Bachelor’s/Master’s degree program in ICT
Have stories aroused your interest, or are you fascinated by cutting edge research or have you simply stumbled upon this page by chance? Then let yourself be surprised by the interesting spectrum of the study program Information and Communication Technology (ICT). We would like to answer the following questions here:
Trends – Why ICT?
In the course of the growth of the information and communication technology industry, a development has taken place that necessitates a new orientation in education. If we look at the development of the computer and telecommunications industry over the last decade, we see that the new development and operation of communications systems is increasingly software oriented. The clearly separate branches of the computer and telecommunications industry have grown closer, reaching a significant level in recent years.
Today, the modern communication system is a combination of computers and computer networks with local units for human machine communication. Even a small telephone is a device with several processors that have to communicate with each other and whose complex functionality can be handled only using modern methods of software engineering.
The design and development, but also the operation and maintenance of information and communication systems are predominantly software-oriented, be it for system simulation and system optimization, for signal processing algorithms, communication protocols or transfer functions. On the one hand, the developers involved need knowledge and understanding of communications engineering problems; on the other hand, they need the necessary training and skills to create extensive, efficiently maintainable software systems in cooperation with others (software engineering).
The focus of experts’ activities in the information and telecommunications industry has changed:
- Engineer: hardware development » programming micro processors and signal processors
- Computer Scientist: computer systems » communication systems
There is an increasing need for professionals with interdisciplinary training!
Concept – What is ICT?
Since winter semester 2003/2004, the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg offers the interdisciplinary study program Informations- and Communications Technology. This study program is a combination of the programs Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology.
Study Program – How it works?
The bachelor’s degree has a duration of six semesters. Here, the fundamentals of computer science and electrical engineering are taught. In the fifth and sixth semesters, in-depth lectures are offered. The program is completed with a bachelor’s thesis.
Building on this, a four-semester English master’s program is offered.
Details on the study process can be found in the study guide at www.iuk.studium.uni-erlangen.de.
Career prospects – Which ones?
The areas of application are extremely diverse. Once you have completed your studies, you are by no means tied to a specific job.
Most engineers find jobs at providers of communications services (network operators, mobile communications, internet providers), manufacturers of telecommunications equipment (fixed and mobile terminals, network equipment suppliers such as exchanges and radio stations, computer manufacturers) and software development companies.
Information and communications technology is regarded as a key technology for the coming decades by business and engineering experts alike.