EPS grupp

European Project Semester

European Project Semester in general

The European Project Semester (EPS) is a program offered by nineteen European universities in thirteen countries throughout Europe (Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, France, Romania, Austria, United Kingdom and Scotland). The EPS is offered to third year university/college students. EPS is created with engineering students in mind, but other students are also welcome.

Since its start in 1994, EPS has become a huge success. The EPS-program is crafted to address the design requirements of the degree and prepare engineering students with all the necessary skills to face the challenges of today's world economy. Classes are offered to students in a cohort format; that is students participating in EPS meet together as a group each day to build their engineering skills in class and then meet in teams of 2-10 students to work on their dedicated projects. International student teams work on interdisciplinary projects with commercial businesses and industries, selected to match the students' specializations and capabilities as well as to develop their inter-cultural communication and teamwork skills.

European Project Semester at Novia UAS (Vaasa campus)

The projects at Novia UAS are mostly real projects made for an external customer. The tasks have been connected to renewable energy, which is natural since Vaasa has a strong energy cluster. A big part of the semester consists of independent project work. In the beginning of the semester, there are some supporting courses in English language, Project Management, Teambuilding & Cultural differences etc. and, depending on the task, additional courses in various technical topics.

Third- or fourth-year students, primarily in engineering can apply for the EPS, but also students in other fields such as economics, marketing, design, or management may participate.

Courses

Component codes
Course name
Credits 
TKV19EPS01 European Project Semester (EPS) Project  21
TKV19EPS02 Teambuildings for EPS 1
TKV19EPS03 Project Management for EPS 3
TKV21EPS04 English and Cross-cultural Communication for EPS 3
VAL20009 Survival Swedish 2

Autumn 2024

Application deadline for autumn semester is May 1st. The EPS programme starts on August 26th, and most likely ends on December 20th

Spring 2025

Application deadline for spring semester is November 1st.The EPS programme starts on February 3rd, and most likely ends on May 23rd

Our projects

Our EPS projects typically focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, robotics, cleantech, and sustainability - though other topics may also be available. The specific project themes depend on the expertise of available coaches, partnering companies, and the backgrounds of participating students.

Students should keep in mind that EPS emphasizes not only multidisciplinary teams but also multidisciplinary projects, meaning each project typically requires a diverse set of skills and expertise.

The exact project topics will be introduced during orientation week. To get a better idea of the overall themes, we encourage you to explore past projects since 2012.

Estefanio Kesto2

Estefanio Kesto who studied on European project semester says; "The faculty who guided my team, went above and beyond in providing my team with the resources and guidance to accomplish the task at hand. Additionally, working in a multi-cultural and interdisciplinary team of engineers allowed me to better understand how different cultures approach academia, work, and day-to-day life." Read the whole blog post Michigan Tech's website

Euan

Euan Slevin, who studied one European project semester says;

“I have found it very rewarding and feel I have gained a lot from the experience. I have much more experience working in a team of engineers of different disciplines and how to manage a team with different work ethics.”

AnaPT

Ana María Pérez Torres, who studied one European project semester at Novia UAS says;

“The experience has been super positive; The courses have been very interesting, as well as the usefulness they may have in a future work. Doing such a big project is something that is not usually done in the university, and less in a multicultural team, where you have to adapt to the way of working of people who used to be completely different from yours. A 100% recommendable experience!”

CorinnevandenBrink webb

Corinne van den Brink, who is our 200th incoming EPS-student says;

"I think EPS is a great concept, you learn a lot about working in a project group and other people’s way of working, and of course about the project itself. I can definitely recommend EPS for other students!"
Read the whole interview with Corinne here.