A recent report commission by the US National Academy of Sciences (Oden T.J., Research Directions in Computational Mechanics, National Research Council Report, USA, 2000) predicts that the next decade will experience an explosive growth in the demand for accurate and reliable numerical simulation and optimisation of engineering systems. Computational Mechanics will become even more multidisciplinary than in the past and many technological tools will be, for instance, integrated to explore biological systems and submicron devices. This will have a major impact in our everyday lives. The proposed course is forward looking in addressing real educational needs in Europe and worldwide.

The aim of the proposed MSc course is to provide a multi-disciplinary in-depth training in the application of the finite element method and related numerical and computational techniques to the solution of problems in engineering analysis and design. The specific objectives are:

• to provide students with a general knowledge of the theory of computational mechanics, including the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, so that they will be able to appreciate the worth of undertaking a computational simulation in an industrial context
• to provide students with practical computer experience in the application of computational mechanics to the solution of a range of current practical engineering applications using modern software, so that they may be able to apply the approach with confidence in an industrial context
• to provide students with training in the development of new software for the improved simulation of current engineering problems
• to provide students with a wide choice of specialisation areas by incorporating modules from four leading European institutions, and in this way allowing them to experience postgraduate education in more than one European institution.