Study Guide

Descriptions

Study objectives:

The Master’s Degree Programme in Industrial Quality Management is part of Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) Master School. TUAS Master School brings together all Master’s degree programmes at TUAS in the fields of Business, Culture, Healthcare and Social Services, and Technology. It gives the students an excellent chance to create new multidisciplinary networks with other experts both in Finland and globally. The School of Professional Excellence focuses on developing the skills and competences needed as a specialist in the selected discipline whereas the School of Leadership Excellence provides the students the possibility to study and acquire skills and competences needed as a business leader and manager.

The Industrial Quality Management program focuses on developing the necessary abilities for planning and developing quality system processes, and also continuous improvement and creative problem-solving for the organization´s needs in the industry. The Master's degree programme in Industrial Quality Management is a strongly working-life-oriented programme (60 credits), which gives students the opportunity to grow into experts in the quality field. The aim of the studies is to develop and deepen the student's professional skills and competences in the industrial quality framework. The studies strongly support the student to develop into demanding expert and supervisor jobs. In the Industrial Quality Management programme the study assignments, as well as the master’s thesis, are related to student’s work. Therefore, the employer organization will also benefit from the studies and will have a great opportunity to develop quality management tools and methods in the organization.

Career opportunities:

By the time the student graduates, he/she has created new knowledge and reformed the working life with the Master's thesis work. The student’s network has possibly expanded both in Finland and globally. In addition, the student has developed his/her expertise and acquired tools for advancing his/her career. He/she has acquired the quality knowledge needed in expert or supervisor positions in engineering manufacturing or technology enterprises, for instance.

Qualification:

The objectives for skill levels in a Master’s Degree are based on the legislation concerning universities of applied sciences and the European Qualification Framework (EQF). The level corresponding to a Master’s Degree is level 7.
The Master's degree in engineering is a university degree that gives the same eligibility for public positions and duties as, for example, a university degree at a university.

Postgraduate study opportunities:

The studies provide eligibility for further scientific studies. Universities may set conditions on granting rights for further studies in the form of, for instance, supplementary transitional studies.

Study contents:

The Master’s degree composes of core competences, complementary competences, and thesis work. Part of the mandatory core competence studies is common for all master school programmes and part are specific for the Industrial Quality Management program. Students have a chance to affect the content of their studies. Complementary competence studies include elective studies that can be taken freely from the other TUAS Master’s programmes or from the Masters’ programmes of other universities. In most cases, the thesis work is done as a working life development project.

The themes of industrial quality management studies include principles of quality management in industry, different quality tools, and lean principles in practical consideration. The training also includes research and development method studies.

Structure of studies:

The extent of the study programme is 60 ECTS. The planned length of the studies is 1.5 years. The studies are composed of:
• Compulsory core competences 20 ECTS
• Elective complementary competences 10 ECTS
• Thesis work 30 ECTS.

The advanced studies common to each master school programme include studies in research methods and in future operating environments. The rest of the compulsory studies deepen the insight specific to each professional programme. Students may further deepen or expand their competences by choosing elective courses from your own degree programme or other programmes or from other universities.

The Master’s Degree studies at TUAS Master School are flexible and can be completed while working full-time and from anywhere in Finland or abroad. All studies are offered in the form of fully virtual online teaching.?

Final project:

The thesis is a central part of the studies. The thesis work starts already at the beginning of the studies and it is carried out as a working life-oriented development project. The thesis will not only develop the student’s knowledge and skills in a certain study field and specific topic but also gives the possibility to enhance skills in leading teams and workgroups.

Internationalization:

The all studies are offered in the form of virtual online teaching and teaching language is English, so the students can participate in training globally.
Internationalization starts with the student's own needs. An international perspective can be connected with the thesis.

Co-operation with other parties:

The working life connection is primarily made up of the student, the student's workplace, and education. The interaction between students working in different positions plays an important role in the development of professional skills and the creation of collaborative networks. A central part of the Master's studies is the Master’s thesis. The thesis work starts already at the beginning of the studies and it is carried out as a working-life-oriented development project. The thesis will not only develop your knowledge and skills in a certain study field and specific topic but also gives you the possibility to enhance your skills of leading teams and workgroups.

Objective

After completing the programme, the student is able to:
• develop her/his personal skills and competences needed as a professional in the quality framework
• know the principles and value of quality management systems in the industry
• create and implement the lean principles to an organization´s needs
• utilize the quality tools in planning and improving quality processes in the industry
• apply quality tools for continuous improvement and problem-solving
• apply quality processes through appropriate methods

Development

The pedagogical approach applied in professional studies is Innovation pedagogy that refers to an approach of constructivist and problem-based learning. Master´s students study alongside their work and want to broaden and deepen their theoretical knowledge and get models to apply theory in their own work. Studying is part-time and involves only distant learning. In addition to individual learning, collaborative learning in teams is applied to meet the needs of working life. Integration between studies and applied RDI activities and working life orientation play an important role in the studies. Learning takes place in virtual and in multi-disciplinary environments. The student creates an individual study plan (ISP) at the beginning of his/her studies, where he/she selects studies offered in Masters programmes related to, among others, the completion of the master´s thesis. A central part of Industrial Quality Management studies is the master´s thesis in which the student will not only develop the knowledge and skills in a certain study field and specific topic, but will also have the possibility to develop his/her work and workplace.

Further information

The objectives for skill levels in a Master’s Degree are based on the legislation concerning universities of applied sciences and the European Qualification Framework (EQF). The level corresponding to a Master’s Degree is level 7. The assessment criteria for each course are described in its implementation plan. Performance requirements vary depending on objectives, content, and method of implementation. The courses and the thesis are assessed on a scale of 0 to 5. The assessment focuses on competence and its development. The course assessment methods vary according to the objectives of the study module. Students receive regular feedback on their performance from their teachers. Peer- and self-assessment as well as commissioner feedback on performance are also utilized. The degree assessment framework is used as the basis for the assessment. The Degree Programme will be developed according to the principles of continuous improvement. In the development work, feedback from the students and working life as well as their initiatives have a key role. Feedback is collected with, for instance, student questionnaires and group-specific development discussions