You can find course descriptions in Sisu. In your study plan, choose the course and click the course code or search courses by code or name. Learning environments are found in MyCourses through search or after registration in "My own courses".
Interdisciplinary Product Development (advanced minor)
Basic information
Code:
ENG3094
Extent:
18–25
ECTS
Curriculum:
2026–2028
2024–2026
Level:
Advanced studies
Language of learning:
English
Target group:
All Aalto students
Teacher in charge:
Tua Björklund
Administrative contact:
Katri Koistinen
Organising department:
Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering
Organiser:
School of Engineering
Prerequisites:
Bachelor's degree
Quotas and restrictions:
-
Application process:
-
Content and structure of the minor
About the minor
Creative problem solving is one of the most sought-after skills in creating sustainable futures. Interdisciplinary product development offers students the opportunity to apply knowledge gained from their majors to the whole process of building products, from ideas to functional prototypes. The minor covers different processes and practices needed in innovation and creative collaboration, preparing students for industry and research positions in product development, product management, research centers and a wide variety of positions where research, development and innovation skills are needed.
Product development courses offer theory and industry cases hand-in-hand. In this minor, students will learn skills and methodologies that experts use during the complex process of developing new solutions. Our courses are hosted at Aalto Design Factory (www.adf.fi), a space that offers students 24/7 access to working spaces, materials and prototyping facilities, from machining and 3D printing to electronics workshops and woodwork.
Not sure this minor is for you? We believe everyone can benefit from understanding product development processes and you are warmly welcome to take any of the courses even if you do not intend to complete an entire minor. On the other hand, if you get drawn into the world of product development, students in the Mechanical Engineering master’s program can also make this into a major.
After completing the interdisciplinary product development minor, students will be able to contribute to product development projects, bringing along their discipline specific core skills and perspectives to design a sustainable future. Students will understand the dynamics of product development processes and collaboration, and will be able to recognize, scope, and solve both complex and incremental development needs and opportunities by utilizing a wide array of creativity and innovation methodologies.
Choose the amount of courses you need to have in your degree program (18-25 ECTS). You can combine whatever courses you like from the listed courses, however, we recommend including MEC-E3001 Product Development Project where students work in interdisciplinary company-provided projects and a 10 000 euro budget, spanning from initial challenge scoping all the way to a functional solution.
Sisu-instructions, 2026-2028
Content
Name of the minor in Finnish: Poikkitieteellinen tuotekehitys (syventävä sivuaine)
Name of the minor in Swedish:Tvärvetenskaplig produktutveckling (fördjubade biämne)
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Teaching |
|---|---|---|---|
Optional, Choose 18-25 credits from the following product development courses: |
|||
| MEC-E3001 | Product Development Project | 10-15 | I-V, English |
| MEC-E3007 | Product Sustainability | 5 | I-II, English |
| MEC-E3200 | Foundations of Product Development | 5 | II-III, English |
| MEC-E3005 | Prototyping for Innovation 1 | 5 | III, English |
| MEC-E3080 | Global Innovation Practices | 3 | IV, English |
| MEC-E3021 (prev. MEC-E3020) |
Methods in Early Product Development | 5 | V, English |
| MEC-E3900 | Prototyping tools at the Design Factory | 1 | any (selection of modules), English |
| JOIN-E3911 (prev. JOIN-E3910) |
Design thinking for innovation | 1 | any (online self-study course), English |
| JOIN-E3940 (prev. JOIN-E3910) |
Designing for futures | 1 | any (online self-study course), English |
| JOIN-E3921 (prev. JOIN-E3920 |
Effective ideation | 1 | any (online self-study course), English |
| JOIN-E3950 (prev. JOIN-E3920) |
Creative collaboration | 1 | 2026-2027: No teaching 2027-2028: any (online self-study course), English |
Optional, Choose 0-6 credits from complementary development related courses from other Aalto programs: |
|||
| ARTS (collaborative and industrial design) | |||
| MUO-E0028 | Design Theory2 | 3 | II |
| MUO-E3065 | Design for Social Change – Participation3 | 6 | II |
| MUO-E3061 | Interaction Design: User Experience | 6 | III |
| MUO-E3060 | Interaction Design: User Interfaces4 | 6 | III |
| SCI (industrial engineering management and computer science) | |||
| TU-E5070 | Principles of Product Management | 3 | I, III |
| TU-E5042 | Product Leadership and Operating Models D | 5 | I |
| CS-C3120 | Human-Computer Interaction | 5 | I-II |
| CS-E4900 | User-Centered Methods for Product and Service Design D | 5 | II |
| ENG (production engineering) | |||
| MEC-E1090 | Quality Management and Metrology | 5 | II |
| ELEC (computational design) | |||
| ELEC-E7852 |
Computational Design and Interaction D5 (requires good programming skills) |
5 | II |
| BIZ (sustainable entrepreneurship) | |||
| MNGT-E3006 | Entrepreneurial Futures | 6 | II |
| MNGT-C3001 | Go to Market for Founders | 6 | II |
| MNGT-E3003 | Social Innovation | 6 | III |
1 If you have already included MEC-E5005 in the Aaltonaut minor, you cannot include it in the Interdisciplinary Product Development minor.
2 The course has a quota for 10 product development students, with major students accepted before minor students.
3 10 credits of product development studies accepted as the required prerequisites for the course
4 The course has a quota for 5 product development students, with major students accepted before minor students.
5 Requires fluent skills in coding, basic knowledge of machine learning and human-computer interaction will be helpful. As such, we recommend this course mainly to students majoring in computer science or mechatronics.
Previous curricula
Code: ENG3094
Extent: 20–25 ECTS
Curriculum: 2024–2026
Level: Advanced studies
Language of learning: English
Theme: ICT and digitalisation Materials and sustainable use of natural resources
Target group: All Aalto students
Teacher in charge: Tua Björklund
Administrative contact: Katri Koistinen
Organising department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
School: School of Engineering
Prerequisites: Bachelor's degree
Quotas and restrictions: -
Application process: -
Content and structure of the minor
About the minor
Description of the minor
Creative problem solving is one of the most sought-after skills in creating sustainable futures. Interdisciplinary product development offers students the opportunity to apply knowledge gained from their majors to the whole process of building products, from ideas to functional prototypes. The minor covers different processes and practices needed in innovation and creative collaboration, preparing students for industry and research positions in product development, product management, research centers and a wide variety of positions where research, development and innovation skills are needed.
Product development courses offer theory and industry cases hand-in-hand. In this minor, students will learn skills and methodologies that experts use during the complex process of developing new solutions. Our courses are hosted at Aalto Design Factory (www.adf.fi), a space that offers students 24/7 access to working spaces, materials and prototyping facilities, from machining and 3D printing to electronics workshops and woodwork.
Not sure this minor is for you? We believe everyone can benefit from understanding product development processes and you are warmly welcome to take any of the courses even if you do not intend to complete an entire minor. On the other hand, if you get drawn into the world of product development, students in the Mechanical Engineering master’s program can also make this into a major.
Intended learning outcomes
After completing the interdisciplinary product development minor, students will be able to contribute to product development projects, bringing along their discipline specific core skills and perspectives to design a sustainable future. Students will understand the dynamics of product development processes and collaboration, and will be able to recognize, scope, and solve both complex and incremental development needs and opportunities by utilizing a wide array of creativity and innovation methodologies.
Content description
Choose the amount of courses you need to have in your degree program (20-25 ECTS).
What kind of interdisciplinary experience are you looking for? Usually all of our courses have interdisciplinary teaching teams. In Product Development Project and Product Sustainability, you will work in interdisciplinary team projects, whereas in Prototyping for Innovation and Global Innovation Practices you will collaborate in-class but deliver individual assignments. Product Development Project and Global Innovation Practices include interacting with students from international partner universities.
If you take the Product Development Project (PDP, www.pdp.fi), you should take Methods in Early Product Development at the same time if you intend to do a minor in product development (if you have not already taken MEC-E3002 before 2024). However, Methods in Early Product Development can also be taken without PDP.
Sisu-instructions, 2024-2026
You can find course descriptions in Sisu. In your study plan, choose the course and click the course code or search courses by code or name. Learning environments are found in MyCourses through search or after registration in "My own courses".
Content
| Code | Course name | ECTS | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
Optional, Choose 19-25 credits from the following product development courses: |
|||
| MEC-E3001 | Product Development Project | 10-15 | I-V |
|
MEC-E3020 (prev. MEC-E3002) |
Methods in Early Product Development | 3 | II |
| MEC-E3005 | Prototyping for Innovation | 5 | III |
| MEC-E30071 | Product Sustainability | 5 | I-II |
| MEC-E3080 | Global Innovation Practices | 3 | II |
| MEC-E3900 | Prototyping tools at the Design Factory | 1 | any (self-study and a live workshop introduction, organized weekly in Periods I-V excluding holidays) |
|
JOIN-E3910 (prev. MEC-E3006) |
Design thinking for innovation | 1-2 | any (online self-study course) |
| JOIN-E3920 | Ideation and creative collaboration | 1-2 | any (online self-study course) |
Optional, Choose 0-6 credits from complementary development related courses from other Aalto programs: |
|||
| ARTS (collaborative and industrial design) | |||
| MUO-E3061 | Interaction Design: User Experience | 6 | III |
| MUO-E3060 | Interaction Design: User Interfaces2 | 6 | III |
| MUO-E3065 | Design for Social Change – Participation3 | 6 | II |
| SCI (industrial engineering management and computer science) | |||
| TU-E5070 | Principles of Product Management | 3 | I, III |
| TU-E5041 | Product Leadership D | 5 | II |
| CS-C3120 | Human-Computer Interaction | 5 | I-II |
| CS-E4900 | User-Centered Methods for Product and Service Design D | 5 | II |
| ELEC (computational design) | |||
| ELEC-E7852 |
Computational Design and Interaction D (requires good programming skills)4 |
5 | II |
| BIZ (sustainable entrepreneurship) | |||
| MNGT-E3003 | Social Innovation | 6 | III |
1 Note that you can only include MEC-E3007 in your degree if you have not completed the previous AAN-C2007 Product Sustainability course.
2 The course has a quota for 5 product development students.
3 10 credits of product development studies accepted as the required prerequisites for the course
4 Requires fluent skills in coding, basic knowledge of machine learning and human-computer interaction will be helpful. As such, we recommend this course mainly to students majoring in computer science or mechatronics.