Two students from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, LEUNG Yuen Lam Linda and LEE Chun Kit, took part in a three-week intensive summer course in Germany. Below is a sharing by Linda.
LEUNG Yuen Lam Linda
Introduction
“Introduction to German Engineering” is a three-week course organized by Darmstadt University of Technology (TU Darmstadt). It consists of one week of interdisciplinary project week following by two-week industrial visits. This year, the course started on 6th June 2016 and ended on 25th June 2016.
Project week (06/06 – 13/06)
On the first day of the project week, we were divided into 6 groups. Each group is assigned one team advisor and one technical advisor. The role of team advisor is to facilitate the group discussion and get everyone involved while technical advisor is to provide assistance and ensure the group is working on the right track.
Currently diesel engines produced by some automobile companies generate NOx compounds that contribute to negative environmental impacts. Those diesel engines were emitting nearly 40 times more than the allowable NOx pollutant emission level under the Low Emission Vehicle II Standard. The defective devices allowed the companies to effectively hide the real emission level. Our task is to design a new and innovative solution to remove NOx in the exhaust gas of diesel engines, construct a lightweight tank and suggest an appropriate pumping system. Within one week’s time, we had to figure out how this can be solved. Each group had to submit a report and prepare a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation was held on 13th June 2016. Each team had 15 minutes to present followed by 5 minutes of discussion with the judges.
There were seven members in my team. Two of them came from the United States while the others were German. We had different academic majors such as Material Science, Mechanical Engineering, Law and Finance, Political Science, etc.. Due to limited time, our group was further divided into sub-groups in order to be more efficient and productive. Since my major was in Logistics Engineering and Supply Chain Management, my role in the team was to search for suppliers of components for making the tank and pumping system. Working in an interdisciplinary project allowed me to further enhance my critical thinking skills. It was really a unique learning experience.
Industrial visit
After the project week, we had two weeks of industrial tour. During these two weeks, we visited eight renowned companies in Germany such as Opel, Continental, Merck, etc. Engineering theories and principles can be acquired at the university, however, we seldom have the chance to know how theory and principle are applied in the daily operation of a company. This course provided us with a chance to observe the industrial practice and operation of some renowned German companies. Among all the impressive industrial tours, Continental was the most memorable.
This was my first time seeing a partly-automated assembly line at the Continental. Before the visit, I cannot imagine that an assembly line can be operated automatically. Only in the case of emergency or machine failure, human involvement is required. Most people might think that the use of automated machine may take away jobs and labour will be replaced by machine. However, I have another point of view. Machine can enhance the efficiency of production and quality of the product. It is good to have machines to carry out repetitive work. The assembly line in Continental cannot be regarded as fully-automated since the repair and maintenance of the machine still need to rely on technical experts. With fast technology improvement, I really look forward to seeing a fully-automated assembly line in which machines can detect failure and repair automatically.
Visiting Continental
Roof top of RWE
Cultural tour
The culture tours on weekend allowed us to achieve a balance between work and study. Cultural tours were the best activities for us to relax after working and learning for the whole week. During the project week, most of the time were spent with my groupmates and there were not much time to chat with students in another groups. The cultural tours provided me with valuable opportunity to meet new friends. Also, it gave us an opportunity to visit other towns in Germany and allowed us to be more immerse in the German culture. I was especially interested in visiting castles in Germany. Once I arrived at the castle in Heidelberg and saw the endless view on the top of the hill, I forgot about the tiredness on the way up.
Sightseeing in Mainz and St. Goar and visitng Burg Rheinfels
Summary
In short, I enjoyed this course a lot. It enlarged my social network. I am able to meet new friends from the United States and Germany. The course also trained me to be a good team player which is an essential element at both university and workplace. Working in a cross disciplinary and cross-cultural environment was not an easy task. I had to be open-minded and think from different perspectives. As an engineer, we should always think outside the box and never limit our scope of vision.
Last but not least, I have to thank the Faculty for nominating me to join this course and providing the opportunity for me to immerse in different culture. I really had a great time in Germany. Although the course had already come to the end, I think the knowledge and friendship will stay with me forever.