Programme

The three partner universities deliver complementary know-how from the fundamentals to systems design. The first semester in Finland, is dedicated to the fundamental knowledge and training in  design and analysis of microsystems, materials science, sustainable and reliable electronics design.

In the second semester in Norway, the students study manufacturing methods and characterisation techniques for smart systems, and they choose their study track: Cyberphysical Systems or Smart Biomedical Systems.

The third semester, in Hungary, focuses on behavioural modelling and system level design of analogue and digital hardware components for Smart Systems.

The fourth semester is devoted to the Master Thesis. Each student will carry out an independent project for the master thesis work at one of the three institutions or with a collaborating partner (primarily industrial partners). The master thesis project will make use of the knowledge, skills and competences obtained from the taught semesters.

The teaching programme is supplemented by two off-campus school weeks: Winter School in Norway and the Summer School in Hungary, an exceptional opportunity for current and graduated students to meet and getting to know each other’s work and also to build their social network for their professional life. Presentations of “state of the art” by academic and industrial experts in Smart Systems Integration will be given, in addition to workshops with industry (incl. EPoSS and NCE-MNT, as well as other industrial partners). The schools also provide think-out-of-the-box sessions where the students present their design ideas to business innovators who will help them improve their concepts. The SSIs Programme is supported by industry, giving the students opportunities to gain industrial experience and commercial awareness, and to apply the multidisciplinary knowledge acquired during the semesters. After the second semester the students may take the opportunity to take industrial, international or research internships.

The learning outcomes of the SSIs programme represent four thematic areas: transversal skills, fundamentals of integrated smart systems, smart systems design technology and application specific smart systems.

Transferable Skills are topics which are related to research preparation, readiness for entrepreneurship and conceptual design, as well as understanding European Society. The basic concepts of entrepreneurship are covered, including the topics of Intellectual Property, writing up of a Business Plan, the eco-system of investments from Angel Investors and VC, understanding Technology Readiness levels and How to create a start-up company. Courses are also given to introduce the students to the language, culture and society of the three host countries.

Fundamentals of integrated smart systems are taught in the first half of the programme. The students will gain knowledge on resource management, electronics manufacturing and their environmental impact. They become familiar with the logistics of reuse and recycling considering the responsibilities of the manufacturer. A major emphasis is given towards the factors that governs reliability of novel electronic products, and how to design highly reliable systems. The students also learn about materials and their compatibility issues in manufacturing of electronic systems, by the innovative approach of reverse engineering of modern consumer electronics.

Smart Systems Design and Technology covers sensing and actuation principles and design of industrially relevant smart devices. The courses are given in close interaction with industry, with guest lecturers from several industrial partners, like Murata Finland on Inertial MEMS, VTT and Vaisala on optical MEMS and Okmetic on advanced SOI and cavity- SOI substrates. The topics have been formulated to offer a breadth of coverage in all aspects of smart systems design as well as the design of digital, analogue and mixed signal integrated circuits tailored for smart sensors. The theoretical knowledge imparted in the classroom is supplemented by hands on laboratory design work using the state of the art CAD tools currently available.

Application specific Smart Systems Design offers two available specialisations for the students based on their professional interest: Cyberphysical Systems (e.g. autonomous vehicles, smart sensors) or Smart Biomedical Systems (Lab-on-a-Chip devices, health monitors).

Use the links in the table below to access the course descriptors hosted by the partner universities.