Master’s programme

The field of Embedded Systems is by definition multi-disciplinary; it consists of cooperation between technical disciplines such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and, possibly non-technical, application domains. Also the different application domains that can be found in infotainment, transport and logistics, health and wellness, security and safety, industrial control systems etc. require a basic understanding of these different domains. Therefore, the Embedded Systems master’s programme should stimulate a multidisciplinary attitude.

The master’s programme is a two-year programme. The programme is organized in semesters. Each semester contains 20 weeks, and is subdivided in quartiles. The unit of credit is the European Credits (EC). One EC stands for 28 hours of study load. An academic year is 60 EC. The master’s programme is 120 EC.

For Bachelor Computer Science and Electrical Engineering students from Twente, Delft and Eindhoven the programme contains 3 homologation courses, 5 compulsory courses, at least 4 elective courses, a thesis project and for most an internship. The curriculum for other students will differ slightly in the amount of homologation versus elective courses, depending on their background. They might also have to follow a premaster programme.

Hence, the study programme contains the following components:

o

Core courses to introduce the student to the design of embedded systems and its most important aspects such as requirement engineering, modelling, architectures, testing and verification. In these courses special attention is paid to the above mentioned aspects of systems design approach, dependability, resource boundedness;

o	Homologation courses to complement the Electrical Engineering bachelor orientation with Computer Science competences and the Computer Science bachelor orientation with Electrical Engineering competences to create a multi-disciplinary basis for the core programme;

o	Elective (sometimes called specialization) courses to address certain aspects or applications in more detail;

o	Traineeship;

o	Final Project.

3TU programme

Embedded Systems is a 3TU master’s programme, www.3tu.nl/nl/onderwijs/embedded_systems. The 3TU.Federation is a joint venture of the three leading universities of technology in the Netherlands - Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Twente. This federation maximizes innovation by combining and concentrating the strengths of all three universities in research, education and knowledge transfer. A largely identical core programme can be followed at each of the three locations. Students benefit from the specific strengths of all the three universities by choosing a specialization at any of the three. Students are registered at the location of their choice, but they are automatically co-registered at the other two locations to ensure access to the facilities of all three. Students are allowed to follow courses at either of the three sites, but this isn’t necessary. The universities also make use of video lectures in order to minimize travel time.

Graduate school specialization

The Twente Graduate School (TGS), www.utwente.nl/tgs, at the University of Twente offers an increasing variety of integrated master's and PhD programmes for outstanding graduate students who aim at a career in scientific research. The programmes are set up in cooperation between faculties and research institutes. Through a broad selection of compulsory and elective courses, students are able to specialize in a research area of their interest and at the same to broaden their perspective on the societal context of technology and research. All these aspects are integrated into the Twente Graduate School which aims to become a breeding ground for research talent. TGS sets high standards and has a strict selection procedure for both research and education programmes as well as prospective students. For the master’s programme of Embedded Systems, TGS offers one specialization: Wireless and Sensor Systems.

More information

For more specified information about the contents of the course programme and the courses, you can visit the programme website www.utwente.nl/esys or read the programme guide (pdf).