The European Project Semester (EPS) is an international semester for third-year engineering and business students from different higher education institutes located predominantly in the European Union (EU).

European Project Semester

During the semester you will work on an integrated engineering design and a real-life business project at a company. All course project work and lectures will take place in the English language. The course is part of the Avans Industrial Engineering study programme at the School of Engineering and Information Technology in ’s-Hertogenbosch. Projects will be of an engineering and technical nature but always so that all engineering profiles are able to attend and work together. This means hard core mechanics, electronics or software coding e.g. is rare but general engineering skills will be challenged all the more. Think about understanding production systems and processes, quality systems and ISO standards, product design and development, R&D, environmental aspects or customer support, just to name a few. Courses that are included to support the project: Project management, Team building, Problem Analysis, SMART requirements, Product design, Sustainability, Quality management, Dutch language, English language and Cross-cultural behavior.

• Work in a real-life project at a company
• Work in interdisciplinary teams with students from different engineering backgrounds
• Work in an international setting with students from different nationalities
• Learn general engineering skills that are applicable in any professional engineering environment
• Set up, organize and manage a project from start to end
• Take responsibility for project progress and give a convincing presentation of the results
• Improve your English

Company coach

The teams will be guided by a company coach to ensure your connection to their core business and the colleagues of course. This person also helps you to stay focused on the projects objectives and provide you with all the necessary insight information and knowledge.

Teacher coach

A teacher coach keeps an eye on the project from an educational point of view. Any difficulties in the team or in the project can be discussed. This teacher coach is also responsible for the assessments, based on the reports, the results, the presentations, the company’s insights and your team reviews.

Supporting courses

In the meantime, some supporting short courses will assist you to get up and running as soon as possible.

This includes:

• Project management
• Team building
• Problem Analysis
• SMART requirements
• Product design
• Sustainability
• Quality management
• Dutch language
• English language
• Cross-cultural behavior

Entry requirements

• You have completed 2 years of a bachelor engineering programme. 

 

After presentation of the projects by the companies, your first group assignment will be to select a project and create the teams.

You can then start to get familiar with the company and the assignment and start to setup the project in terms of requirements, planning, team building and such.

Projects will be of an engineering and technical nature but always so that all engineering profiles are able to attend and work together. This means hard core mechanics, electronics or software coding e.g. is rare but general engineering skills will be challenged all the more. Think about understanding production systems and processes, quality systems and ISO standards, product design and development, R&D, environmental aspects or customer support, just to name a few.

In the beginning classes will be more intensive, perhaps 3 or 4 days per week, leaving 1 or 2 days at the company for the project. Over the weeks this gradually changes until this is turned around to perhaps 1 day per week at school and 4 to 5 days at the company.

Off course, we are aiming for all activities to take place physically on campus at Avans and at the company, but you should take into account that (with regard to Covid-19) that some (or in the worst case scenario: all) activities might take place online.

Written and/or oral sssignments on the next topics (EC's represent weight):

End term assessment project (report & presentation) (22 EC)

Project management, planning & scheduling (1 EC)

Team building (0,5EC)

Business Idea & Problem analysis/solving  (0,5 EC)

SMART Requirements (0,5 EC)

Design Thinking (1 EC)

Sustainability (0,5 EC)

Quality management (0,5EC)

English language & communication skills (2 EC)

Dutch language (1EC)

Cross-cultural behavior (0,5 EC)

• The everyday language and all of the written materials are in English
• EPS starts every year in the last week of August and ends late January
• The number of students of any nationality is limited to the number of available projects
• Multiple educational departments of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology are involved while it’s a multi-disciplinary minor

You will work on assignments from the real world: real problems that need real solutions. This experience will give you a head start while applying for a job!

• You are making the right choice if you opt for a study programme at Avans.
• Avans sets the bar high for you, but also for us.
• Our education is of top quality. For many years we have maintained a leading position in the national ranking systems among universities of applied sciences.
• The employment prospects of our graduates is excellent.

If you are interested in fascinating stories shared by both our current international students and our alumni, please check out:

www.avans.nl/international

www.eps.avans.nl   

www.europeanprojectsemester.eu

 

De Avans-opleiding gekoppeld aan de deze minormodule is: Technische Bedrijfskunde (TBK-H). Deze informatie heb je nodig voor de inschrijving in Studielink.

E-mail: minoren.atd@avans.nl

Inhoudelijke vragen: eps@avans.nl

Avans University of Applied Sciences
Onderwijsboulevard 215
5223 DE ‘s-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands                                                      Phone: +31 88 525 6885

Klik op minormagazine voor meer informatie over deze en andere minors van de Academie voor Technologie en Design, Avans Hogeschool in 's-Hertogenbosch.