Simulation technology has been used for years to train everyone from surgeons to astronauts. But there is only one university in Norway that offers a master’s programme in simulation and visualization: NTNU in Ålesund.  

Students who choose this 2-year international master’s programme become experts in a field of technology that is already in high demand in businesses, industries, the public sector and research.

Project leader Bjørn Aase Dimmen at Offshore Simulator Centre (OSC AS) agrees.

Smart cities

Dimmen and the company he works for are involved in the UN’s implementation program for smart and sustainable societies that received grants from The Research Council of Norway in 2019.

– That means Ålesund is a pilot in the program to develop smart cities, Dimmen proudly proclaims.  

OSC AS and its competence hubs within simulation and visualization on Campus Ålesund have contributed to put Sunnmøre’s capital on the map.

Become and expert in simulation and visualization at NTNU in Ålesund. Photo: Kai T. Dragland
Become and expert in simulation and visualization at NTNU in Ålesund. Photo: Kai T. Dragland

NTNU in Ålesund and its expertise at the Department of ICT and Natural Sciences play a key role in this partnership. – Enhanced use of digitalization results in a higher demand for expert skills in state, county or municipal agencies such as The Norwegian Armed Forces, the health industry and the public sector, to name a few, Dimmen says.

Since 2017 NTNU has been a part owner of the company.

– Good ideas and leading-edge expertise from our academic community were a key factor for starting and developing OSC as a company, says Anniken Karlsen, Department Head at the Department of ICT and Natural Sciences.

Close partnership with business and industry

The department opened a brand-new lab at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center (NMK) in November 2019. Its location is superior, right next door to Ålesund’s Futurelab – USS4C lab. Here, the master students have unique access to everything that is being developed on the other side of the wall.

NTNU in Ålesund is one of the main contributors to the Futurelab due to its distinctive expertise in simulation and visualization. The university is known as Norway’s most industry-integrated campus, which enables both students and staff to carry out their research work in close collaboration with the business community.

«With a master’s degree from this environment in Ålesund, the students can go straight to a variety of sectors that seek their expertise», says Karlsen.

 – One of the strategic goals of the study programme is to educate more students to fulfill the excessive demand for this expertise by local industries and businesses, Ibrahim Hameed, the head of the international master’s programme added.

By studying simulation and visualization, students learn methods of data visualization and interactive computer graphics and virtual reality for interpreting simulation results, or to make simulations lifelike. This makes it possible to create different scenarios before starting a development process.

Group work and projects together with businesses are an intergral part of the master's programme in Simulation and Visualization. Photo: Kai T. Dragland
Group work and projects together with businesses are an intergral part of the master’s programme in Simulation and Visualization. Photo: Kai T. Dragland

– This is an international master’s programme and everything is taught in English. Students do a lot of group work and have several semester projects together with local businesses, which make them attractive candidates for work after completing their masters, Karlsen explains. – Ålesund kommune is one of the main collaboration partners in this study programme and will continue to be an important team player in developing new practice, processes and products.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Student Wajeeha Nasar is doing her master thesis on Smart waste management system in collaboration with Ålesund kommune and Årim AS.

– In this project, I have given an optimal way to make the waste management cost effective and help to reduce Co2 emissions by finding minimum route distance, Nasar explains. – There was a need to collect data and gather more information about the amount of waste in the city, so we put sensors on the waste bins and connected them to the cloud. The data can be used to plan a more efficient route for the trucks that collect the waste, says Nasar.

Wajeeha Nasar is one of 12 students who will complete the 2-year master's programme in simulation and visualization at NTNU in Ålesund this spring. 
Photo: Kai T. Dragland
Wajeeha Nasar is one of 12 students who will complete the 2-year master’s programme in simulation and visualization at NTNU in Ålesund this spring.
Photo: Kai T. Dragland

The Internet of Things (IoT) is just one of the many fields of technology the master students examine.

In her project Nasar has used IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simulation technology to analyze traveled distance, time and costs related to each waste truck.

Illustration from Wajeeha Nasar’s master thesis in collaboration with Ålesund kommune and Årim AS.

– In this project, waste collection time is obtained in real-time according to the current or future traffic situation from Google Maps. Here, multi-objective optimization algorithms are used to find and optimized route. The obtained routes, which truck drivers should follow, are visualized in Google Maps, Hameed, Nasar’s co-supervisor, adds.

Watch the video about the master’s programme here

Watch the webinar where you can hear from Wajeeha herself, as well as her co-superviser Ibrahim Hameed plus other insturcots and partners in the master’s programme here

The application deadline is 15th of April.