Business Engineering Product, service and business model innovation

They analyze markets and customer needs to develop and market innovative products and services. In this profile, students have the opportunity to specialize in a variety of areas such as Product and Service Innovation or Operations Management.

As a consecutive course of studies, the Master of Science, Business Engineering profile, requires competencies in Engineering and Business, which have been previously gained in the framework of a Bachelor's degree in one of the following areas:

• Business Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Engineering and Management

Prospective students with a background in a different area of Engineering might also apply, but need to fulfil individual criteria to be accepted for this profile.
Graduates of the Business Engineering profile have a wide range of professional career opportunities, both in Switzerland and internationally. They will assume challenging specialist or management positions in Product, Service, Portfolio or Innovation Management, in Purchasing, in Supply Chain Management, in Process and Quality Management, in Production Management and in Management Consulting.

How would you describe the cooperation with the MSE students you supervise?
«The cooperation is at eye level. I coach and support the student and am also available at short notice. Parallel to this informal collaboration, clear goals are defined and the project status is discussed in formal interim presentations with clear milestones.
My goal is to enable the student to achieve his or her personal learning goals and, at the same time, to meet the goals of the project partner.»

What do you enjoy most about advising in the MSE?
«I like working with young, motivated people and want to enable them to learn a lot, to expand their network and to explore new things together and also to initiate innovations. Innovation means being curious, encouraging creativity and courage, and asking lots of open questions. To go this way with young people is fun for me and always inspires me anew.»

Which Master thesis do you remember most and why?
«It is always difficult to highlight one experience. Of particular joy was the master's thesis of a student from a partner school, who made huge progress in each project and learned extremely much. He is now working in a leading position in a traditional Swiss company.
Another example is the master thesis, which laid the foundation for many things. We still work together and plan to tackle more projects. The thesis also enabled the student to build up knowledge in a desired field and to get his current job in the desired field of Sustainability. In my opinion, the purpose of a master's degree and master's thesis is to enable master's students to take the next step in their professional life and to open doors.»

What advice do you have for new MSE students?
«The Master is a chance. A chance to learn what interests you. To do the projects that fascinate and inspires you. To expand the network and thus lay the foundation for taking the next step in their career. Sometimes one has to leave the comfort zone and go new ways and try something out. This is never easy. I try to encourage the students to do so. Students should see the master's degree as an opportunity and not simply take the path of least resistance.
Even though many things are fun, the demands in both the theory modules and the projects should not be underestimated.»

What are some lessons you've learned as an MSE advisor?
«Every person is different. Every student is different. There is no standard. On the one hand, this is very exciting but sometimes also time-consuming. However, it is very worthwhile to respond to the wishes and needs of the students and to try to support them in all matters.
The advisor should not, as the name suggests, (only) help with advice, but above all with the right questions to show the students new ways of thinking. Asking the right questions is an art that needs to be practiced over and over again and is much more difficult than just giving an advice. The nice thing is that the students and we advisors learn a lot in the same way in every projects.»

Prof. Dr. Patrick Link, MSE Advisor

How has your MSE degree influenced your professional career?
«The MSE degree has a big range of different modules. Therefore, it helped me in variable areas. Overall, I would say it taught me how to handle my daily work better as time pressure on the tasks are always high.»

What advice do you have for current or new MSE students?
«You should try to select modules which might help you the most in your future career (not to select just the easiest ones). In addition, it does make sense to find an industrial partner which estimates your time working on the projects and implements some of your advice.»

What's your favorite MSE study memory?
«I liked the excursions to innovative companies and most of all the international program.»

In which areas were you able to develop the most through your MSE studies?
«I could improve my skills mostly in leadership, project and quality management.»

What were your main reasons for choosing the MSE programme?
«The main reason I choose the MSE program was the huge amount of time spent for individual projects. I could spend two semesters analysing strategically and develop company goals & strategies for my own company.»

Patrick Hüsser, MSE Graduate

What challenges do you see engineers facing in the next decade, and how do you think a Master of Science in Engineering can prepare students to tackle these challenges?
«VUCA comes to mind as it describes the challenges we’re facing: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. The Master helps the students to learn and apply methods that counter VUCA to build Vision, Understanding, Creativity, and Agility.»

What do you think are the most important skills that MSE students should develop during their studies?
«Networked thinking and collaboration are the most important skills anyone should master. The challenges we’re facing in today’s business world are so complex that we can only tackle them through joining forces with people that bring resources and competencies to the table that we ourselves don’t have.»

What do you enjoy most about guiding and coaching MSE students during their specialization projects and master thesis?
«I very much enjoy the real-life challenges from companies that the students are tackling. It is nice to give strategic advice both on the challenge for the company as well as that of the student to solve a problem in a structured way. Seeing the progress, the students make during their project, is rewarding.»

What advice do you have for new MSE students?
«Stay curious – keep experimenting, keep failing, keep learning!»

What are some lessons you've learned as an MSE expert?
«Identifying the right problem to solve as early as possible. Once that is clear, design a straightforward plan to solve the problem with proper learning loops that make sure you stay on track. Any project can easily fall victim to “scope creep” (also from ideas from the external expert 🙂 ).»

Tobias Pforr, MSE Expert
Business Lead at Hexagon Geosystems