Sustainable Computing (SusCo)

We are excited to announce a new specialisation within our master’s programme, starting in the 2026–2027 academic year: Sustainable Computing! SusCo for short. 

Why Sustainable Computing?

Digital technologies are growing rapidly, but so is their environmental impact. Energy-intensive AI systems, massive data processing, and global communication networks contribute to increasing energy use and carbon emissions. At the same time, IT also offers powerful solutions for sustainability challenges such as smart energy grids, intelligent transport, and environmental monitoring. 

This new specialisation addresses both sides, making computing systems more sustainable (e.g. energy-efficient software and hardware) and using computing to support sustainability in society (e.g. smart green cities, climate analysis and prediction, green AI).   

What will you learn?

In this specialisation, you will develop strong technical expertise while gaining insight into sustainability challenges. You will learn to:

• Understand computing systems from low-power IoT devices to power-greedy cloud and datacenter infrastructure;
• Analyse and reduce energy use, resource consumption, and carbon footprint of systems and applications;
• Design efficient and sustainable ICT systems;
• Evaluate systems and applications sustainability using various metrics and lifecycle analysis;
• Explore emerging paradigms such as the computing continuum, heterogeneous parallel and distributed hardware architectures, hybrid computing, sustainable networks, and computational and AI-based solutions to societal problems.  

Programme structure

The programme is firmly rooted in core Computer Science, with additional attention to environmental impact, ethics, and societal relevance. You will follow a combination of:

• A two-part flagship course: Building Blocks of Sustainable Computing.
• Core courses on system design, performance evaluation, and the computing continuum.
• Specialisation courses (choose 3 of 4), including Internet of Things, Mobile & Wireless Networking, Advanced Computer Systems and Green Software Development.

You will also have the flexibility to choose electives across the other specialisations or from related programmes like embedded systems and electrical engineering.

Why choose this specialisation?

• Be part of the first Sustainable Computing specialisation in Computer Science in the Netherlands.
• Work on real-world challenges at the intersection of technology and sustainability.
• Benefit from UT’s strong research ecosystem with the EDGE centre.
• Build a profile that is increasingly in demand in industry and academia.
• Contribute to reducing the environmental impact of ICT, now and in the future.  

Who is it for?

This specialisation is ideal if you:

• Enjoyed the modules computer systems, network systems, cyber-physical systems or intelligent embedded systems,
• Want to gain master-level expertise, both theoretical and practical, in green ICT,
• Want to apply your technical skills to societal and environmental challenges,
• Want to contribute to top-level research that break through the sustainability limitations of current computing and networking technologies. 

If you are interested in contributing to a more sustainable digital future, this is be the perfect next step in your studies. 

Questions? Feel free to contact one of the programme mentors, they’re happy to help.