FAQ
I note the emphasis on the technical relevance of the ESD courses. Does SUTD's HASS approach make me more valuable as a potential employee?
HASS equips you with the perspectives and skills to see engineering problems within a human- and social-centred context. These courses take you beyond questions of “What?” and “How?” and encourage you to think of “Why?” and “Why not?” Employers will value well-rounded engineers and reward them with leadership responsibilities.
Is there a lot of math and programming in the ESD curriculum?
The foundation of the ESD curriculum is operations research, the branch of applied mathematics dealing with decision making and operations analysis. These mathematical techniques are imbedded in a variety of software packages and libraries. You must understand the mathematical principles and develop facility with software and programming to make effective use of these tools and techniques. So, both mathematics and programming are a part of the ESD curriculum. ISTD likely requires more time spent coding than ESD.
Will there be hands-on experience in ESD?
Definitely, yes. Please read the descriptions of projects in the earlier response.
What kind of projects will ESD students be undertaking in terms 4-6?
Term 4:
Data and Business Analytics: Your first ESD project is with a real client from industry or government and typically involves mining a large corporate data set for business insights and making recommendations to the client. In subsequent projects, you will find your own clients.
Term 5:
Manufacturing and Service Operations and Statistics: Propose and validate ways to improve the operations of an organization combining tools from statistics and operations analysis.
Engineering Systems Architecture: Design, build, and test a game or device to meet a social objective.
Term 6:
Simulation Modelling and Analysis: Conduct a digital simulation of an organization’s operations before and after a proposed improvement and measure the benefit.
Network Analysis and Control: Find a database describing a large scale network and analyse its structural properties.
Does ESD offer a minor?
Currently ESD does not offer a minor.
Does the ESD curriculum involve a lot of Physics?
The ESD core modules – Probability, Optimisation, Statistics, Operations Management, Stochastic & Network Modelling, etc. – do not directly include many Physics concepts. However, these analytical tools can be used to study Physics problems. In terms 6, 7, and 8 students choose the majority of their courses. Since students can take up to 36 credits from another pillar, they can choose electives that are either related to Physics, or not related to Physics.
What specialisations are available within ESD?
The ESD programme gives you the opportunity to select 60 credits from elective courses. This flexibility gives you the chance to customise your degree and specialise if you want to. One way to specialise is to follow one of the specific ESD specialisation tracks.
How is design incorporated into ESD?
One of the most exciting aspects of Design at SUTD is that it comes in so many forms and flavors. The theme of design is very important in the study of systems. ESD gives you the tools to model, analyse, and optimise real-world systems with a goal that our students will design robust infrastructures and design management policies that lead to increased efficiency, production, revenue, and performance in these complex systems. In the pillar years you will engage in course design projects and case studies that facilitate this kind of thinking.
Are ESD graduates competitive with NUS ISE graduates?
SUTD is a selective school committed to educating the people that will be future leaders of industry, government, and academia. We have many industry and government partners that have committed to hiring our students as interns and graduates as employees, which is a testament to the fact that they believe ESD students will be extremely competitive.
What is the difference between ESD and Industrial Engineering (IE)?
Industrial Engineering (IE) is a subset of ESD and a student could choose to build a profile similar to that of an IE. ESD is broader because we embrace a wider range of applications and emphasise more economics, public policy and management. An even more significant difference is the rigor of our courses, the high calibre of our faculty, and the unique educational experience we offer (smaller classes, industry involvement, project-based learning, research opportunities, and connection to MIT).