Frequently asked questions

1. Were will I find the legal and structural regulations of my master program?

The study and examination regulations are the main “law” students need to follow during the execution of the master program. It can be found in its current version under here.
The available lectures for the master program are defined in the module handbook and the module catalogue. They can be found in its current version at here.

2. Which modules shall I select for my master program?

The answer to this question strongly depends on the interest of the student asking it.
Each lecture contains theoretical and practical parts, is motivated by practical use cases, and is oriented towards practical application.
Main decision criteria for students shall be the intended working environment after the master program addressing more specialised skills within one or more scientific fields or targeting more generalized skills.

Examples of motivations and decisions can be:

i.	Students might be mainly interested to become a systems engineer. They shall combine modules from the scientific fields Digital systems and Planning and Control and shall accompany them with selected modules ranging under the scientific field Scientific basics.
ii.	Students might be mainly interested in design and control of production systems. They shall combine modules from the scientific fields Digital systems, Planning and Control, and Logistics.
iii.	Students might be mainly interested in design of products. They shall combine modules from the scientific fields Mechanics, Digital systems, and Manufacturing technology.
iv.	Students might be mainly interested in the application of simulations for different purposes. They shall combine modules from the scientific fields Mechanics, Digital systems, and Logistics.
v.	To be extended ???

3. How to enrol to a module?

Enrolment to a module is based on two main activities.
At first students shall register for a lecture at LSF. Therefore,
(1) you shall log in at LSF under https://lsf.ovgu.de using your university account,
(2) search for your program time table under curricula timetable,
(3) choose the lecture of interest, and (4) register to the lecture.
At second students shall register to the lecture at eLearning. This step strongly depends on the decision of the registration process by the related lecturer. In general,
(1) you need to log in the eLearing platform page under https://elearning.ovgu.de using your university account,
(2) search for the required module,
(3) select it, and
(4) follow the enrolment process defined for this module.

4. How can students enrol or de-enrol to exams?

To take part in an exam, students have to apply for it. The application to exams will be possible in each winter semester between November 15th and November 30th and in each summer semester between May 15th and May 31st Students missing these deadlines cannot participate in exams.
The application to an exam is executed over LSF.
Therefore,
(1) students shall log in at LSF under https://lsf.ovgu.de using your university account,
(2) then go to administration of exams and choose apply for exams,
(3) select within the upcoming lecture tree the module of the intended exam,
(4) use the point “registration for exam” to access the registration page and
(5) register by selecting yes.
Students will get a verification mail for the registration. If this mail does not arrive within some minute students shall recheck.
If an application is not possible over LSF, students shall contact the examination office as early as possible to not miss the registration deadline. For some lecture the application is made on written request.
After application to an exam the related lecturer will check the fulfilment of prerequisites for attending the exam for each student. If they are fulfilled the student is enrolled to the exam.
In case of medical and other issues students can de-enrol from an exam until one week before the exam. Therefore the same way in LSF shall be used as for application.

5. Can exam results be reviewed by students?

A review of the results of a written exam is generally possible.
The review process is based on the decisions of the examiner.
Usually the examiner defines review dates for all students.
Students are asked to contact the examiner to be informed about the review process.

6. Can an exam be repeated?

Each module of the Systems Engineering for Manufacturing master program is terminated by an examination. Depending on the type of lecture the examination can be written or oral exam or be a written semester work possibly accompanied by an oral presentation.
If the first exam for a module is evaluated as not sufficient (mark 5,0) the exam can be repeated (first retry).
In case of an exam failed a second time conditionally it can be repeated once again (second retry). This is only possible two times within the complete master program.
In case of an exam failed a third time conditionally it can be repeated once again (third retry). This is only possible one times within the complete master program if there was only one second retry.
A successfully passed exam can only conditionally be repeated once again. This is only possible one times within the complete master program if there was not more than one second retry and it is considered as second retry.

7. Why students need to re-registrate each semester?

With the re-registration students confirm against the university that they will follow their study program also in the upcoming semester. This is necessary following legal regulations as well as financial issues, as part of the re-registration is the payment of the semester fee.
Re-registration is mandatory for validation of the student card and, thereby, to have access to necessary documents for the foreigner’s registration office of Magdeburg for the upcoming semester.
The re-registration process is defined under https://www.ovgu.de/en/reregistration.html

8. Can results from prior master programs be accepted?

Students can request the integration of study results from other master programs they have attended within the Systems Engineering for Manufacturing master program.
This is only possible under written request to the examination board of the master program and it the modules to be accepted are in line with the master program structure.
Students are encouraged to discuss acceptance cases with the examination office.

9. Which internships are acceptable?

The internship is an integral part of the Systems Engineering for Manufacturing master program. It shall enable students to apply gained knowledge, gain practical experience, and get in contact with German industry.
To enable students to follow their special interests, students shall independently search for an internship. The university is not limiting the applicability of companies nor providing or defining applicable companies.
Limitations to applicable internships are based on the work environment and the internship topic. The work environment shall be characterized by engineers, foreman, technicians and craftsmen working on design, implementation and use of technical systems. Typical internship topics shall be the design, implementation, commissioning, test, or validation of products, production systems or their components.

10. When shall I start my internship and how is it recognised in my program?

Within the Systems Engineering for Manufacturing master program the internship shall be executed within the third semester.
At this point students have gained 50 ECTS or more. By that they have gain sufficient knowledge to apply it successfully within practical applications.
At the end of the internship students have to provide an internship certificate from the company and an internship report, both addressing the duration and content of the internship, to the examination office. They will be approved by a lecturer for validity as internship.
If the approval is successful and the 50 ECTS rule are fulfilled the credits are recognised within the master program.
Details on the internship are defined in the internship regulations available at here.

11. Where can I find an applicable topic for my master thesis?

The development and defence of the master thesis is the last step within the Systems Engineering for Manufacturing master program. Thereby, students shall show, that they are able to solve a scientific problem independently and successfully.
It shall be executed within the fourth, i.e. last, semester of the program and has a duration of 20 weeks.
The master thesis can be started if 80 ECTS of the study program are successfully completed.
A topic of a master thesis can only be issued by a professor (or another lecturer) of our faculty. Students can suggest topics but professors are free in their decision to accept a topic.
Usually research groups of our faculty announcing available master thesis topics at …. Here students can find topics and apply for them at the related research group.
In addition, students can try to find thesis topics from companies, usually during their internship. With these topics they need to search for a professor accepting this topic and being able to supervise it. With this professor the topic will usually be adapted to follow the aims of a master thesis. Students need to be aware that the search for a supervisor need not be successful as each research team has its own field of work and usually can only supervise topics that fall into this field. Students shall not sign any contract with companies before successfully finding a supervisor and having the finally signed thesis topic.

More FAQ related to the study at our university can be found under https://www.ovgu.de/en/Fragen_zum_Studium.html