Composite Engineer

Since 2007, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM has been offering training courses in fiber reinforced composites (FRC). The present new course combines the expertise of the leading institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in the research field of lightweight construction in a modular training course to become a »Composite Engineer«. The course participants are trained on particular topics by scientists and engineers who are engaged in current, cutting-edge R&D work. This guarantees direct transfer of key knowledge and technology to industry.

Target groups are engineers and scientists in all disciplines and sectors of industry, and also qualified technical employees who either currently work with fiber composite materials or wish to do so in the future.

Participants for the »Composite Engineer« course must have either:

• successfully completed a professional qualification and have at least five years technical work experience
  or
• successfully completed an engineering or science course (Bachelor degree or higher) at a university or technical college.
  

The Composite Engineer training course qualifies people to supervise the whole life cycle of a fiber reinforced plastic product. This covers product development, manufacture, and repair and involves interdisciplinary thinking, evaluation, decision-making, and actions relating to effective usage of FRP technology.

The Composite Engineer course is modular. The Introductory Module and four Basic Modules are compulsory. The participants then take four Specific Modules of their own choice. Each of the Specific Modules ends with a written examination. A certificate of attendance at the Basic Modules and successfully passed examinations for the Specific Modules are prerequisites for taking the final oral examination. Passing the final oral examination results in the award of a certificate as »Composite Engineer«. Each module lasts three days. The final oral examination is preceded by a two-day revision session, the so-called Final Module. The training course thus extends over a total of 30 days (6 weeks / 240 hours). All the modules can also be booked individually by people not intending to take the full Composite Engineer training course.