Advanced Signal Processing and Communications Engineering Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)

Overview

The Advanced Signal Processing and Communications Engineering MSc programme from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) emphasizes on fundamental concepts of modern technologies in the areas of signal processing and communications. Moreover, through hands-on experiments and research projects, students can build a solid understanding in one or more of the technical subjects, including information theory, statistical signal processing, machine learning, optimization, and game theory.

In addition, we also have a special mentoring program. Students can choose a mentor professor according to their interested field of study. Selected mentors will then help the students structuring their own curricula that are tailored to individual interests and career goals.

Key facts:

The four-semester curriculum includes three special events. A kick-off seminar right before the winter semester, a winter school held between the first and second semester, and a summer school held before the third semester. The kick-off seminar allows students to get in touch with the professors and each other before the start of the program. The winter school offers training on soft-skills, such as project and people management and business development. Lastly, the summer school prepares the students for the research-based training by working on scientific projects in a team.

Career opportunities:

• With Germany being one of the most productive industrial economies, engineers are always in high demand. Demographic developments and the ever-growing demand for young graduates familiar with the latest technologies lead to plenty of openings with attractive salaries for ASC graduates. Aside from the traditional employers in the communication industry, ASC students can expect to find numerous opportunities in industries whose competitiveness greatly depends on embedded information technology, such as medical technology, energy systems (‘smart grids’) or the automotive industry. The Nuremberg Metropolitan Region also has many major players in all of these fields.
• The cooperation partnership between FAU and the Fraunhofer IIS (‘Home of MP3’) makes Erlangen a global leader in audio and multimedia technologies. The university chairs involved within the ASC program have a wide range of cooperation partners in industry, including Alcatel-Lucent, Audi, BMW, Deutsches HörZentrum Hannover, Dolby Germany GmbH, EADS, Ericsson, Huawei, IAD, Institut für Rundfunktechnik, Intel, NTT, Sennheiser, Shure and Siemens. During their studies, students can complete research projects as part of joint research projects between FAU and industry.
• The ASC Master’s degree program builds on Bachelor’s programs in information and communication technology. It exposes students to cutting-edge research and development in the core areas of communications and multimedia technology and related interdisciplinary topics. The program structure complies with internationally recognized Master’s degree programs and meets the requirements for qualifying for subsequent doctoral studies. The four-semester curriculum starts in the winter semester and includes a thesis which is written over a six-month period. All modules are taught in English and do not require prior knowledge of the German language.