Bachelor of Engineering in Intelligent Manufacturing and Mechatronics
Uganda's industrial parks are filling with plant that nobody local can commission, optimise or repair, and the resulting dependence on imported technicians is a recurring hidden cost of industrialisation. This programme builds the engineer ...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Manufacturing engineer
- automation and controls engineer
- process and industrial engineer
- maintenance and reliability engineer
- quality engineer
- production manager
- plant commissioning engineer
- industrial digitalisation lead.
Employer types
- Food and beverage processors
- pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturers
- steel, cement and building materials
- packaging
- automotive assembly
- industrial parks
- and machinery suppliers.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Directly aligned to the sustainable industrialisation theme of the Fourth National Development Plan with immediate absorption in the manufacturing sector.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Engineering in Intelligent Manufacturing and Mechatronics. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 110 | Engineering Mathematics I Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 111 | Engineering Mechanics and Materials Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 112 | Programming for Engineers Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| IEM 113 | Engineering Drawing, CAD and Fabrication Practicum Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 130 | Engineering Mathematics II Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 131 | Thermofluids and Energy Systems Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 132 | Electrical Circuits, Machines and Drives Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 133 | Manufacturing Processes Practicum Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 210 | Sensors, Instrumentation and Measurement Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 211 | Industrial Automation and PLC Programming Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 212 | Control Systems Engineering Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 213 | Engineering Statistics and Quality Methods Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 230 | Mechatronic System Design and Integration Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 231 | Industrial Safety and Standards Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 310 | Robotics for Manufacturing Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 311 | Digital Twins and Industrial Simulation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 312 | Industrial Internet of Things and Edge Systems Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| IEM 313 | Machining, CNC and Additive Manufacturing Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 330 | Production Systems, Lean and Constraint Management Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| IEM 331 | Maintenance and Reliability Engineering Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 410 | Manufacturing Analytics and Predictive Maintenance Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 411 | Factory Commissioning Practicum (live plant) Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| IEM 412 | Supply Chain and Operations for Manufacturers Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 430 | Manufacturing Capstone: Line Improvement for a Real Plant Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| IEM 431 | Environmental Engineering and Cleaner Production Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 432 | Engineering Economics and Project Management Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 433 | Professional Engineering Practice, Ethics and Registration Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 178
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Engineering in Intelligent Manufacturing and Mechatronics
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Design and commission an automated production cell to a stated cycle time and quality target.
- PLO 2Program and integrate programmable logic controllers drives, robots and industrial networks.
- PLO 3Apply quality engineering and statistical process control to raise yield in a real process.
- PLO 4Build and use a digital twin to diagnose and optimise a physical process.
- PLO 5Plan and execute maintenance and reliability strategy including condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.
- PLO 6Apply lean and constraint based methods to a real factory and quantify the improvement.
- PLO 7Manage industrial safety, environmental compliance and workforce consequences of automation.
- PLO 8Cost, justify and lead a capital equipment investment.
Why this programme exists
Uganda's industrial parks are filling with plant that nobody local can commission, optimise or repair, and the resulting dependence on imported technicians is a recurring hidden cost of industrialisation. This programme builds the engineer who can walk into a production line and make it work better: automation, instrumentation, quality systems, digital twins and the analytics that lift yield. It is taught on a genuine working production cell that the cohort operates, breaks and maintains, and its assessments are measured in cycle time, defect rate and downtime.
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in Physics and Mathematics, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, Physics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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