Program Overview

The International Master in Industrial Management (IMIM) is a unique multi-site masters programme offered through a strategic partnership of leading universities in the area of industrial management.

This 24-month programme is studied at Heriot-Watt University (HWU) Edinburgh for Semester 1, then Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) for Semester 2, then your choice of Politecnico di Torino, Northwestern Polytechnical University of Xi’an, Tecnológico de Monterrey, or Heriot-Watt Dubai for Semester 3.

Semester 4, the Master Thesis, can be studied 'anywhere in the world' at a university with links to the IMIM Consortium or other industrial or public organisations - it is organised for you as part of the programme and gives you the opportunity to put your learning into practice.

The overall aim of the program is to provide students from a scientific or engineering-based background with business skills relevant for pursuing managerial careers in internationally orientated manufacturing and service industries.

Following completion of this degree, you will be able to design and manage complex organisations and industrial endeavours, in particular those where technology plays a key role. You will be able to diagnose problematic situations in those organisations and then conceive, and put into practice, alternative solutions and processes of continuous improvement.

We have designed this degree to address the challenges of globalisation in an increasingly digital world. We've created a program structure that offers a coherent but also diverse set of pathways beginning with the principles of management in today’s world through to the value chain and the operations within it. In addition, you are able to specialise in one of three key fields of management – innovation in industry and services; technology and entrepreneurship; or the challenge of execution.

Another key feature of the program is its integrative teaching approach aimed at developing the ability of students to tackle managerial issues in an interdisciplinary manner. The fourth semester is entirely devoted to industry-related project work in close collaboration with companies, forming the basis for a master thesis to be submitted towards the end of the semester.

The international education of IMIM students is a valuable asset to be spent in global companies and makes it easier for our graduates to find a job in one of the 27 EU Member Countries, or outside Europe in companies linked with Europe. IMIM alumni are developing their careers in different functional roles, different industries and different geographical locations.

Successful candidates will achieve both an MSc in Industrial Management (International) from Heriot Watt University and an International Master in Industrial Management from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.