Engineering construction has always been an important force in promoting social development and changing the world. From the completion of the Great Wall to the completion of the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project, from the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Cross-Sea Bridge to the full-capacity grid-connected power generation of the largest single-capacity integrated photovoltaic and storage project in Xinjiang… From ancient times to the present, engineering management talents have always been involved in the construction and implementation of engineering projects.
Today, let’s take a closer look at the engineering management master’s degree that plays the role of “conductor” in engineering construction.
01
Multi-field applications
With the advent of the information age and the rapid development of high-tech industries, the application fields of engineering management are becoming larger and larger. It is not only common in the civil engineering and construction fields, but also widely used in petroleum, chemical industry, metallurgy, mining, electronics, communications, computers, software, biology, manufacturing, aerospace, national defense, finance, insurance and other industries.
With the increase in application fields, the previous rough mining management model of construction enterprises has been difficult to adapt to the needs of current social development. Any project requires more professional people to manage it scientifically and effectively, and the demand for engineering management professionals is also increasing day by day.
02
Application status in recent years
In order to better enable engineering construction to serve people's lives, there is an urgent need for high-level professional management talents. As the main force of basic research, universities have achieved "double improvement" in the quantity and quality of graduate student enrollment. The application situation for the Master of Engineering Management shows the following characteristics:
1. Rising interest in applications: As the popularity of the engineering management profession increases and market demand increases, it has attracted many working personnel and fresh graduates who want to further their studies in the field of engineering management. While the attraction continues to increase, the competition faced by candidates is also intensifying. For example, in 2023, the MEM application ratio for the School of Economics and Management of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications is 1027:131; the MEM application ratio for the School of Management Engineering and E-Commerce of Zhejiang Gongshang University is 826:76.
2. Increase in enrollment units: The number of colleges and universities offering MEM programs continues to increase. According to the 2024 master's degree catalog data from Yanzhao.com, a total of 210 enrollment units currently recruit master's degree students in engineering management. This reflects the increasing social recognition and educational demand for this professional degree.
3. The overall national score has increased: Compared with other popular management master's degrees, the national score for the engineering management master's degree has experienced a roller coaster change in the past five years. After increasing by 15 points in 2022, it dropped by 11 points in 2023, but the overall score shows an upward trend.
4. More suitable for working people: There are two ways to apply for the Master of Engineering Management: national joint examination and advance interview. Except for the industrial engineering and management and logistics engineering and management directions of some colleges and universities that can recruit fresh graduates, most require on-the-job personnel with workplace experience to apply, such as managers with engineering backgrounds (managers in the process of new product development, managers in the implementation of engineering construction projects, managers in technological innovation, transformation, transformation, and managers of industrial and technological development layout, etc.), or people in project management, technical management and other positions in the Internet, real estate, infrastructure, transportation and other industries.
5. Tuition fees are generally increasing: With the increase in the number of applicants and the increase in education costs, MEM tuition fees are also rising year by year. For example, Tsinghua University’s part-time MEM tuition for the class of 2021 is 168,000 yuan, and the tuition for the class of 2022 rises to 238,000 yuan; the tuition for Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s class of 2021 is 188,000 yuan, while the tuition for the class of 2022 rises to 238,000 yuan. This shows that the investment cost of MEM education is increasing, and it also reflects the continuous improvement of the market value of this major.
03
Colleges and universities cultivate diversity
Colleges and universities usually set up major management courses to cultivate students' understanding of core management field knowledge and help students establish corresponding management systems. In addition, each school will also vertically offer diversified courses closely related to MEM project practice based on its own characteristics and resources to meet market demand and achieve interdisciplinary and applicational subjects.
In line with the needs of current social development, some schools have opened AI artificial intelligence, big data and business analysis, finance, IT, big data and other directions. For example, the MEM project directions of the School of Software and Microelectronics of Peking University include: innovative engineering management, financial technology, business data analysis, and artificial intelligence. It has set up a modular curriculum system and mainly studies management modules (including innovation strategic management, new product management, Internet marketing, cross-cultural communication and management, innovation and entrepreneurship case analysis, etc.), technology Modules (including Python, R language, business data mining and analysis, algorithm analysis and design, financial information security, introduction to artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, etc.), financial modules (including investment management and Internet financial management, Internet financial practice, financial analysis, quantitative investment strategies and technologies, financial technology case analysis, etc.). The MEM course of the School of Engineering Management of Nanjing University offers elective courses in the fields of data governance and asset management, financial institutions and risk management, logistics and supply chain management, etc.
There are also schools that combine their own resources and industry characteristics and advantages to set up elective courses in different directions. For example, the School of Management Science and Engineering of Central University of Finance and Economics offers MEM courses related to financial characteristics such as real estate development and management, private equity and venture capital, options, futures and derivative securities. Shanghai Maritime University has established nine distinctive training directions, including logistics engineering management, port and shipping engineering management, and ship and ocean engineering management. The MEM energy specialty class of China University of Mining and Technology offers special energy courses: new energy and mining frontiers, carbon neutrality and energy storage technology, renewable energy and emission reduction technology, energy and environmental management, energy mining policy and law, etc.
In addition to diversified research directions and curriculum, some institutions are also international project management (IPMP) talent training bases, and students can apply for IPMP certification. Such as China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) and Shanghai Maritime University.
It can be seen that MEM's training courses are both theoretical and practical, and continue to cultivate compound high-end management talents for modern engineering careers, not just simple engineering.
04
Wide coverage of employment fields
Judging from the employment data provided by the admissions unit, MEM graduates have a wide range of employment fields. For example, the 2023 South China Normal University Master of Engineering Management (MEM) admissions brochure mentions the work background of its students, which are distributed in the power industry, heavy equipment manufacturing, the Internet industry, government public utilities and other fields.
It can be seen that MEM graduates, as comprehensive talents, can engage in various branch industries in addition to the traditional engineering management direction, mainly including the following:
Internet and IT direction: including software design and development, information communication engineering, chips, semiconductors, Internet+, e-commerce, etc.
Big data and artificial intelligence direction: including data collection/analysis/decision-making, artificial intelligence application, finance, technology, medical health, etc.
Civil engineering and water conservancy direction: including construction engineering, electric power engineering, water conservancy engineering, bridge construction, etc.
New energy and environment direction: including petroleum, new energy, materials, chemical industry, green environmental protection, carbon economy, etc.
Logistics and supply chain direction: including logistics engineering management, logistics technology, supply chain management, procurement, etc.
Industrial manufacturing direction: including automobile manufacturing, industrial manufacturing, machinery, machine tools, intelligent manufacturing, etc.
There are also military industry, aerospace, shipbuilding, life sciences, development/application of new products and new technologies, etc.
As Wang Yingluo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said, "In decades of struggle, I have deeply realized that scientific management is the way to govern the country." Any undertaking is inseparable from excellent managers. It can be said that project managers are the builders of the soul of the project, and are artists who use technology and management art to shape the project.
05
Advice on preparing for exams
The editor interviewed MEM graduates from Tianjin University and East China Normal University to share their postgraduate entrance examination preparation experiences. They mentioned three key points that need to be paid attention to when taking the management joint examination:
1. Make an overall plan
Before starting to prepare for the exam, you must do a good job of collecting information, including understanding last year's score lines and admissions status of the target institution, checking the preliminary and re-examination details, and planning the entire postgraduate entrance exam preparation time. The MEM of some colleges and universities is recruited separately by the School of Engineering, School of Materials Science, etc., so you need to know in advance when applying.
2. Pay attention to interview details
Some admissions units will conduct interviews in advance, in the form of individual interviews and group interviews (only some colleges have group interviews). The comprehensive ability interview mainly tests the professional ability and comprehensive quality of the candidates. The details in the interview are good bonus points. In addition to being appropriately dressed and having a correct attitude, your logical thinking and expression skills will also be tested. In addition, during the interview, you can focus on talking about your work experience and current work situation.
3. Calm down and review
Candidates who are generally determined to apply for a master's degree in engineering management are mostly professionals who have been working for many years. If they enter a state of intense review and preparation, they are often easily interrupted by work and family chores, and their learning efficiency is not high. In the early stages of preparing for the exam, first calm yourself down and increase your concentration time, then formulate a study plan that suits you and focus on preparing for your weak areas.
Preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination is a systematic project that requires persistent efforts and correct methods. Make full use of online resources and library materials; conduct full-scale mock exams regularly to test learning effects and adapt to the exam rhythm. Analyze errors in mock exams, identify weak areas and improve them.
In the process of preparing for the management joint entrance exam, I am constantly gaining new growth. With the development of the economy and the acceleration of technological innovation, the demand for engineering management professionals will also continue to grow. Students who are interested in applying for MEM can continue to pay attention to the latest information released by the institution and prepare for the exam!
