Information Systems Engineering and Management (MSc, Executive) at HECTOR School Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

During the last decades, we have witnessed a growing importance of information technology in business and society alongside increasing speeds of innovation cycles. IT has become core for businesses from an operational company-internal and external customer perspective. Today, companies have to rethink their way of doing business. Digital products and services will characterise tomorrow’s world and organisations are digitally transformed across all functional areas. Capturing the emerging opportunities requires globally thinking visionaries and managers who are able to combine profound competence in information technology with excellent know-how in management.

The Master's programme in Information Systems Engineering & Management (ISEM) qualifies graduates to drive the digital transformation of products, services, and organisations from a business and IT perspective. Graduates confront digitalisation challenges with an engineering orientation and solve these challenges with the help of modern management methods.

Competitive and innovative digital products and services are developed and optimised to successfully accompany and direct digital changes in organisations and business networks. The programme empowers graduates to apply an interdisciplinary approach to problems, and prepares students to find adequate solutions with a systems-oriented mindset.

From an engineering perspective, graduates understand the role and potential of digital platforms from an enterprise and market point of view, including state-of-the-art technologies such as the Internet of Things and blockchain.

ISEM graduates can design and optimise business processes following top-down and bottom-up approaches. They also know how to transform (big) data to actionable knowledge following an engineering approach. These competencies are enriched with security and privacy engineering concepts and technologies complemented with real-world cases on critical infrastructure management. Finally, students can specialise in digital services or autonomous robotics.

In addition to the engineering expertise, students share five management modules with other Master's programmes at HECTOR School. This fosters interdisciplinary networking across industries and provides the participants with state-of-the-art business knowledge in strategy, sustainability, finance, accounting, marketing, innovation management, project management, decision and risk management, and human resource management. Therefore, they can consider the commercial implications of technology-centric decisions and develop a holistic view of business and IT.

Each module has a duration of 10 days.

Preparatory Courses:

For applicants who hold an academic degree outside of the required fields but have several years of relevant professional experience, we offer preparatory modules in "Probability and Statistics", and "Programming". The exact dates are available upon request.

Engineering Modules (EM)*:

EM 1: Digital Platforms:

• Enterprise Systems
• IoT Technologies & Platforms
• Platform and Market Engineering

EM 2: Software Engineering:

• Software & Systems Engineering
• Advanced Web Applications
• Cloud Computing

EM 3: Process & Knowledge Engineering:

• Business Process Engineering
• Process Mining
• Data & Knowledge Engineering
• Big Data Management

EM 4: Security & Privacy Engineering:

• Information Security
• Applied Cryptography
• Network Security
• Data Protection Regulations
• Emerging Technologies & Critical Information Infrastructures

Specialisation
EM 5-1: Digital Services:

• Service Innovation & Business Models
• Applied AI in Service Systems
• Service Design Thinking

EM 5-2: Autonomous Robotics:

• Autonomous Robotics Lab

Management Modules (MM)*:

MM 1: Marketing & Information:

• Data-Driven Marketing
• Information Systems Management
• Data Analytics
• Legal Aspects of Information

MM 2: Finance & Value:

• Management Accounting
• Sustainability
• Strategic Financial Management
• Case Studies

MM 3: Decisions & Risk:

• Decision Modelling (+ Computer Tutorials)
• Risk-Aware Decisions (+ Case Studies + Finance)
• Interactive Decisions
• Robust and Stochastic Optimisation

MM 4: Innovation & Projects:

• Technology-Driven Innovation
• International Intellectual Property Law
• Project Management
• Multi-Project Management in an International Setting

MM 5: Strategy & People:

• Strategic Management
• Managerial Economics
• Business Organisation & Corporate Law
• Strategic Human Resource Management
• Leadership and Conflict Management

*may be subject to change

University qualification:
First academic degree: Bachelor's, Master's, Diploma (German "Diplom"), etc. (university, university of applied sciences, cooperative state university) in a relevant subject, such as engineering, natural sciences, information science or economics. Other degrees may be accepted in exceptional cases.

Professional experience:
Depending on the first degree's level (210 or 180 ECTS points)

• A minimum of one or two years of practical experience in the specific field of the course is required.
• Three years of work experience are recommended.
• References are required as evidence.

For further details, please see:
HECTOR School – Admission Requirements

Approx. 150 EUR per semester

Approx. 1,000 EUR per month

Tips on finding a job and how to apply in Germany are available. Find more information on the services website: HECTOR School – Services.

The HECTOR School is integrated in the campus of the International Department of the KIT with its own campus accommodation, which is available to all students of the International Department upon request.

For further information, see the website: HECTOR School – Accommodation.

Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for society and the environment. Its objective is to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. To this end, KIT employees cooperate across a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its students for responsible roles in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programmes. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the eleven German universities of excellence.

As the only German university of excellence with a national large-scale research sector, KIT offers excellent study conditions. Nowhere else are the opportunities to become directly involved in research better. The spirit of KIT, one of the biggest scientific institutions in Europe, where long university tradition is combined with programme-oriented cutting-edge research, is that all researchers get involved in teaching and that all students participate in thrilling research projects at an early stage of their studies. Graduates of KIT are among the most sought-after young talents. KIT understands the application of scientific findings as a basic principle. According to the QS Graduate Employability Ranking 2022, KIT is the best university in Germany, the tenth-best in Europe, and in the top 46 worldwide. The ranking focuses on the preparation of university graduates for the labour market.

The large KIT campus is located in the city centre of Karlsruhe, and it borders the Hardtwald Forest, a perfect place to take a leisurely stroll. The proximity to Alsace and the mild climate of the Rhine River give the Baden metropolis an almost Mediterranean flair in the summer.

Founded in 1715, Karlsruhe is the second-largest city in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. It is also known as the "Residence of Justice", being the seat of Germany's two supreme courts (the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Supreme Court).

Karlsruhe is located in south-western Germany, and it has about 300,000 residents. Its central location within Europe offers unparalleled opportunities for exploration and connectivity. Situated at the crossroads of major transportation networks, students have easy access to neighbouring cities like Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Strasbourg as well as popular European destinations such as Paris and Zurich. This accessibility opens doors to potential career opportunities and internships within multinational companies and research institutions.

Moreover, Karlsruhe's cultural scene is as diverse as it is enriching. Home to world-class museums, theatres, and galleries, the city offers a plethora of cultural experiences to suit every taste. From the iconic Karlsruhe Palace and the State Art Gallery to the avant-garde ZKM Center for Art and Media, students can immerse themselves in history, art, and innovation. The city's vibrant music and theatre scene ensures a wealth of performances and events to enjoy.

The local economy is based on a well-developed structure of medium-sized businesses, particularly in forward-reaching technologies such as computer science, multimedia, control systems, energy technology, and environmental science as well as nanotechnology. Several major companies, among them Bosch, Siemens, Daimler AG, and Michelin, have production facilities in the region. Major research and development institutions (e.g. Fraunhofer Institute, Intel research campus) are part of the reason why the innovative potential of this city and region is well known worldwide.