Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Mathematics Built Upside Down

The Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics Applied to Technology and Enterprise (LMATE) of Higher Institute of Engineering of Lisbon (ISEL) was constructed upside down contrary to usual in the sense that partner entities were asked about mathematical topics relevant to problem-solving at their institution, rather than being first thought exclusively by academia. It is the only bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics in Portugal that has an internship integrated into its curriculum, which can be carried out in one of its 37 partner entities in the industrial world. It takes advantage of its insertion in a superior engineering school, offering optional curricular units in the different engineering areas, which facilitates the understanding of industrial mathematical problems. As LMATE performance evaluation measures it can be said that the number of partner entities has been increased; demand has been very high; average entry grades have been also increasing; and more than 70 LMATE students have graduated already, having done internships in several kinds of partner entities. LMATE graduates are all employed in the degree area or are doing master’s degrees considering that their preparation at LMATE was adequate.