Course in a Nutshell

Starting from the academic year 2021/2022 the Master's Degree Course in Telecommunications Engineering provides a study plan divided into two curricula in order to include more credits (CFU) for related and supplementary activities. Furthermore, the introduction of optional subjects allows each student to create a study plan based on the individual interests that he/she wants to pursue academically and professionally.

Curriculum: Communication Networks and Services
I Year CFU  Sem II Year CFU  Sem
Transmission Lines and Antennas 9 1 Mobile Radio Networks 9 1
Internet 9 1 Signal Processing for Multimedia Applications 9 1
Communication Theory and Systems 6 1 Optional group:
Internet Security
Sensor and Advanced Measurement strategies 
6 1
Student choice teaching  9 1 Internship 9 1
Other abilities  3 1      
Advances in TLC Networks 6 2 IoT and Big Data Sensing, Compression and Communication 9 2
Optional group:
- Design of Communication Network and System
Radar and Remote Sensing
9 2 Thesis 18 2
Optional group:
Programming Techniques for Distributed Systems
Cognitive Computing and Artificial Intelligence
9 2      

 

Curriculum: Communication Technologies and Systems
I Year CFU  Sem II Year CFU  Sem
Transmission Lines and Antennas 9 1 Mobile Radio Networks 9 1
Internet 9 1 Signal Processing for Multimedia Applications 9 1
Communication Theory, Systems and Technologies 9 1 Internship  9 1
Student choice teaching  9 1      
Other abilities 3 1      
Electronics for Telecommunications Systems  12 2 Optional group:
Microwave Engineering
Design of Communication Network and System
9 2
Radar and Remote Sensing 9 2 Biometrics and Multimedia Forensics 6 2
      Thesis  18 2


Video presentation of the Master’s Degree Course in the academic year 2020/2021

The ALMA LAUREA statistics (reference year 2019) confirm a 100% employment rate (1-3 years after graduation) in the Master's Degree Course in Telecommunications Engineering of the University of Catania.

The Master's Degree Course in Telecommunications Engineering is aimed at training high-level professionals  who are able to apply and develop technological innovations within companies and research laboratories, both in the public and private sectors.

In particular, the Master's Degree Course in Telecommunications Engineering pursues educational objectives in the field of information and communication technologies that increasingly characterize the current "information society", making a substantial contribution to the innovation of sectors like media, transport, safety, health, and environment.

The Master Degree Course in Communications Engineering integrates the background knowledge acquired from the first level degree courses of Electronic and Computer Engineering with a deep knowledge and understanding of the systemic and technological aspects of the new complex and constantly evolving communication networks and systems, including smart cities, industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things, and homeland security. The Communication Engineering program is designed to provide students with the skills they need to design, integrate, manage, optimize, and interconnect these networks and systems, and to produce innovative engineering solutions that meet proper design criteria, in terms of reliability, efficiency, resource optimization, sustainability, and so on. The Master Degree Course is composed of two curricula, namely “Communication Networks and Services,” and “Communication Technology and Systems”. The aim is to form professional figures not only capable of satisfying the needs of the reference industrial sectors, but also able to cooperate in multidisciplinary areas, such as aerospace, bioengineering, defense, and health. To this end, the Master Degree Course in Communications Engineering covers four areas: Digital Signal Processing - Wireless and Wired Communication Systems - Protocols Architectures and Programming for Distributed Systems - Microwaves, Antennas and RF Electronics. These areas together provide students with a strong scientific knowledge and an applicative expertise needed for the design, the construction, and the operation of communication equipment, systems and services.

This led us to define two curricula that gave great importance to the characterizing disciplines of the course, i.e., Telecommunications and Electromagnetic Field. In particular, the Master Degree program provides ample space for the acquisition of skills for the design of wireless systems, equipment and antennas, exploiting the presence on the territory of leading companies at national and international level operating in the wireless communications sector. Furthermore, in consideration of the services market trends, we gave great importance to knowledge concerning telematic and multimedia services, as well as to advanced disciplines, including those related to emerging paradigms, such as 5G systems, the Internet of Things, and Network Softwarization.

The Master Degree Course in Communications Engineering also aims to enforce the technical and scientific skills related to the Information Engineering, with particular emphasis to Computer and Electronic engineering. For this reason, the course includes 15 CFU related to the information technology (in the curriculum “Communication Networks and Services”), and 18 CFU related to Electronics and Electronic Measurements (12 CFU in the curriculum “Communications Technologies and Systems”, and 6 CFU in the curriculum “Communication curriculum Networks and Services”). Moreover, students can customize their study plans by selecting the desired set of courses from optional groups based on their interests.

Most of the lectures and seminars are held in English with the aim of introducing students to an internationalization path, as required by the professional market. For both curricula it is possible to follow a course entirely in English, which also allows foreign students to enroll in the MS. With this in mind, students are also constantly encouraged to have training experiences abroad, such as the opportunities offered by the Erasmus and Erasmus + Traineeship programs.

To guarantee a connection with the world of work (labour market!), a curricular internship of 9 CFU is included in the study plan. There are also 3 credits of the type "Other skills" which are usually entrusted to external teachers from the world of industry; at least one visit per year is also organized at local companies, institutions and research centers. The thesis of 18 CFU, if requested by the student, is carried out in companies or research institutions in Italy or abroad under the supervision of a university supervisor and a supervisor of the host institution.

Finally, the MS provides a considerable amount of hours to be devoted to practical and laboratory experiences (especially in lectures with a high design content) in order to allow the student to consolidate the theoretical knowledge acquired (see here).