International Exchange Week in Dortmund

Fachhochschule Dortmund (FH Dortmund) hosted the International Exchange week Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) Automotive Systems 2024 in March 2024. The programme was about automotive systems engineering with a focus on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD). Another focus lied on software engineering. The target group was bachelor students in their last year as well as master students.  BIP is a course with virtual and face-to-face meetings over a period of several weeks that offers international students the opportunity to gain experiences similar to an exchange semester, but in much less time. 

In total 24 students  from three different countries such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal and five universities took part in the Block Week. 

  • Haute Ecole Louvain en Hainaut (HELHa)
  • Haute Ecole Bruxelles-Brabant (He2B)
  • University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
  • Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
  • Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra (ISEC)

The BIP was led by Prof. Dr. Björn Schäfer from the Department of Information Technology of FH Dortmund, supported by guest speakers. Dr. Michael Buchmann from VW Infotainment and Prof. Dr. Frank Schrödel from FH Schmalkalden, who provided different perspectives on automotive systems engineering. 

The topics covered during this BIP ranged from automated driving, automotive system and SW architecture, automotive SW development and system validation. These topics were presented in theory and deepened with exercises using Matlab/Simulink and an autonomous mobile robot. 

Students were able to ask questions, and they were given the immediate answers and feedback after each of the segment of the programme, which supported the better understanding of the materials and contributed to the better final project results.

A varied program with lab visits, a sports exercise and other social activities rounded off this exciting event.