My TUM Course Navigator
An extension of TUMonline that provides personalized course recommendations and peer reviews, enabling fair, informed, and interest-driven course selection for all students.
The Problem
Many TUM students feel uncertain and unsupported when choosing courses before the semester begins. While TUMonline provides basic course information, it often lacks context and insights that would help students understand what a course actually is - its workload, difficulty, exam style, and how it aligns with their interests and goals.
Among the most frequently considered factors in course selection are personal interest (80.9%), workload (68.1%), exam style (48.9%) and experiential insights from other students (48.9%). This suggests that students balance formal requirements with personal motivation and peer-based information when evaluating courses.
The survey shows that peer recommendations are widely used, with 76.6% of students selecting friends’ or peers’ recommendations as one of several sources they consult when choosing courses. But this can be challenging for students who are introverted, new to TUM, or lack strong social connections. As a result, course choices are often based on incomplete information or trial and error, leading to low confidence in decisions, inefficient planning across semesters, and missed opportunities to discover suitable courses within and beyond the curriculum. Notably, over 60% of surveyed students express a preference for anonymous or non-interactive guidance, indicating a need for inclusive alternatives to asking questions in group chats or informal networks.
Survey conducted among students.
The Goal
To enable TUM students to feel confident, supported and included when choosing courses, by ensuring equal access to clear and trustworthy information and opportunities to explore courses that match their interests.
Solution Overview
Smart Course Search
Find courses quickly using clear filters and search engine. The search experience reduces complexity and helps students find courses that match their interests and study goals.
Personalized Course Recommendations
Based on your curriculum, interests and past choices, the system suggests relevant and interdisciplinary courses.
Semester Planner
Plan your semester visually. This supports realistic planning and helps prevent overload before the semester begins.
Peer Course Reviews
Students can share structured feedback on workload, difficulty, teaching style and exams. Reviews create a trustworthy, student-centered knowledge base.
Systemic Journey Map
| Curious about next semester’s courses | Awareness about the new feature (course recommendations) | Onboarding, Set up & Personalization | Look for courses | Choose Course | Rate course | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User Actions | Opens TUMonline; checks curriculum and course progress; asks friends for recommendations. | Notices a new My TUM Course Navigator tab on TUMonline; explores the feature and decides to try it. | Passively encounters new course recommendations. | Browses suggested courses; applies filters to match personal needs. | Reads course descriptions and key topics; reviews ratings and peer comments. | Rates the course and selects descriptive tags to reflect the experience. |
| User Goals | Identify suitable courses and gain an overview of available offerings. | Access clear and accurate course information and personalized recommendations in a safe, low-pressure way | Quickly understand how the product works and get started; do so in a safe, low-pressure way without social interaction. | Quickly assess courses through short overviews; find and discover relevant and related courses based on personal criteria. | Realistically assess workload, review peer experiences, and understand the reasoning behind course recommendation. | Offer insights for next students |
| Pain Points / Needs | Tedious and confusing course search; unclear structure; limited access to reliable peer insights. Reliance on large chat groups to get information, where asking questions can feel unsafe or uncomfortable due to fear of judgment or harassment. | Lower trust in recommendations without clear explanations or transparent reasoning. | Difficulty articulating personal interests and knowing what to look for when searching for courses. | See only essential course information at a glance and use flexible filter options to find relevant results without feeling overwhelmed. | Limited course descriptions from professors and untrustworthy comments. | The step may feel time-consuming, leading some users to skip it to save time. |
| Gains | Using official TUM Platform, without needing to switch to other solutions | An alternative to a manual and tedious course selection process with fewer barriers to finding suitable courses without fear of harassment or awkward social interactions. | Understand how product can help them find suitable courses | A streamlined and engaging process that saves time and supports discovering courses beyond the curriculum. | Feel confident having identified suitable courses. | Support the TUM community by sharing course experiences. |
| Environmental Impact | Redundant digital activity (repeated searches). | Reduced platform switching, slightly lowering overall digital energy use. | Quick digital onboarding replaces lengthy manual processes, saving time and energy. | More efficient search reduces repeated queries and unnecessary device energy use. | Improved matching reduces dropouts, institutional resource waste, and unnecessary commuting-related emissions. | Supports better future course planning, helping reduce classroom overcapacity. |
| Social Impact | Students with strong social networks or prior academic confidence benefit more. | Safe access to course information in a university-supported space without requiring social interaction. | Reduces dependence on personal networks in higher semesters, encourages multidisciplinary exploration, and makes high-quality academic guidance accessible to all students. | Discovering genuinely interesting courses supports skill development, improves the study experience, and avoids negative social interactions. | Greater excitement and clearer expectations about courses before the semester begins. | Encourages collaboration between students and strengthens the community by supporting future generations. |
The Impact
Course Navigator supports a more inclusive and transparent study culture by shifting course selection from informal exchange to shared, accessible knowledge. It empowers students to make informed academic decisions independently, reduces structural disadvantages, and promotes equal opportunities throughout the study experience.
Team
Presentation Slides
Documentation
Author Contributions
All core aspects of the project were developed collaboratively by the entire team. This includes the inclusive segment cards, systemic journey map, ideation process, competitor analysis, low- and high-fidelity prototypes, survey creation and conduction, and conscious design reflections. In the final phase, individual responsibilities were distributed as follows:
Wei Hsin Chen: Preparation and design of presentation slides
Habibah El Toukhi: Video concept, production and editing
Maria Lelyukh: Project documentation and written reporting
Anastasiia Iakovleva: Design and implementation of the project submission website