Bachelor of Engineering in Robotics and Embodied Intelligence
Embodied intelligence has just been created as a formal undergraduate discipline in the world's largest university system, with institutions fast tracked to deliver it, and no African university offers a dedicated undergraduate degree in it...
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
- Robotics engineer
- controls engineer
- automation engineer
- perception engineer
- field robotics specialist
- robot integration engineer
- agricultural and industrial automation lead
- robotics founder.
Employer types
- Manufacturers and industrial parks
- agricultural processing and commercial farms
- logistics and warehousing
- mining and energy operators
- hospitals and laboratories
- international robotics firms hiring regionally
- and the graduate's own venture.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- A national first with no domestic competitor for graduates, and direct alignment with the industrialisation agenda of the national development plan.
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 Robotics and Embodied Intelligence. 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: Statics and Dynamics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 112 | Programming for Engineers Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| IEM 113 | Engineering Design, Drawing 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 | Electrical Circuits and Electronics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 132 | Materials and Manufacturing Processes Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 133 | Workshop and Machining Practicum Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| 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 | Robot Kinematics and Mechanism Design Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 211 | Sensors, Actuators and Instrumentation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 212 | Embedded Systems and Real Time Control Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 213 | Signals, Systems and Linear Control Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| 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 | Robot Dynamics and Advanced Control Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| IEM 231 | Engineering Statistics and Reliability 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 | Robot Perception and Computer Vision Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 311 | Machine Learning for Robotics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 312 | Robot Operating Systems and Software Architecture Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| IEM 313 | Mobile Robotics, Navigation and SLAM Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| 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 | Manipulation, Grasping and Human– Robot Interaction Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 331 | Robot Safety, Standards and Risk Assessment Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 410 | Embodied Intelligence: Learning in the Physical World Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 411 | Field Robotics for African Conditions Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 412 | Robotic System Integration and Commissioning Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| IEM 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 430 | Robotics Capstone: Deployed Machine for a Real Client Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| IEM 431 | Sustainment Practicum: Twelve Month Machine Maintenance Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| 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: 179
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 Robotics and Embodied Intelligence
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 Fluency CriticalLevel 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 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 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: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking. 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 1Model, analyse and control robotic mechanisms, including kinematics, dynamics and trajectory generation.
- PLO 2Design, build, instrument and commission a working robot for a defined field task.
- PLO 3Implement perception pipelines fusing vision, depth inertial and force sensing under real noise conditions.
- PLO 4Apply learning based methods to control and manipulation and state honestly when a classical method is better.
- PLO 5Design for African field conditions: dust, heat, vibration power interruption, no spare parts, and untrained operators.
- PLO 6Maintain, diagnose and repair a deployed robotic system over an extended period.
- PLO 7Assess and manage the safety, workforce and ethical consequences of automation in a specific workplace.
- PLO 8Cost a robotic solution and defend it against the manual alternative.
Why this programme exists
Embodied intelligence has just been created as a formal undergraduate discipline in the world's largest university system, with institutions fast tracked to deliver it, and no African university offers a dedicated undergraduate degree in it. Meanwhile the practical robotics Uganda needs is not humanoid but agricultural, industrial, logistical and clinical: machines that harvest, sort, inspect, move and assist under dust, heat, intermittent power and no service contract. This programme is built for that reality. Students design for field conditions, maintain what they build for a full year, and are assessed on machines that must still work in month twelve.
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in Physics and Mathematics, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, Physics and English. A practical aptitude and spatial reasoning task is set at admission. 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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