The Master’s in electrical engineering is a comprehensive and open training which will provide the basics of extremely varied and advanced fields of application.  It aims to train engineers who will be able to meet future technological challenges in the scientific and technical fields relating to electricity and its applications, within an ever-changing European and global context. It opens up a variety of job perspectives. Upon graduating, students will master the mathematical and physical methods of electricity (circuits and measurements, electromagnetism, physical electronics) and will have acquired an in-depth training in at least one main discipline of electricity (electronics, telecommunications and signal processing, electrotechnology), as well as a solid basic knowledge of the others.  Students are allowed a lot of latitude in choosing elective courses, and this gives them the possibility to become either « non-specialized » or else « specialists » in a given field. Via a pedagogy which favours project work integrating various fields, the training aims to develop students’ critical mind, so as to be able to design, model,  carry through and experimentally validate complex devices, equipments and systems.

Elective courses

The final thesis is generally written during the last year. However, students may choose to take any given course in the first or second year, subject to possible prerequisites. This will be the case in particular for students pursuing part of their education abroad.
 
If, in the course of his (her) former curriculum, a student has already been credited with a subject included in the compulsory or elective curriculum, or any training deemed equivalent by the diploma committee, this subject will be replaced by elective courses, while conforming to imposed constraints. The student is responsible for checking whether the minimum total number of credits has been reached, as well as those of the specialized field, which will appear on the final diploma.
The student’s curriculum will be submitted for acceptance by the relevant diploma committee.

No object.

•         Features favouring interdisciplinarity :
The training of the Master's in electrical engineering touches upon fields such as computing, nanotechnology, control theory, information and communication technology. 15 credits of compulsory courses in the core curriculum are devoted to computing, applied mathematics and control theory (the latter already appears in the Bachelor’s curriculum for students majoring in electricity). As regards elective courses, the diploma committee encourages students to broaden their training by choosing courses offered by other departments. This explains why most options include courses with MAPR, INGI, INMA, or MATH acronyms. Moreover, a dozen ELEC courses are accessible to students of other Master’s, as long as they have taken the introductory course on electrical and electronic circuits or that of advanced topics in electricity.

•         Variety of teaching situations:
The training is based on a policy of active learning which combines, theory, tutorials, laboratory work and projects.  One feature is an interdisciplinary project which allows students to design, model, create and test a system which requires a wide spectrum of specialized knowledge and adds to the project-based approach which is already present in the ELEC Bachelor’s major and minor. It should also be noted that the proposed final projects often aim to integrate students into the department’s research teams. Consequently, the teaching activities are fed by research activities, which become a breeding-ground for hiring future researchers (a final project often becomes a starting point for a Ph.D. or leads to a scientific paper or a conference presentation). Depending on the case, students will be required to produce group or individual efforts.

•         Variety of learning situations:
The variety of learning situations is based on the synergies between formal lectures, tutorials and projects via a classical engineering sequence, viz. : modelling – simulation – creation – experimental validation.  Depending on the case, students will be required to produce group or individual efforts. For some subjects, e-learning will allow students to progress at their own pace and perform virtual experiments. This variety of situations helps students build their knowledge in an iterative and progressive manner, while developing their autonomy, and their organizational, time management and communication skills.  The most advanced computing tools (hardware, software, networks) are at their disposal. The option in company launching is based on an interactive approach emphasizing "problem-based" learning.  Throughout the programme, students of this option are asked to perform group work in multidisciplinary teams. Their final project is designed to be multidisciplinary so as to allow groups of three students, ideally from different faculties, to work on a company launching project .

All learning activities are assessed as prescribed by the University internal regulations (see exam regulations), viz. written and oral exams, laboratory exams, individual or group work, public presentation of projects and final thesis.

* Global framework
The Faculty of Applied Sciences has taken part, since their inception, in all the various mobility programmes which have been set up at both the European and world levels.
 
The numerous contacts it has with professional circles, notably via its Advisory Board, have demonstrated  to what extent employers are favourably impressed by a mobility experience in someone’s CV. The ever-increasing internationalization of research via networks linking laboratories throughout the world, speaks in favour of encouraging this mobility.
 
Students’ interest is aroused at the end of their Bachelor studies, notably via intensive courses such as those of the ATHENS (  ) or BEST (  ) networks.
 
In the course of the two-year Master’s programme, students are encouraged to take part in a 1- or 2-semester exchange scheme
 
Within Belgium, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is involved in a privileged partnership with the Faculteit Ingenieurswetenschappen of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, with whom it has set up an exchange scheme relating to the first year of the Master’s curriculum (http://eng.kuleuven.be/).
At the European level, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is strongly involved in the CLUSTER excellence network (  ). This network encourages internal mobility, since this is a guarantee of quality as concerns both the level of teaching and the hosting of exchange students. Moreover, Cluster partners have signed an agreement recognizing each other’s Bachelor’s curricula. This agreement stipulates that all Bachelors of network institutions will have access to the Master’s studies in any institution on a par with local students.
Outside Europe, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is a partner in the Magalhaes network, which groups about fifteen European universities together with the best South American science and technology universities (http://www.magalhaes-network.net/).
Besides these network partnerships, the Faculty has also signed a number of individual agreements with various universities in Europe, North America or elsewhere in the world. A list of these agreements may be found on the website of UCL International Relations (http://www.uclouvain.be/international.html).
UCL is also a partner in the TIME programme (  ) which gives students the opportunity to obtain two engineering degrees, via a specifically tailored curriculum.

* International possibilities (for UCL students)
 
Besides intensive courses which are one component of international relations, EPL students with outstanding results are encouraged to apply for 5- or 10-month exchange programmes. When taking place during the first Master’s year, exchanges are generally 10 months long. In the second year, they only last for a semester, either as courses or else research in a foreign laboratory as a complement to the final thesis.
 
Some other more specific exchange programmes have been set up with South America, where the academic year is naturally on an “austral” basis.
 
Students are informed about the various exchange programmes as from their second Bachelor’s year. They are encouraged to prepare for their exchange in a timely manner, notably by taking language courses at the Modern Languages Institute of UCL.
 
* International appeal (for non-residents)

Foreign students within the CLUSTER network enjoy the same status as local UCL students as concerns admission to Master’s studies.
The Erasmus Mundus programme affords non-European students the possibility of a Master's in electrical engineering  within the MERIT project.

* Partner programmes

- Erasmus Mundus MERIT programme, jointly managed with Politecnico Milano, Karlsruhe University and Barcelona UPC (http://www.meritmaster.org/).  This European-level excellence programme relates to information and communication technologies.  It is an alternative to the Master's in electrical engineering which students may apply for with the agreement of the ad-hoc department committee.

- TIME programme with :

- Ecole Centrale Paris
- Supaero Toulouse
- Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

- Politecnico di Milano

- Politecnico di Torino

- La FSA a également signé une convention spécifique avec l’Institut Français du Pétrole (http://www.ifp.fr/) qui permet le cumul de la 2ème année de master avec la première année du programme complémentaire spécial de l’IFP.

The option in electronics - electrotechnology - control (EEA) aims to provide an in-depth training in electrmechanics and controls. Students will also end up with the basics of power electronics and electrical energy networks.  They will master the main aspects of the use of electricity as an energy vector.

The telecommunications option aims to  :
- give an overview of the overall organisation of communication networks and systems, with or without wires
- show how communications fit into the unified framework of information theory, covering data compression (source coding) and the introduction of redundancy (channel coding)
- examine the various components of modern modems, as well as systematic design methods for detection and estimation units
- apply these modem and system design methods to the particular case of wireless communications.
Thanks to this option, the student will master the important concepts of IP networks, GSM-type access networks, UMTS, DSL as well as newer communication methods.

The aim of the microwaves option is to provide students with the basic knowledge needed in designing, simulating and  creating microwave devices and circuits, including antennas, as well a scharacterizing them and inserting them into communication and detection circuits, and finally, modelling and measuring the transmission channel. This option involves both the design of devices and circuits, numerical simulation of devices and channels, and also microwave measurement of devices and transmission channels.

The objective of this option, which is common to the Master's in electrical and electromechanical engineering  , is to introduce the student to systematic design techniques, computer simulation, manufacturing and experimental characterization of electronic components and circuits, both analogue and numerical, as well as mixed systems  combining these components types. The emphasis is placed on practice, applications and project work.

This option is common to Master's in electrical and computer science engineering .  It may not be chosen along with the « telecommunications » option. Courses already taken in other sections of the Master's in electrical or computer science engineering cannot be validated within this option.
The option in communication Networks aims to allow the student to :
-     understand and be able to implement the various devices and protocols involved in fixed and mobile networks, with an emphasis to the requirements of applications (including multimedia),
-     design, configure and manage fixed and mobile networks with an emphasis to the requirements of applications (including multimedia),
-     understand and be able to design mobile wireless communication systems from the physical up to the application level.

This option is common to the Master’s degrees in  electrical engineering, electromechanical engineering, applied physics engineering, and chemistry and materials science engineering, and aims to introduce the student to the physics and simulation of materials and the devices used in the fields of micro- and nano-electronics, to ,the properties, manufacturing and characterization methods of micro- and nano-structures the operational modes of nano-devices, and the development and integration of  (bio-)organic components into nano-systems.

This option is common to most engineering Master’s, and aims to ensure the training of engineers who will be capable of meeting future technological challenges in the scientific and technical fields relating to biomedical engineering.  This option will provide students with the basics in various fields of biomedical engineering, such as  bioinstrumentation, les biomaterials, medical imaging, mathematical modelling, artificial organs and  rehabilitation, biomechanics.  Thanks to a collaboration between the Engineering and Medical schools, the training will be interdisciplinary, with engineering skills being applied to the complex and varied biomedical field. 

This option is common to most Master’s in engineering, and aims to familiarize students with the basics of company management.

This option is common to most Master’s in engineering, and aims to familiarize students with the basic specificities of  SMCs, entrepreneurship and launching, so as to develop the skills, knowledge and tools required in launching a company. Access is limited to a small number of students chosen on the basis of motivation and individual interviews. The motivation applications for this option must be submitted before the start of the academic year, to:
Secrétariat CPME - Place des Doyens 1 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (tél 10/47 84 59).
Selected students will replace the final thesis of the core curriculum by a specific thesis in company launching (same number of credits).