Master in Informatics Engineering

The Master's programme in Computer Engineering with a specialisation in Communications, Services and Infrastructures provides advanced knowledge and methodological skills in various areas involving communications and Information Technology services.

The specialisation focuses on skills for planning, designing, operating and managing Information Technology infrastructures and services, including communication systems, computing infrastructures (data centres) and telematic services based on interoperable, secure, reliable and scalable architectures. The following topics are covered:

Educational Objectives

— Communication services and applications;
— Quality of service and quality of experience;
— Communication networks, telematic services and high-performance virtualised computing infrastructures for data centre interconnection and Cloud Services support;
— Communication systems and services in the context of the Internet of Things;
— Personal networks and nano-networks used in wearable devices, sports and medicine;
— New generation mobile networks;
— Security in communication systems, telematics services and computing infrastructures;
— Management of communication systems, telematics services and computing infrastructures according to the new Cloud paradigms;
— Performance evaluation of communication networks and systems, telematics services and computing infrastructures.

Competences

— Design of new communication architectures and services;
— Design and implementation of communication infrastructures and systems, including security and quality aspects;
— Design, implementation and management of high-performance virtualised networks and support for Cloud Services;
— Analysing, monitoring and evaluating communication services and systems;
— Manage people and projects in communications, services, and infrastructures.

Career opportunities

— Graduates of the Master's programme with a specialisation in Communications, Services and Infrastructures will be prepared to work in the business sector in the field of Information Technology and communications consultancy and to pursue a research career at the doctoral level. Typical positions for graduates in Communications, Services and Infrastructures:
— Communications and Internet Infrastructure Specialist.
— Communications Consultant.
— Information Technology Project Manager.
— Information Technology Company Manager
— Specialist in Virtualisation, Data Centres and Cloud Services.
— Security Specialist.
— Communications Researcher
— Researcher in Information Technology Services and Infrastructures.
— Design and implementation of communication infrastructures and systems, including security and quality aspects;
— Design, implementation and management of high-performance virtualised networks and support for Cloud Services;
— Analysing, monitoring and evaluating communication services and systems;
— Manage people and projects in the areas of communications, services, and infrastructure.

Full Curriculum ↗

The Master's programme in Computer Engineering with a specialisation in Software Engineering provides advanced knowledge and methodological skills in a wide range of areas and techniques at the intersection of Software Engineering and Computer Science.

The specialisation focuses on skills for effective management of people, projects and processes, and for architecting, designing, and building large-scale software systems with strict quality attributes. The following topics are covered:

Educational Objectives

— Requirements engineering, comprising different techniques for collecting, analysing, and specifying functional requirements and quality attributes;
— Software architectures for large-scale systems, with particular emphasis on the strict fulfilment of quality attributes and the analysis of alternative solutions;
— Systems integration, protocols, services, service composition and software development based on the integration of COTS components;
— Reliable software and quality assurance, with a focus on software verification and validation activities and processes;
— Internet application development, including topics such as interface optimisation, middleware technologies, communication protocols and cybersecurity.

Skills

— Analysis and modelling of software requirements;
— Defining and understanding software architectures from the perspective of quality attributes;
— Design and implementation of reliable and secure software;
— Application of good practices in software quality assurance;
— Design and implementation of software development processes;
— Defining strategies for software integration and service composition;
— Managing people, projects and processes.

Career opportunities

— Graduates of the Master's programme with a specialisation in Software Engineering will be prepared to work in IT and management consultancies and service companies, and to pursue a research career towards a doctorate. Typical positions for graduates with an emphasis on services and business processes are:
— Software analyst;
— Software architect;
— Quality manager;
— Project manager.

Full Curriculum Plan ↗

The Master's programme in Computer Engineering with a specialisation in Intelligent Systems provides knowledge and practical skills on various areas and techniques within Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science.

The core competencies acquired cover fundamental techniques and concepts in Artificial Intelligence, including a wide range of topics such as:

Educational Objectives

— Symbolic representation of knowledge and corresponding logical reasoning;
— Distributed intelligent systems on the Web;
— Natural Language Processing;
— Development of autonomous agents and multi-agent systems;
— Reasoning and planning with uncertainty;
— Algorithms inspired by nature;
— Machine learning and pattern recognition;
— Dynamic systems and complexity;
— Data visualisation.

Competences

— Development of intelligent diagnostic systems in industrial or medical contexts;
— Building rich information visualisations for big data collections;
— Implementing natural language-based interfaces to improve the search and information extraction experience;
— Designing architectures and solutions for intelligent environments, particularly for future smart cities;
— Development of multimodal signal processing algorithms for adaptive control systems;
— Design of simulations and solutions based on information technologies to improve education and training;
— Implementing automatic learning and knowledge discovery mechanisms to extract relevant patterns from large and diverse data sets;
— Building nature-inspired algorithms for solving difficult optimisation, design and learning problems;
— Building robust and evolutionary computational solutions for dynamic systems.

Career opportunities

— Graduates of the Master's programme with a specialisation in Intelligent Systems will work in specialised IT companies, or research centres, or academia. Typical positions for graduates with an emphasis in intelligent systems are:
— Data analyst and visualisation expert.
— Designer in advanced Human-Computer interaction.
— Programmer of autonomous software agents for complex problems.

Full Curriculum

The Master's programme in Computer Engineering with a specialisation in Information Systems provides well-founded methodological skills at the intersection of computer science, cloud computing, enterprise modelling, and business.

The programme focuses on skills in modelling, analysis, implementation and management of information systems and covers the following topics:

Educational Objectives

— Information Systems (IS) modelling (e.g., IT services, process modelling, human-computer interaction);
— IS analysis (e.g. business architectures, process analysis);
— IS implementation (e.g. cloud computing, process-aware information systems, security);
— IS management (e.g. strategic alignment, governance, business process management).

Competences

— Development of digital strategies;
— Analysing requirements for information systems;
— Design and implementation of business architectures;
— Analysis and modelling of current business processes;
— Design and implementation of software services;
— Implementation of cloud computing environments;
— Management of process improvement projects;
— IT development project management.

Career opportunities

— Graduates of the Master's programme with a specialisation in Information Systems will work in IT and management consultancies or in service companies;
— Typical positions for graduates with an emphasis on services and business processes are:
— Service designer.
— Information systems manager.
— IT service analyst.
— Business/IT architect.
— Business process engineer.
— Cloud computing services manager.

Complete Curriculum

The MEI follows the latest curricular recommendations from the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), adapting them to the specific characteristics of national candidates, the logic of the mobility sought in the European Higher Education Area and the recommendations gathered from a broad panel (in particular EDP, PT-SI, PT-Inovação, Deloitte, PT-SAPO, ISA, Tapestry, Critical Software, WiT Software) of national recruiters who supported us in this reformulation.

An integrative study plan is proposed that allows internal and external synergies to be exploited for a quality offer that responds to the needs of the labour market (scientific and industry), guarantees the continuity of students who finish the LEI at the DEI, attracts students from other schools, provides solid training that prepares students for professional practice and enables them to continue their studies at doctoral level.

The Department of Computer Engineering of the University of Coimbra programmes are highly rated in the business world, as evidenced by the full employment of our alumni in prestigious national and international companies.

Generally speaking, the DEI's employers are large software companies (e.g. Novabase, Critical S/W), services (e.g. Banking, Insurance, Energy), Telecommunications Operators (PT, Vodafone), large IT multinationals, software houses, large manufacturing companies (chemicals, pulp and paper, metalworking), public administration, small and medium-sized industrial and service companies, design and consultancy companies, university and polytechnic education, scientific research and technological development institutes and companies.

The Master's in Computer Engineering also aims to provide advanced training in the different areas of computing, enabling students with a career in science to continue their studies in a doctoral programme.

Required documentation

Workload and programmes of the curricular units already taken in the course of origin, if you want accreditation; (MANDATORY, except if the course of origin is a course taught at the University of Coimbra under the Bologna Process (after 2007/2008));

Letter of Motivation; (MANDATORY)
Degree certificate with final average (diploma). If you want credit, you must include a certificate proving that you passed the course units taken, with the respective marks (transcript); (MANDATORY unless the course you are studying on was taught at the University of Coimbra)

Curriculum vitae, in EuroPass format; (MANDATORY)

Simple photocopy of ID document; (MANDATORY for international applicants only)

Official document issued by the institution awarding the degree, with the certified grade indicating the overall performance coefficient or weighted average; (MANDATORY for foreign applicants only)

Simple photocopy of identification document; (MANDATORY for foreign applicants only)

NOTE: Submission of the authenticated original documents is required for placed students who enrol and register and must be done by 31st December in order to complete the student's individual file. The documents referred to above must be recognised by the local Portuguese consular agent and/or legalised by the Apostille system under the terms of the Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Acts (better known as the Hague Convention), signed in The Hague on 5 October 1961, except documents issued by Higher Education Institutions in European Union countries. However, if there is any doubt about the documentation presented, any applicant may be asked to have the aforementioned documents recognised or to provide additional documentation. A translation must be provided whenever the above-mentioned documents are in a foreign language other than Spanish, French or English. The translations must be duly certified by the relevant authorities.

Admission Conditions for Applicants

1. Applicants for access to the cycle of studies leading to a master's degree are:

a) Holders of a bachelor's degree or legal equivalent in Computer Engineering, Communications and Multimedia, Systems and Computer Engineering, Communications and Telematics, Communications Engineering, Electrotechnical Engineering, Electrotechnical and Computer Engineering, Electrotechnical and Telecommunications Engineering. Holders of a bachelor's degree or legal equivalent in other areas of Engineering and Exact and Natural Sciences whose courses are organised in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Process may also apply;

b) Holders of a foreign higher academic degree awarded following a 1st cycle of studies organised in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Process by a State adhering to this Process in the areas referred to in point a);

c) Holders of a higher academic degree obtained abroad that is recognised as satisfying the objectives of a bachelor's degree by the FCTUC Scientific Council;

d) In duly justified cases, holders of a scientific and professional curriculum relevant to attending this cycle of studies and recognised as such by the FCTUC Scientific Council;

2. The recognition referred to in paragraphs b) to d) of no. 1 only has the effect of granting access to the cycle of studies leading to the master's degree and does not confer on its holder the equivalence to the degree of licenciado or the recognition of that degree.

NOTE: Applications assessed on any criterion with a mark lower than 9.5 will automatically be rejected.

Criteria for Grading Candidates

A. Quality of academic and professional career, (Weighting 4/6);
B. Commitment to the new course, (Weighting 1/6);
C. Duration of training at the University of Coimbra, (Weighting 1/6).

NOTE: Applications with a score below 9.5 in any criterion will automatically be rejected.

Other information

The application is subject to the payment of a fee of €50.00, which cannot be refunded, including in the event of invalidation of the application, non-placement or when the study programme does not open due to a lack of the minimum number of applicants.
The enrolment and registration of the International Student is only confirmed after a single payment corresponding to 30% of the total basic tuition fee (3 monthly instalments), plus the registration fee.

Recognition of prior learning

Applicants can apply to have curricular units taken in higher education recognised.

Tuition fee/price

National or equivalent student: €1063.47 per year (subject to change by the General Council). International Student: €7000 annual fee/edition 2019/2020.

Learning Languages/Evaluation

Portuguese or English.

Legal Framework for the Qualification

The qualification is governed by Decree-Law no. 157/2014 (II series) of 18 August 2014.