This is what you can expect in the first semester
ProgramThe first semester teaches the basics of electrical engineering, physics and mathematics. For mechatronics, there is an introduction to mechanics, and for medical technology, there is an introduction to medicine.
You will notice that the pace of a lecture is a bit tighter than school lessons. Often it is also difficult to understand all the content right away. The exercises usually contribute greatly to understanding, also because questions can be asked freely. No one will expect you to understand everything right away. As students, however, it is your task to work out what you do not understand yourself, using fellow students, literature, YouTube and Google. In addition, you have the advantage that some lectures will have video recordings. So you can watch lectures again, rewind and increase the speed if necessary.
Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik I
The module deals with the fundamentals of electrical engineering and starts with the physical basics. Electricity is explained starting from individual charges in space to the three-phase system. Script and exercise:
A good collection of study material can be found on the web on the lecture pages. Some students find it helpful to take notes along the way, but all content is also uploaded. This can happen on a normal pad, but you can also print out the slides beforehand and write notes on them.
The exercise is a good way to help your understanding by asking questions. The exercises are usually quite complex, but with the help of the tutors they are quite manageable.
To prepare for the exam, the additional tasks and old exams are suitable.
Mathematik I für Elektrotechnik
In this lecture, at first the names of most of the topics seem somehow familiar from school days, however, the regularly attending students soon realize that they are only now learning mathematics and not just arithmetic.
In other words, procedures were shown, learned, and for the most part applied one-to-one in school.
Math I provides a deeper look into the theory behind the procedures taught in school.
Accordingly, most of the material taught is something new to most students.
While the theory may seem unhelpful to annoying at first, it is this theoretical foundation that will be needed again and again throughout the course of study to break complicated problems down to basics to arrive at a conclusion.
Script and exercise:
There are good scripts for all math lectures. You can get the script for your current lecture in the Moodle course of the course. However, the professors in mathematics change, so there are one or the other deviations. Otherwise the “Arbeitsbuch Mathematik für Ingenieure” 1 or similar books can be recommended; just go to the library and look at various books. An important book, which will accompany you not only in math, but throughout your studies, is “Das kleine Schwarze”, the collection of formulas 2 from Binomi-Verlag 3.
In math, practice is everything! The exercises are each divided into group and home exercises. The latter usually have to be handed in and can give an exam bonus of one grade level on the final grade.
As exam preparation, the exercises are mainly helpful. Everything that was covered in these exercises can also be covered in the exam. But the other way round is also true: What was not part of an exercise will probably not be part of the exam. Old exams and exercises can be found in the Electronic Learning Center Mathematics: https://u.fs-etit.de/elzm.
As an additional service there is the Treffpunkt Mathematik. This is an additional service of the Department of Mathematics and should help to deepen the material of the lecture in a pleasant environment and to practice.
Praktikum ETiT I
The internship consists of four experiments and is spread over the first two semesters, which means that you will participate in two experiments in the winter semester and two experiments in the summer semester.
The internship is intended to achieve a better integration of theory (from ETiT 1 and ETiT 2) and practice.
The labs are located next to the Hexagon in building S3|10 on the first floor.
You will get more information in the introductory meeting which is part of the internship.
The internship consists of four experiments and is spread over the first two semesters, which means that you will participate in two experiments in the winter semester and two experiments in the summer semester.
The internship is intended to achieve a better integration of theory (from ETiT 1 and ETiT 2) and practice.
The labs are located next to the Hexagon in building S3|10 on the first floor.
You will get more information in the introductory meeting which is part of the internship.
Physik I
Mechatronics students attend other subjects instead of physics, see below.
In this subject you will learn the first part of the physical basics for your further studies.
More precisely, the major topics of mechanics as well as oscillations and waves in mechanics are covered here.
In addition to an introduction to the basic concepts of mechanics such as work, momentum, and energy, there will also be a treatment of impact processes and the mechanics of rigid bodies.
Logischer Entwurf
Mechatronics students do not attend LE until the fifth semester; medical technology students hear this only as an elective module.
Here you will learn about Boolean algebra, i.e. calculating with zeros and ones.
Furthermore, you will be introduced to the function of logical gates and learn how to construct logical automata.
In addition, Logical Design also includes an introduction to a hardware description language called Verilog4.
Although Logical Design may not look difficult at first glance, be warned!
The exam is quite challenging, especially for people who have not yet been exposed to this way of thinking.
A proper preparation is therefore mandatory in any case.\
Script and exercise:
The slides of the lecture will be provided digitally as a script after the respective date, so it is not necessary to write everything down.
The exercises consist of a group exercise and a homework. Especially the latter are supposed to be based on exam tasks and thus prepare you for the exam itself. Some of the exercises are also for programming (Verilog).
As in other modules, all materials will be made available in the corresponding Moodle course.
Mentoring
In order to support you during the first two semesters of your studies, there is the mentorING program of the Faculty 18. In mentorING, experienced students accompany you and you receive advice for a successful start to your studies at the TU Darmstadt. In tandem and individual meetings as well as in workshops you will discuss organizational and exam-related topics. In addition, your mentor is your contact person for all questions concerning your studies.
The student mentorING is a compulsory event that you must successfully complete. Registration in TUCaN is necessary.
For organizational questions about mentorING you can contact .
Mechatronik spezifische Fächer
According to the plan, only mechatronics students hear the two subjects Technical Mechanics 1 and Materials Science.
Technische Mechanik 1
What ETiT 1 is for prospective electrical engineers, TM I is for mechanical engineers. The content of the course will be the introduction to the general theory of forces in mechanics. In addition to setting up equilibria of forces and moments, you will be taught the basic principles of calculating mechanical systems. Since TM I is the basis for many advanced mechanical engineering subjects, you should be fully involved from the beginning. Even if you already have knowledge from school or work, you need not fear that it will be boring. As with almost every course, the pace of TM I accelerates towards the end.
Script and exercise:
There is no script in TM I, as the course is based on the book “Technical Mechanics 1”5.
The exercise consists of a group exercise and a lecture hall exercise, which are held weekly. Here you have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge and to clear up ambiguities.
In addition, you have the opportunity to participate in a consultation hour once a week.In addition to old exams (available in Moodle), tasks from the book “Formeln und Aufgaben zur technischen Mechanik 1” 6 are suitable for preparation.
Werkstoffkunde
The mechatronics students among you learn the basics of materials science in this subject.
In the beginning, you get an insight into the basic structure of materials.
The course then goes on to explain what types of materials there are, but the main focus is on ferrous materials.
Basic information, e.g. from the area of casting techniques, is also provided.
The whole thing is more theoretical than perhaps expected, get used to learning various diagrams and material values.
What is special about materials science is that it is purely a learning subject. This means that you will hardly have to do any arithmetic in the exam compared to the other subjects. Instead, it is primarily a matter of drawing on your previously learned knowledge. It is especially advisable to go to the lecture, on the one hand, background information is often explained that is not in the script and sometimes there are also tips on what may be particularly important for the exam. The preparation of your own notes is also highly recommended, this can be helpful in passing the exam. Unfortunately, there are no old exams, with the help of which a preparation would be possible.
Medizintechnik spezifische Fächer
The medical technology subjects are structured a little differently than the darmstadt subjects.
The main difference is that several subjects form a module.
Thus you write two to three exams per module, but your module grade is then the average of the written exams.
Thus Terminology and Medical Morphology together with Applied Anatomy form the module Terminology, Medical Morphology and Applied Anatomy.
Furthermore, the subjects Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Physiology form the module Basics of Natural Sciences for Medical Technology.
Both modules include courses from the first two semesters.
To pass a module, every single exam of the module must be passed.
The overall grade is the average of all exams of a module.
You will also not be credited the CP for the module until you have passed all subjects.
Another difference to most of the lectures in Darmstadt is that the medical subjects are mostly learning subjects.
In addition, the professors in the lectures often explain contexts and issues that are not in the script.
In addition, only by attending the lecture will you learn how you should and must approach medical questions.
The exams then consist of one written exam per subject, which usually lasts 60 minutes. In contrast to the other exams of the study program, these exams consist of pure multiple-choice tasks. These exams are written electronically in the computer room of the University Hospital (basement in house 10A, you can find a map here).
Terminology and Medical Morphology
Here you will learn the basics of medical terminology and the most common medical terms.
Furthermore, you will gain an insight into the human body - on a microscopic as well as on a macroscopic level.
This includes, for example, the most important organs, but also the various systems such as the cardiovascular system.
The focus here is on internal medicine, surgery and dentistry.
You will also learn about important clinical pictures and the associated diagnostics and therapies.
This is important later on, as it is the only way you will be able to discuss treatments and therapies with medical professionals in a professional manner.
For this reason, this subject covers the absolute basics of medicine.
It can be useful for you here if you already had Latin7 in school.
However, it is not a prerequisite.
Cell Biology/Biochemistry
Here you will learn the basics in the field of cell biology and biochemistry.
As the name implies, you will learn about the functioning of living organisms, especially living cells.
Related to this is biochemistry, as all living cells can only exist and live because of chemical processes.
Just think of respiration, which is also based on chemical processes.
You will need this knowledge later to assess how your engineering methods affect living organisms.
Here, we mainly refer to systems from biology, medicine and dentistry.
Arbeitsbuch Mathematik für Ingenieure - ISBN: 978-3-8351-0034-3 ↩︎
Formeln und Hilfen zur höheren Mathematik - ISBN: 978-3-923923-36-6 ↩︎
Die Fachschaft organisiert in der Regel kurz nach der OWO eine Sammelbestellung beim Binomi-Verlag. ↩︎
Technische Mechanik 1: Statik - ISBN: 978-3642362675 ↩︎
Formeln und Aufgaben zur technischen Mechanik 1 - ISBN: 978-3642371646 ↩︎
“Als Cäsar sah, dass der Hafen voll war, schiffte er daneben.” (Danke Max für diesen wertvollen Beitrag.) ↩︎