Master of Science in Product Invention and Advanced Prototyping
The gap between a working prototype and a manufacturable product is where African hardware ambition most often ends, and closing it requires a level of engineering and manufacturing judgement that a first degree rarely supplies. This progra...
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
- Senior product engineer
- head of hardware
- design for manufacture lead
- research and development manager
- technical founder of a hardware venture
- manufacturing engineering lead
- product consultant.
Employer types
- Manufacturers and contract fabricators
- medical device, agricultural equipment and energy product companies
- research and development functions
- design consultancies
- industrial development agencies
- and hardware ventures.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- A small, high value technical market with strong founder application and rising demand as regional manufacturing capacity grows.
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 Master of Science in Product Invention and Advanced Prototyping. 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?
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 501 | Applied Intelligence for Professionals Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 502 | Research Evidence and Method Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BIV 510 | Advanced Product Architecture and Systems Engineering Performance | 6 | 1-0-10 |
| BIV 511 | Design for Manufacture, Tooling and Process Selection Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| BIV 512 | Advanced Electronics, Firmware and Power Design Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BIV 513 | Materials, Processes and Failure Analysis Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 503 | Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BIV 520 | Advanced Prototyping and Test Studio Performance | 8 | 1-0-14 |
| BIV 521 | Compliance, Certification and Regulatory Routes Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 522 | Reliability, Environmental and Safety Testing Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 523 | Manufacturing Economics, Tooling and Supply Chain Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 524 | Advanced Elective Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIV 530 | Major Project: Production Ready Product and Manufacturing Package Performance | 20 | 0-2-38 |
| BIV 531 | Embedded Intelligence Under Constraint Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 532 | Technical Communication and Manufacturing Documentation Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
Total credit units: 91
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 Master of Science in Product Invention and Advanced Prototyping
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 SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 31 CU
Cumulative
31
Programme total
90
31 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (34%)
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 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 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 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. 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 1Take a prototype to a production ready design with full manufacturing documentation.
- PLO 2Apply advanced design for manufacture, tooling and process selection at volume.
- PLO 3Plan and execute a compliance and certification route for a product.
- PLO 4Design and run test regimes for reliability, safety and environmental performance.
- PLO 5Integrate intelligent capability under real power, cost and connectivity constraints.
- PLO 6Model production cost, tooling investment and the economics of a first run.
Why this programme exists
The gap between a working prototype and a manufacturable product is where African hardware ambition most often ends, and closing it requires a level of engineering and manufacturing judgement that a first degree rarely supplies. This progra...
Admission requirements
A Bachelor's degree of at least Second Class Lower Division in engineering, industrial design, physics, computing with hardware experience, or a cognate discipline; a portfolio of built work is required and may substitute for part of the academic requirement under Part G3. 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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