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Institute for Smart Engineering and Machine Elements
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Institute for Smart Engineering and Machine Elements
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Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nikola Bursac

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nikola Bursac

ISEM -Institute for Smart Engineering and Machine Elements  

Head of Institute  

Office hours by appointment  

 

Denickestraße 17 (Building L)

Room L 3.042

21073 Hamburg

 

Phone: +49 40 42878 4480

E-Mail: nikola.bursac(at)tuhh.de 

 

 

Profile

Professor Dr.-Ing. Nikola Bursac, born in 1986, has been Head of the ISEM – Institute for Smart Engineering and Machine Elements at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) since October 2022.

Previously, he worked at TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG. From 2021, he served as Agile Manager for the Model-Based Design division, leading around 25 employees and holding process responsibility for virtual product development. Between 2019 and 2021, he headed a development project to design an automation toolkit and represented TRUMPF in the BMBF project MoSyS, which focused on human-centered design of complex systems of systems. As early as 2018, he had established a Scrum Master team as an Agile Coach to reorganize the company’s machine platforms.

Nikola Bursac began his academic career at IPEK – Institute of Product Engineering at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where he studied mechanical engineering and earned his doctorate in 2016. From 2015 onward, he led the department for Development Methodology and Management as well as CAE and Design Optimization. His research and teaching addressed product generation engineering, agile development of complex systems, and the introduction of problem-based learning in distributed development teams. During his doctoral studies, he also worked on a collaboration project with Porsche AG in the fields of platform, modular, and project management.

Awards

Nikola Bursac has received multiple recognitions for his contributions to research and teaching. In 2025, he was awarded the Hamburg Teaching Award, and in 2018, 2022, and 2023, he received the Hector Teaching Award from the Hector School at KIT. In 2017, the Scientific Society for Product Development (WiGeP) honored him with the Pahl-Beitz Award. His scholarly work has also earned him several Best Paper Awards, including at the Stuttgart Symposium for Product Development (2015) for his paper “Product Generation Engineering – Significance and Challenges from a Development Methodology Perspective.”

Professional and Voluntary Engagement

Nikola Bursac has been actively engaged in voluntary activities for many years. Since 2025, he has served as Deputy Dean of Mechanical Engineering at TUHH. He is Chair of the VDI Advisory Board “Product Development and Project Management” and was Deputy Chair of the VDI Technical Committee “Agile Development of Mechatronic Systems” (2020–2022). As Chair of the Society for Product Development (2019–2022), he promoted advancements in research, teaching, and knowledge transfer. Other notable contributions include his involvement in revising VDI Guideline 2221 (2015–2018) and his long-standing commitment to handball as a coach, youth coach, and referee (2002–2016).

Publikationen

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

TU Hamburg
ISEM
Institute for Smart Engineering and Machine Elements
Denickestr. 17 (L)
21073 Hamburg
E-mail : ploetz@tuhh.de
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