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Technical University of Munich
Image: Marc Mueller / TUM

connecTUM – an innovative teaching concept in the Bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering

Einleitung

The Bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering at the TUM School of Engineering and Design focuses on future-oriented teaching with in-depth practical relevance. With the innovative teaching concept connecTUM, a project has been launched to bring the central content of the introductory course to life using a real technical application - an urban cable car system. Students deepen their knowledge through practical demonstrations, excursions to industrial partners, and context-related guest lectures. Several professorships and chairs work together to enable a networked and application-oriented education.

  • Practical relevance: Students learn based on a real technical application.
  • Diverse learning formats: Demonstrators, excursions to industry partners, and guest lectures bring theory and practice together
  • Teamwork: several chairs work together to network content and increase understanding of learning through practical relevance.

  • It accompanies students backward through all phases of the product development process with an illustrative application reference - i.e., from the basics of production, design, and material selection to the application of basic knowledge in product development methods.
  • Two-thirds of undergraduate courses already actively incorporate the ropeway system into their teaching.
  • A digital platform supports orientation during studies and promotes exchange between courses.

connecTUM creates a lively, modern learning environment and prepares students specifically for the demands of the engineering profession.

  • Start of the initiative: 2019
  • Chairs involved: 14
  • Industry partners involved: Doppelmayr Holding SE, Leitner AG
  • Prizes and funding: VDMA Best Machine House, Ernst Otto Fischer Teaching Award, TUM Ideas Competition

Examples of the integration of connecTUM in teaching

The connecTUM teaching concept guidelines have already been successfully integrated into some courses in the Bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering. For example, current courses in the 2023/24 academic year already include the following exemplary references to cable cars in the lectures:

At the basic level, relevant assemblies and parts are shown for which the applicability of specific manufacturing processes, such as primary and forming processes, cutting and joining processes, is given, and the advantages and disadvantages of the manufacturing processes exist in the respective application context.

In a CAD practical course, a link to the demonstrator is established by designing the suspension of a cable car cabin.

In calculation and design tasks, assemblies such as an 8-roller battery (3rd semester) and exemplary multi-stage garage and sheave gears (4th semester) are addressed.

As part of the lecture and exercise, an exemplary development task from the requirements analysis to the design of a running gear of a circulating cable car is practiced.

SebI - A digital platform to support mechanical engineering studies at TUM

The digital information platform SebI (= Semester Accompanying Information Platform) was developed as part of the TUM Ideas Competition 2021 for the “Study-Related Reinforcement of the Excellence Strategy”. It accompanies students during the semester and is integrated into the TUM course management system Moodle. The aim is to promote learning through playful (gamified) content and make engaging with the course content easier.

A particular advantage of SebI is the context-related linking of the course content in the Bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering, which enables students to better understand how the course content relates.

Popover image of the semester-accompanying information platform “SebI”

  • Interactive hidden object: A graphical overview of the basic study program with information on participating chairs, the demonstrator, and its assemblies - all directly linked to the corresponding course content.
  • Forums: Exchange opportunities for students and lecturers, e.g., for organizational questions or discussions.
  • Information guide: A clear presentation of the foundation course with compulsory modules and electives.
  • Course overview: Semester-by-semester listing of all courses with information on content, structure, and direct download links to materials such as lecture notes or formula collections.

SebI also enables the use of modern, student-friendly teaching methods. The chatbot ChaX is currently being developed. It answers students' technical questions based on the teaching materials stored in SebI. ChaX uses this content exclusively and compiles suitable text excerpts as a solution-oriented answer based on the documents provided. The final solution must be worked out by the students, thus actively supporting the learning process.

Further functions are planned, such as

  • Additional information on courses related to the demonstrator
  • Short educational videos (“knowledge nuggets”) from and with the demonstrator

Links and publications

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