Programme Schedule 2024/25

The MTD (Sustainable Product Design) is offered as a one-year full-time coursework-based Master programme. It comprises eight courses (96 credits): two core design courses and four specialised courses, and design projects organised as follows:

Term 1 (Sep - Dec)

Course Title	Credit Points	Course Type
Innovation by Design	12	Design Core
Digital Manufacturing	12	Specialisation Core
Materials and Manufacturing Process Selection in Design	12	Specialisation Core

Term 2 (Jan - Apr)

Course Title	Credit Points	Course Type
Design Science	12	Design Core
Design for Sustainability	12	Specialisation Core
Design Project 1	12	Experiential Learning

Term 3 (May - Aug)

Course Title	Credit Points	Course Type
Product Representation, Manufacturing and Assembly	12	Specialisation Core
Design Project 2	12	Experiential Learning

Course Descriptions

Innovation by Design (Term 1)

The focus of this course is the integration of marketing, design, engineering and manufacturing functions in creating and developing a new product, system or service. The course will go through the different phases of designing a new product, system or service using the four Ds of the four-phase Design Innovation Cycle of "Discover-Define-Develop-Deliver". The course will focus on some of the critical success factors for new product development, with an early emphasis on design thinking. Students will be given a design challenge to complete.

Digital Manufacturing (Term 1)

The main objective of this course is to provide students with exposure to state‐of‐the‐art digital design and manufacturing processes and how they can be connected via digital workflows for product innovation. This course also highlights the potential benefits of digital design and manufacturing to reduce negative environmental impacts and enable a circular economy.

Materials and Manufacturing Process Selection in Design (Term 1)

The course looks deep into the selection of materials and manufacturing processes, their close relation to material properties and product aesthetics and perceptions. The sustainability of different combinations of materials and processes will be investigated and quantified from an economic, environmental, and performance standpoint in different industries.

Design Science (Term 2)

This course introduces students to design science where many design principles and methods will be reviewed, applied and analysed. Students will learn to make connections between design science and other fields, such as engineering, and how principles in design science can be used to advance these fields. The class will cover a broad set of design methods such as customer needs analysis, methods in creativity, functional modelling, design for X and design for testing and verification.

Design for Sustainability (Term 2)

This course serves as a point of integration between different disciplines in relation to the complex problem of sustainability and product development, capturing the value of sustainability from different perspectives. It uses proven design methods to investigate the impact of sustainability in the context of intra‐company (by looking at the design, production, and organisation management processes), inter‐company (by looking at supply chains and logistics) and at the end‐of‐life (by looking at the possible avenues to dispose, re‐use or re‐cycle products, and connecting this back to product design and organisation management). Case studies will be used extensively.

Product Representation, Manufacturing and Assembly (Term 3)

The course is divided into two parts. The first part explores how the modes of representation of a product concept throughout the design process have an impact on the product itself, and how best to communicate the product concept to different stakeholders. The second part looks at strategies for manufacturing and assembly of physical mass‐produced products, and the implications of product architecture on these decisions.

Design Project (Term 2 & 3)

Design Project 1: Ideate to Prototype (Term 2)

This is the first of a series of two terms. The student will work on a topic/problem discussed with his/her supervisor. The focus of Ideate will be on the 'Discover', 'Define', and 'Develop' phases of product design. Students will be exposed to the necessary tools and methods and the reasons why those are important and successful in addressing these phases. Typical activities for this term will be to develop familiarity with the methods and techniques of the lab/research, do literature review, conduct interviews and/or focus groups, depending on the specific topic/problem under study, and prototype and test particular solutions to the problem (proofs of concept, or POC).

Design Project 2: Prototype to Realise (Term 3)

This second part of the series will take up the results from Design Project 1 and further refine the POC, iterating that process until function and performance are met as closely as possible, or at least converge to a defined target. The aim will be to develop the POC into full-blown prototypes, potentially ready for customer testing and trials. The student will work on manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, and distribution of the products, which in turn may initiate new concepts and new prototypes. The course may require engagement with external suppliers, manufacturers, marketers, as well as distributors, depending on the nature of the products.

Note: The detailed course descriptions may be subject to change.

Contact Us

For enquiries, please email: MTD@sutd.edu.sg

For applicants residing in China, please email: MTD_CN@sutd.edu.sg

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