports application in Qatari industrial world. Thus it is expected that Qatar will benefit from the research and applications point of view.

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The Global and Regional Scenario for a Separate EM and MBA.

The proposed program is fundamentally different from MBAs. MBA programs are designed to help prepare people for management roles while focusing on general business and managerial aspects rather than leveraging the technical background. However, in today’s world, corporations also demand managers with strong technical backgrounds. The structure of the EM program is unique as it helps the engineers become a more effective technical specialist and strengthens its ability to lead people and projects. As a specialist, the engineer becomes more effective through understanding how his or her engineering skills can best support the goals of the organization and its customers. In addition, the trained engineering manager becomes uniquely qualified for two types of positions: management of technical functions and the management of broader functions in the high-technology enterprise.

The world trend in graduate education suggests that MBA and EM programs are not supplementary but complementary to each other. There are many universities in the Gulf Region and around the globe offer both programs separately.

Structure of the Program

The structure of the program is very much in line with business and industrial world. This is taken care of by designing the whole program in such a way that it not only offers academic foundation to succeed at advanced level but also maintain strong flexibility to suit Qatari industry requirements. This is ensured through proper mix of core courses and track based courses available for the students.

To find out the right mix of the courses for the engineering management program, a careful analysis was carried out to know what is being done in the name of engineering management at US, Canada, UK, European, and Gulf region universities. The curriculum has four set of requirements, qualifying courses, core courses, track based courses and thesis / project option. It is expected that the proposed program will offer a collection of flexible and distinctive courses in engineering management that would attract high quality students, and will offer them good career prospects in private and government sectors.

Program Objectives

Graduates of the Engineering Management program will be able to fulfill most of the following objectives:

1. Establish a successful engineering management careers in industry or government that will help in advancing the development of the state of Qatar and gulf region.

2. Establish in-depth proficiency in engineering management fields relevant to local and regional industry.

3. Develop competitive skills in problem solving techniques, interdisciplinary teamwork and critical analysis of engineering management problems.

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4. Develop profound understanding of environmental, societal, global economic and technological aspects to meet the changing needs of a knowledge-based economy by adapting and responding to changes.

Program Outcomes

On completion of the master program, graduates will:

 be able to determine the engineering management variables of interest and processes to manage engineering alternatives.

 be able to assess the economic, social and environmental requirements, needs and constraints of the system and its impact on the society.

 have the ability to manage and administer large technical engineering projects, budgets and existing setups effectively.

 be able to use computational tools and management software and theories for finding analytical solutions to problems necessary for the practice of engineering management.

 have the ability to apply behavioral principles connected with awareness, communication, productivity, organizational change, and leadership keeping in mind the changing nature of business strategy and economic analysis needs.

Admissions and Prerequisites

 Bachelor degree in engineering with GPA greater than, or equal to 2.8 on a 4 scale.

 English language proficiency demonstrated by a minimum score of TOEFL of 520 or equivalent.

 Passing an interview with the admission panel. The admission panel has the authority to decide on the fitness of the candidates. If need arises they may recommend additional non-credit courses (qualifying courses); such

as; Probability and Statistics, Engineering Management, and Operations

Research). The admission panel will take into account the relevant work experience of the applicants.

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Master of Science in EM Degree Requirements

The M.S. in Engineering Management degree requires a minimum of 36 credit hours (c.h.) of graduate-level course work for the thesis or the project options. The students with the Project option should pass a comprehensive exam.

For the thesis option, the coursework must include:

Core Courses 18 c.h.

Track Based Courses 12 c.h.

Thesis Research 6 c.h.

Total 36 c.h

For the project option, the coursework must include:

Core Courses 18 c.h.

Track Based Courses 12 c.h.

Free Elective Courses 3 c.h.

Master Project 3 c.h.

Comprehensive Exam 0 c.h.

Total 36 c.h.

For both options, the core courses are the same. The student must take 12 credit hours (Select four track based courses) from one of the three tracks: Logistics and Supply Chain track, Operations track, and Construction track. Most of the Graduate Studies rules and guidelines will be followed.

Advising and Registration

Students should make every effort to complete all core courses before attempting track based courses. After completing all core courses, students should choose an area of specialization or a thesis area, and then prepare a preliminary plan of study based on the degree requirements and the student's interest. Students must provide a plan of study even though they might change it later. Upon the completion of the draft plan, the student should discuss this with his/her advisor. The advisor of the student will serve as the key member of the student's graduate committee, and will advise the student on his or her thesis work during the progression of the study.

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1. Course Offerings

A. Core Courses.

EMP 503 Business Fundamentals for Engineering Managers 3 c.h.

EMP 504 Process Improvement Techniques 3 c.h.

EMP 505 Project Management 3 c.h.

EMP 506 Production and Operations Management 3 c.h. EMP 507 Enterprise Information Analysis and Business Applications 3 c.h. EMP 508 Decision Techniques and Data Analysis 3 c.h.

Total 18 c.h.

B. Track Based Courses

(Select four track based courses from one of the three tracks keeping in mind the

availability of faculty in the department). Track-1: Logistics & Supply Chain Track

EMP 511 Physical Distribution Management 3 c.h.

EMP 512 Procurement Management 3 c.h.

EMP 513 Suppliers Management 3 c.h.

EMP 514 Supply Chain Management 3 c.h.

EMP 515 Materials & Logistics Management 3 c.h.

Total 12 c.h.

Track-2: Operations Track

EMP 521 Management of Facilities and Layout 3 c.h.

EMP 522 Service Operations Management 3 c.h.

EMP 523 Six Sigma & Strategic Quality Management 3 c.h.

EMP 524 Systems Analysis and Design 3 c.h.

EMP 525 Manufacturing & Enterprise Resource Planning 3 c.h. EMP 526 Innovation and Technology Management 3 c.h.

Total 12 c.h.

Track-3: Construction Track

EMP 531 Construction Engineering Management 3 c.h. EMP 532 Estimating & Financial Analysis for Construction 3 c.h.

EMP 533 Construction Equipment Management 3 c.h.

EMP 534 Construction Contracts & Legal Concepts in Construction 3 c.h.

EMP 535 Concrete Formwork Design 3 c.h.

EMP 536 Project Planning, Scheduling and Control 3 c.h. EMP 537 Engineering and Construction Materials and Methods. 3 c.h.

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6 15 February 2010 | Qatar University C. Free Elective Courses

For the project option student concentrating in one track may take elective course in the other tracks or from the following list of courses (Only one elective course). D. Thesis or Project

EMP-591: Master Project (for Project Option)

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2. Study Plan

A. Thesis Option Semester 1-Year 1

EMP 507 Enterprise Information Analysis and Business Applications 3 c.h.

Total Credit hours 9 c.h.

Semester 2 -Year 1

EMP 506 Production and Operations Management 3 c.h. EMP 508 Decision Techniques and Data Analysis 3 c.h.

EMP Track Based Course 3 c.h.

EMP 595 Master Thesis I 3 c.h.

EMP 596 Master Thesis II 3 c.h.

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8 15 February 2010 | Qatar University B. Project Option

Semester 1-Year 1

EMP 507 Enterprise Information Analysis and Business Applications 3 c.h.

EMP 506 Production and Operations Management 3 c.h. EMP 508 Decision Techniques and Data Analysis 3 c.h.

EMP Free Elective 3 c.h.

EMP 591 Master Project 3 c.h.