Orientation for engineering students

Anyone starting an engineering degree at the Ilmenau University of Technology in the upcoming winter semester 2024/25 will, if they so wish, receive sound orientation in the extensive fields of activity of engineers alongside their studies. If the student then realizes that a different course of study or a different career path seems more desirable, they can easily realign themselves. This means that first-year students who do not yet know exactly which career path they should take do not have to worry about making the wrong study decision.

Registration by e-mail (until October 11): orientierung@tu-ilmenau.de

There are many uncertainties involved in choosing the right course of study. Which degree course to choose and which career path to take is an important decision for life. This is why the TU Ilmenau offers extensive orientation programs: Intensive insights into various engineering activities are intended to help students in their first semesters to find the course of study that really suits them and make it easier for them to enter this new phase of their lives.

The orientation offers are available for seven engineering degree programs at TU Ilmenau: Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Automotive Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Industrial Engineering. The offers are open to anyone enrolling in one of the seven degree programs for the winter semester 2024/25. To register, simply send an e-mail to orientierung@tu-ilmenau.de.

What does an engineer actually do? - The orientation offers provide students with concrete answers to this question. This enables them to better adapt the course of their engineering studies to their personal goals, abilities and interests. Above all, orientation means gaining an insight into the everyday working life of an engineer: students visit companies and look over the shoulders of engineers at work. They listen to field reports from graduates of various engineering courses and from companies.

In addition, students work in small interdisciplinary teams on current technical issues. Using concrete examples, they learn in which areas of work and life the theoretical principles and methods they will acquire during their studies can be applied in practice. And they gain an insight into how specialist knowledge and scientific working methods are applied in everyday working life in an interdisciplinary way. The orientation courses also support students in their individual learning behavior, for example in courses on key qualifications such as self-management and time management during their studies.

All components of the orientation program are coordinated and integrated into the timetable of the various degree programs, which means that the study period is not extended. Throughout the orientation phase, students receive intensive personal support from senior students and teaching staff. A study agreement is concluded with the participants in which the supplementary courses and the possible recognition of academic achievements are individually defined. After successful participation in the orientation courses, they receive a certificate of attendance for the coursework completed. If, during the orientation phase, a student considers another engineering degree course to be more suitable than the one initially chosen, a change is possible without any problems. The continued payment of the BAföG training grant is guaranteed even after the first or second semester.