The Manufacturing Engineering programme was initially established as one of the degree programmes offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1994 under the Kulliyyah of Engineering. To ensure better management of this programme, the Kulliyyah decided to place it under the Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, newly formed in 2003. The programme focuses on design, advanced manufacturing technology, CAD/CAM/CAE, materials and processing techniques, computer integrated manufacturing systems and management skills to enhance quality, speed and flexibility of manufacturing.
To receive a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in (Manufacturing) (Honours) offered by the Department of Manufacturing & Materials Engineering (MME), a student must satisfy all the requirements of the University, Kulliyyah and the Department. They must complete not less than 139 credit hours of coursework including 22 credit hours of the University’s required courses, 20 credit hours of the Kulliyyah required courses, and 97 credit hours of the Department’s required courses. The medium of instruction for the programme is English and the duration is four years (full-time).
The present and future courses are planned to provide a congruous collection of courses that can respond to the rapid advances in the field of manufacturing engineering. By choosing a coherent set of electives in the third and fourth years, the students can adjust their learning according to their aptitudes and aspirations.
The programmes offered by the Department are updated through vigorous meetings and continuous elaborations. The outcomes are reviewed in the light of feedbacks from industry through Engineering Industrial Training Programmes (EIT), feedbacks from alumni and reports from other stakeholders, as well as recommendations from external examiners, and the EAC accreditation process. All suggestions and feedbacks are addressed in the curriculum of the programme during regular review activities. Hence the Department is confident that the developed curriculum of the programme will meet the demands and the challenges of the future.
What's in a name ?
We are Materials Engineering programme, at IIUM.
At most other universities, these days, materials are studied in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, a name that has gradually become standardized since it was first coined at Northwestern University, in the 1960’s. The predecessors of all these departments of Materials Science & Engineering, were typically departments of Metallurgy, Metallurgical Engineering, Mining, Ceramics, and so on. And, yes, this was the School of Metallurgical Engineering in 1959 (when it became independent from the School of Chemical Engineering) and adopted its present name in 1973. In IIUM, it was decided that Materials Engineering programme to be hosted by the Department Of Manufacturing at that time.
Material Eng.
What is Material Engineering ?
New materials have been among the greatest achievements of every age and they have been central to the growth, prosperity, security, and quality of life of humans since the beginning of history. It is always new materials that open the door to new technologies, whether they are in civil, chemical, construction, nuclear, aeronautical, agricultural, mechanical, biomedical or electrical engineering.
Materials scientists and engineers continue to be at the forefront of all of these and many other areas of science, too. Materials science and engineering influences our lives each time we buy or use a new device, machine, or structure. (You can read more about the impact of this exciting field in our list of suggested readings.) The definition of the academic field of Materials Science & Engineering stems from a realization concerning every application of materials: it is the properties of the material that give it value. A material may be chosen for its strength, its electrical properties, resistance to heat or corrosion, or a host of other reasons; but they all relate to properties.
Experience shows that all of the useful properties of a material are intimately related to its structure, at all levels, including which atoms are present, how the atoms are joined, and how groups of atoms are arranged throughout the material. Most importantly, we learn how this structure, and the resulting properties, are controlled by the processing of the material.
Finally materials must perform their tasks in an economical and socially responsible manner. Understanding the relationships between properties, structure, processing and performance makes the Materials Engineer the master of the engineering universe
Why no Science ?
Well, we do teach a lot of science. Previous situation has it that there was once an objection to the already powerful Kulliyyah of Engineering venturing into the hallowed field of Science but, in fact, the title reflects our approach to materials – that we study them because of their engineering utility, not their scientific beauty. This is not to say that we are above stopping and smelling the scientific “roses,” and much of what we see in our microscopes is, indeed, truly beautiful. We just begin with the question “how could you make that?” and lead up to “why does it work?” rather than going the other way around. The emphasis on Engineering is not in opposition to science, it is just the fundamental reason for doing what we do, and it is appropriately reflected in our name.