The Marine Technology course covers the fields of the design, construction and operation of products - subsequently called maritime products - that are used at sea, whether drifting, floating or with a flexible connection to the bottom, both when sailing and when moored.

As a unique form of education in the Netherlands, the purpose of Marine Technology is to provide university education, to carry out research and to develop means and systems for maritime products.

Through cooperation with other universities, faculties and courses of study, Delft University of Technology, and therefore the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, can maintain an outstanding (international) position with the public and private sector when it comes to safe and ecologically sound sea transport and working at sea.

There exists a large extent of solidarity among marine engineers, the basis of which is laid during education.

The options for specialization are offering the students an opportunity to specialize in essential fields of study. This involves the economically sound designing, producing and managing - interrelated with one another - of products with the appropriate procedures for the optimization of these products. Because of this, the marine engineer is required to have analytical, conceptual and innovative skills.

Because of the public sector's supervising and managerial duties when it comes to the environment and safety, the marine engineer is required to be able to understand, interpret and control the technological developments both at government agencies and in national and international industry.

Due to the fact that virtually every maritime product is designed and constructed only once, the engineer is required to have an initiating and innovative disposition. This implies that the knowledge and information in this field of study outruns the knowledge of others. This shows itself in: paying attention to lasting developments, environmental consequences when building and operating ships, the effects of which have to be partly implemented in the design, anticipating the changes in the industrial structure as a result of the internationalization and globalization (in part) of the maritime branches of industry, safety at sea, inland waterway shipping, integration of the transport circuit (ship-ship, Ro-Ro, Flo-Flo).

It is the students that make up the course programme's customers. Contacts with industry and foreign institutes are of great importance for students and for the course's quality. These contacts with industry are lending MT's activities a realistic character and are of importance for the marketing possibilities of engineers and the transfer of knowledge to industry.

By virtue of his/her fundamental education and training, an academically-trained marine engineer is capable of applying scientific methods and insights when solving technical problems within the fields of Marine Technology, with analysis, synthesis and evaluation being important factors. He/she is capable of taking personal responsibility when developing, applying and transferring technical science and knowledge. This reflects itself not only in tasks during research, conceptual design, construction, supervision and management thereof, but also in higher and pre-university education.

Maritime products bear a number of common characteristics:

• they are capital goods that are developed, designed and constructed for operations at sea or in inland waterways,

• the developing, designing and constructing is focused on single-products,

• the products have a long life span, ranging from 20 to sometimes 50 years or more,

• there is a great variety in products because of varying demands for transport, both in form (package) and size, and other functions at sea,

• the product is complex and multidisciplinary, the marine engineer coordinates and attunes, he/she has an integrating task.

Because of its multidisciplinary character, the MT course programme has ground in common with many other faculties, course programmes and fields of study, such as Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science and Mathematics/Informatics. This is reflected in the course's curriculum.

In this course programme a number of subjects is being taught, while at the same time research is being carried out in these fields. Every field of study is a potential option for specialization. The first three years of study make up the basic programme. During the basic programme all MT-students attend the same courses.

The basic programme is followed by the final programme. The final programme takes up the last two years of the five years course. Every field of study is offering a specialistic depth. Completing one's study is partly a monitored exercise in carrying out the engineer's profession (the course work), partly an independent test of competence (completing one's study).

After completing his/her studies, the marine engineer is supposed to be immediately employable in a position within the field of specialization. After six months, this marine engineer is employable in one of the three main streams (design, research, management), provided that he/she qualifies himself/herself by means of further studies. Independently, he/she is able to acquire the knowledge and skills required for this.

At the conclusion of his/her studies, various demands are made upon the marine engineer and in doing so a distinction is being made between the knowledge with respect to contents and the way in which he/she was taught to work.

a. Objectives with regard to the contents of the course programme

• a1. The marine engineer should possess the scientific and professional knowledge that make him/her employable in operations that relate to the design, the construction and the running of maritime products.

• a2. He/she should have acquired an understanding of the social consequences of his actions and be able to take personal responsibility for the results of his/her work. This makes special demands upon the engineer. The social consequences of his/her actions can be far-reaching. This concerns, among other things, the product's life span and reliability during operation, provisions as to the safety aboard ships and other maritime products (at sea and in inland waterways) and the consequences of calamities during operations (collisions, running aground and other accidents).

• a3. During the product's development and design process he/she is constantly able to find technical compromises between conflicting requirements while at the same time realising that the final product is determined in concepts that are related to accomplishments that cannot be determined by means of prototypes. During construction the result must hit the mark in just one go.

b. Objectives with regard to the engineer's method of working

• b1. Through analysis and synthesis, the marine engineer should be able to work in one of the Marine Technology fields, both independently as well as in a team, while he/she should possess sufficient knowledge of other Marine Technology fields in order to be able to put the consequences of certain solutions in a wider context and to be able to consult with experts from other, non-maritime fields.

• b2. The marine engineer should possess the attitude required to be able to apply the acquired knowledge in a pre-eminently internationally operating branche. He/she should take sufficient interest in science in order to keep his/her knowledge up-to-date, to gain more in-depth knowledge and to keep track of new developments and anticipate them.

By final objects we mean a further specification of the objectives mentioned above. A distinction is made between the final objects for the basic programme, the first three years of the curriculum, and the general and more specific final objects for every option of specialization.

Within the framework of the triplet design - construction - application, a distinction is made between the three elements of the course programme:

1. Conceiving and designing maritime products.

2. Management when constructing and operating maritime capital goods.

3. Research in the field of Marine Technology (for instance in the field of ship hydromechanics and strength of seagoing constructions).

The basic programme aims to give the student an insight into the interrelations between these three elements. Through the basic programme, the student achieves such a level of knowledge that he/she is able to gain more in-depth knowledge in his/her field of study independently. At the end of the first three years, the student has gathered enough insight to apply the acquired knowledge of Physics, Mathematics, Management and other basic sciences in relation with Marine Technology both to the design of a ship or other maritime products as well as to the formulation, modelling and analysis of a problem in the field of Marine Technology. This is reflected in the completion of the integrated design. The student is aware of the knowledge required for this and demonstrates it in this exercise.

The combination with a specialization in one of the three main courses mentioned above, ensures the engineer's employability in the different branches of Marine Technology. The engineer's level of knowledge is determined by the basic programme, but most of all by the knowledge he/she gathers during his/her specialization programme. For this purpose, the final objects of every option for specialization is specified in more detail.

In one of the specialization fields, a qualified engineer is expected to:

• be able to carry out innovative operations,

• master a high level of abstraction in this field,

• be able to apply scientific methods and techniques and to develop them further, if necessary,

• have the courage to open up new horizons when it comes to design, construction and operation,

• have an understanding of the scientific frameworks within which he/she has to work.

This implies that the qualified marine engineer has an ample understanding, knowledge and expertise when applying and carrying out operations in one of the following fields:

The engineer has insight into and knowledge of the shipping industry and the operating of ships. He is adept at formulating the list of demands with respect to:

• the main characteristics (cargo capacity, speed, number of passengers),

• sailing areas and ports (weather conditions, lay-out, draught),

• shipowner's demands (financial prerequisites, manner of maintenance, maintenance strategy).

He/she is familiar with the common grounds with the Mechanical Engineering field of Logistics and is adept at themes concerning the logistics of shipping companies.

After completing his/her studies, the engineer possesses insight, knowledge and skills in the integrated technical designing of a type of ship (offshore construction) on the basis of shipowner's demands, with technical and economic aspects, reliability and optimization playing an important part. He/she is adept at carrying out the necessary calculations, is able to take an overall view of the consequences of technical and economic compromises and has an understanding of the aspects affecting the cost price. The design method of ships and offshore constructions differs as a result of the specific aspects of both types of vessels. It is the task of offshore units to create a seagoing platform on which industrial activities can be carried out. Moreover, an important part of the offshore units perform tasks that involve considerable safety risks. This results in innovative design procedures and the development of special types of vessels.

After completing his/her studies, the engineer possesses insight, knowledge and skills in the technical design of propulsion plants and other mechanical and electrical engineering systems, is able to predict stationary and dynamic behaviour and influence this, among other things, by means of simulations and is capable of calculating, influencing and assessing reliability, availability and maintainability. He/she is adept at applying the methods mentioned above. For many vessels this constitutes an important cost item, both with respect to investment and with respect to operational use. Moreover, a well-functioning mechanical engineering plant is of great importance for the reliability and efficiency of the unit's carrying out of tasks.

After completing his/her studies, the engineer is able to identify practical problems arising in this field. He/she possesses the skill to outline these problems by means of analytical methods, to formulate them and to come to a solution with the means available to him/her. In doing so, both knowledge of and insight into the possibilities and values of (model) experiments are required, as well as sufficient knowledge, insight and skills in applying theoretical calculations by means of the two or three dimensional potential theory.

It is considered to be of importance that the theoretical methods for the determination of the dynamic behaviour and any calculations resulting from this, are verified through experimental research, both by means of physical models and (if necessary) by full-size tests. The general aspects are differentiated in applications in the fields of offshore, nautical technology and small vessels.

After completing his/her studies in this field of specialization, the engineer possesses the knowledge, the understanding and the expertise in order to set up a conceptually constructive design that is sound in every respect. He/she can determine loads and responses. He/she understands the relevance and technical contents of the analytical and experimental research that is being carried out in this field and is able to contribute to this in an active manner.

After completing his/her studies, the engineer has knowledge of and insight into the characteristic shipyard activities, ranging from marketing up to and including aftersales. He/she has insight into the "right in one go" principle and is capable of carrying this through, motivating people and taking charge. He/she is able to make a coherent analysis of a project with respect to its feasibility (technically, within time limits, budgetary and capacitively), to consider the (technical and financial) risks and to collect, sort out and research the information needed for this. In addition to this, he has an extensive knowledge of processing and production technologies for the shipbuilding and offshore industry.

As indicated above, a distintion is made between the three elements in the basic course programme. Each element can be translated into subjects for the basic course programme, as summarized below.

Designing deals with the requirements and restrictions resulting in compromises and the systematic and methodical search for technically and socially sound solutions, taking into account the safety of people, cargo and environment and national and international legislation, rules and regulations in the field of Marine Technology. Subjects such as design methods for ships (offshore constructions), the backgrounds and restrictions of (analytical) methods and the possibilities to anticipate new situations are part of the designing process which is aimed at the acquiring of insight, knowledge and a certain extent of adaptness. The same holds for the design and analysis methods for (naval) machinery plants and the selection processes accompanying the setting up of systems, the dimensioning of these systems and the attuning of its components to one another.

The managerial elements are aimed at obtaining insight into the technical, organizational, economic and social aspects of the designing, constructing and operating of ships, i.e. general managerial aspects and specific aspects such as, for instance, the cost build-up of the operation of ships and the consequences of shipowner's demands for the ship's cost. Knowledge of materials, steel in particular and to a lesser degree, aluminium and plastics and of processing and linking techniques that are applied in the shipbuilding and offshore industry. The analysis of the execution's constructive (quality aspects such as the prevention of stress concentrations and vibrations) and economic acceptability. In the first, second and third year of eduction, a start is made with the integration of construction and prepration for production. Aspects of shipyard layout and launching.

Hydrostatic and hydrodynamic subjects are primarily aimed at knowledge of and physical insight into aspects, such as stability, resistance and the propulsion of ships, sea waves and the behaviour of moored, floating and sailing constructions in these waves and the manoeuvring behaviour of ships. The construction and strength subjects relate to the backgrounds and behaviour of normal and special ship- and offshore constructions and the aspects of the material behaviour relevant to the construction, the various collapse modes of a construction and the response hereof, determining the construction's loads and calculating the responses, both (quasi) static and dynamic, both by hand and by means of numerical calculation techniques. Setting up a conceptually constructive design.

The specialization curriculum consists of a number of compulsory Marine Technology subjects and of a custom-made curriculum aimed at the aspects mentioned in the basic programme's final objects, that is drawn up in consultation with the student. Special emphasis is put on getting practice in the field of conceiving, designing and constructing, while social, ethical and environmental aspects are included as well. In order to become acquainted with the actual engineering practice, a three month training period has been included in the curriculum.

On the next page you will find an outline of the Marine Technology course programme. In the rectangles representing the various course years, the part of the programme common to all Marine Technology students, the first three years, the various parts of the examination (subjects, lab assignments and projects) have been included, together with their credits. This is followed by the final stage of the study programme, the two year specialization course. In the rectangles representing this final stage, the rules or requirements the course programme should meet, as well as a list of options for specialization, have been included respectively.

On the pages following this outline, the first thing you will find will be an elaboration on the years common to all students. The first year, the "propedeuse", is concluded by the official "propedeutisch" exam, as regulated by law. The second official exam is the "doctoraal" or engineer's exam at the end of the fifth year. The faculty has interposed two exams in between the "propedeutisch" exam and the "doctoraal" exam, that is to say at the end of the second (D1-exam) and the third year (D2-exam) respectively. The part of the programme common to all students is being concluded by means of the D2-exam. The D2-exam ensures admission to the following stage, the specialization course.

The contents of this specialization course depends on the specialization chosen. In this chapter each option for specialization is introduced by means of a short description and a list of compulsory and optional subjects. On the basis of this list, an individual programme of subjects and assignments will be agreed upon. These course programmes will differ because of the graduation assignment in view in the fifth year and the interest that student and supervisor take in certain technical and social aspects that may come up during this assignment.

It may occur that the interest among students in a particular option for specialization exceeds the on-site supervision capacity. However, the faculty aims to satisfy the student's preference if in any way possible. Relevant information on this has been included in the specialization selection form available at the student administration office.

All parts of the exam included in this chapter are being described extensively in a following chapter. Admission requirements for subjects, if any, have been incorporated in the "Onderwijs- en Examenregeling", the "OER" (Education and Examination Regulations) and in the subject descriptions.