MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN SMART MANUFACTURING AND SYSTEMS

Professional Master’s Program

What is the anticipated completion time of the program?
Students will complete the program in four to five semesters (16 or 20 months). The duration depends on whether a student takes a four or eight-month internship during their study.

Where will this program be located?
The SMS program will be hosted at the SFU Surrey campus. Its close proximity to Surrey City Hall and the developing Industry 4.0 industry clusters within the South Fraser region will allow for enhanced collaboration in building a sector-specific graduate engineering program that leads the change in manufacturing and operations in British Columbia.

What is a Professional Master’s Program, and what are the benefits?
A professional graduate degree provides advanced training that prepares students for industry employment immediately after graduation. The industry internships in this program will provide our students with real world experience that will position them as an ideal candidate for top employers.

What industry challenge does this program address? What is the career outlook after graduation?
The SMS program will support the high-demand occupations in the technology sector. There is a growing demand for advanced manufacturing professionals in Canada and around the world. This leading-edge professional graduate degree program will help address the critical skill gaps and labour shortages that Canada is facing in the manufacturing sector. Graduates from the SMS program will be predestined to become leaders (engineering managers and entrepreneurs) in technology innovation shaping our future.

What is the program delivery method? Is this a course-based or thesis-based program?
This is a course-based program, that includes hands-on industry internships. Students will complete at least 30 units of graduate work divided into four sections:

• 12 units of specialized hands-on lab courses (Smart Factory I and II)
• 12 units of required core courses (Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, 3D Manufacturing, etc.)
• 3 units of electives (Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, etc.)
• 3 or 6 units for internship, typically working for at least four months with an industry partner in the advanced manufacturing sector anywhere in Canada

Does the SMS (MEng) program require supervision? Will I have to chose a Supervisor, like MSE's MASc and PhD programs?
Supervision is not required for the SMS program. This means students will not be working with a supervisor.

How does the SMS program compare to similar programs in B.C. or Canada?
SMS will be uniquely positioned as the only master’s level professional degree program for training in Industry 4.0 in Western Canada. In B.C., there are no MEng degrees offered in this area but several course-based MEng programs in other areas of specialization. While other advanced manufacturing and digital manufacturing programs are available in a few other Canadian universities, SMS is the first in Canada to focus specifically on Industry 4.0 topics such as smart factories, big data analytics, industrial IoT and digital twin technology as a complete package. The lab experiences in the SMS program are also unique and will provide hands-on experiences that qualify students to work in industry immediately after graduation. Likewise, SMS involves compulsory industry internships, which are valuable experiences that further prepare our students for their professional career after graduation.

What areas/sectors of employment will graduates be prepared for? What opportunities are there for further studies?
Graduates from the SMS program will be prepared for careers in areas related to Industry 4.0 such as digital manufacturing, IoT, robotics and automation, cyber-physical systems, predictive maintenance and big data analytics. Graduates can also pursue further studies (e.g., PhD, MBA) across a wide variety of interest areas including mechatronics, information technology, data science, manufacturing, and business administration and management.

What are some examples of new career opportunities that are specific to this degree?
See the Careers page (click on the Careers button near the top of this page).