Master of Science Embedded Systems

Embedded systems are hardware/software combinations whose purpose is to control a device, a process, or a larger system. Specific examples of embedded systems include: those controlling the ABS of a car or the operation of its engine; the automatic pilot of an aircraft; the chip set and software within a set-top box for digital TV; and control systems embedded in a nuclear reactor. The importance of embedded systems is growing continuously. In 2003 there were 8 billion embedded programmable components worldwide. Conservative estimates foresee a doubling of this figure by 2010 or 3 embedded devices for every person on earth.

As systems become ever more intelligent and distributed, they also become more complex and interdependent. Security, dependability and interoperability requirements continue to grow. Timely and cost-effective system design, development, and inter-working all have become major challenges. These challenges can only be addressed effectively through a new generation of students educated in Embedded Systems design.

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science offers a 2-year MSc programme in embedded system design. This multidisciplinary programme has an increasing inclination towards embedded software and systems dependability. As more and more functionality is moved from hardware to software, embedded software engineering cost is becoming a bottleneck.

After completing the master degree program in Embedded Systems, graduates are acquainted with the whole trajectory of embedded systems design and know all the major fundamental concepts involved. They know the life span of embedded systems and the role of architectures in the field of embedded systems. They are capable of determining and formulating system requirements and can reliably transform them into a realization, ranging from distributed computer systems and reconfigurable hardware to direct silicon realizations. Finally, they know how to test and optimize an embedded system.

The master's degree programme in Embedded Systems is a joint programme of the 3TU federation; a federation of the three technical universities in the Netherlands. For more information about the Embedded Systems programme at the University of Twente, follow this link. More information about the programme at the Technical University of Eindhoven can be found at this link.

The MSc programme in Embedded Systems is related to the programmes in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and in particular Computer Engineering, which are also offered by the faculty of EEMCS. The Computer Engineering programme has a focus towards (field) programmable hardware (such as microcontrollers and FPGAs), while the Embedded Systems programme has an inclination towards embedded software and system dependability.