Aalborg University August 2010

Innovative Communication Technologies and Entrepreneurship (ICTE)1

Master of Science (MSc) in Engineering (offered in Copenhagen & Aalborg) Innovative Communication Technologies and Entrepreneurship (ICTE) is a new education at Aalborg University, which was launched Sept. 2009. It is an application-oriented program, which combines a technical knowledge of communication technologies and converging media with innovation, creativity, market, and user perspectives. The interdisciplinary profile addresses the growing need for engineers, who can combine knowledge and skills from different areas in particular information and communication technology (ICT), economics, organization theories, and user perspectives. The program is offered by the center for Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI) and the Center for TeleInFrastructure (CTIF). CMI is located in Copenhagen, where we share the campus with several other educations from Aalborg University and with the Engineering College of Copenhagen (IHK). CTIF is based in Aalborg and includes units in Copenhagen (CMI), Rome (Italy), Kolkata (India) and Yokosuka (Japan). It has two specializations with separate intake: Converging Media Technologies is offered in Copenhagen, and Telecom Infrastructures is offered in Aalborg. Each of these is further divided in subspecializations (see Fig. 1), and the detailed structure and curriculum of these are described in the following pages.

Figure 1: ICTE specializations and sub-specializations (Separate admissions in Copenhagen and Aalborg). Communication and media technologies such as Internet, mobile communication and digital TV are evolving rapidly and increasingly influence our lives. The technologies are combined in new ways and create exciting opportunities for new services and applications. Phenomena such as interactive media, social networking (Facebook) and mobile TV are just examples of these trends. If you would like to learn about these developments, understand what is happening "behind the scene", and learn about how new technologies can help to address user needs and create new business opportunities, you should choose this education. With this education you will become an engineer with a very attractive profile. You will have the opportunity to work with the advanced communication technologies and applications, which are the founda1

NOTE: This description refers to September intake (Copenhagen and Aalborg).

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tion for the future Internet, mobile communication, and broadcast (radio & TV) platforms. You will gain a thorough understanding of the new technologies and their potential, and you will learn how to transform this knowledge into innovative services, applications, and solutions, targeting specific needs in peoples lives. The program will take you to the forefront of the latest developments within information, communication and media technologies in a global perspective, and you will learn to understand the social, commercial, regulatory, and ethical framework for their use. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with leading IT and communication companies such as: Nokia, Motorola, Terma, Litepoint, Ericsson, Denmarks Radio and The Association of Danish Industries (ITEK), and there are good opportunities for setting up student projects in cooperation with industry partners. Furthermore, the program is part of CTIFs global education activities.

Teaching
The teaching varies between lectures and problem-oriented project work in groups. Projects must include both a technical solution to a practical problem and organizational and economic considerations, which are necessary for the solution to be applied in practice. These are some of the areas you will learn about:

new mobile technologies planning and development of telecommunication infrastructure development of mobile applications user-friendly solutions and services innovation, business development and business models use of ICT in companies and organizations service security cognitive radio and networks telemedicine

Job opportunities
You will be able to use your skills for development of new concepts, services, and solutions, or for analysis, strategy and business development. And with your broader profile you could act as a link between development and sales and marketing functions. The possibilities are countless! Among the potential target companies and industries are the major companies within the IT, telecommunications, and media sectors, equipment manufacturers, infrastructure companies, content providers, service providers, consultancies, training and research institutions and public administration.

What do the companies say?

"Convergence is more relevant than ever. We witness how well-established scientific areas like Internet technologies, telecommunications and broadcast media melt together and define a whole new palette of technologies and business opportunities both when it comes to traditional and Open Source platforms. Never before have the opportunities for small start-up companies with the right ideas been better. Aalborg University offers an education, which on the one hand gives you the competences to create and foster innovation in a converging world and on the other gives you the business competences to get you dressed for success in the commercial world: A unique education well suited for times of change with plenty of challenges."

Karsten Vandrup, CEO, Litepoint Europe A/S. You can learn more about the education and the curriculum on the websites of CMI and CTIF: www.cmi.aau.dk and www.ctif.aau.dk. You are also welcome to contact the program coordinators: Copenhagen: Aalborg: Associate professor Henning Olesen, olesen@cmi.aau.dk Associate professor Jens Myrup Pedersen, jens@es.aau.dk.

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STUDY CURRICULA AND ADMISSION

The program consists of 2 specializations with separate intake:

Converging Media Technologies

The objective of this specialization is to give the students a basic understanding of the technologies behind IT, Communication and Media systems and networks, as well as to provide an understanding of the service architectures that are needed to provide future services and applications. Furthermore, the aim is to give the students the competences to work with (learn, analyze and evaluate) information and communication technologies (ICT) and media concepts in relation to user needs, social issues, business development and organizations. The students can choose between 3 sub-specializations: Service development, Business development or Service Security.

Telecom Infrastructures
The objective of this specialization is to give the students a comprehensive understanding of telecommunication infrastructures and the technologies behind them, with a main focus on the new and emerging technologies that form the base for future Internet and Mobile communication. The students will gain in-depth understanding of planning, deployment, management, optimization and maintenance of telecommunication infrastructures, and learn about the needs posed by different applications. Aspects such as governmental regulations and privacy issues will also be covered. The students can choose to focus on either the sub-specialization on cognitive radio or sub-specialization on applications within telemedicine, two of the most promising areas of R&D in telecommunications for the future.

Admission
In order to be admitted to the MSc program, you must have a bachelor (BSc) degree in IT, computer science, communication technologies, media technologies, or equivalent qualifications. Please refer to the general guidelines for application at http://studyguide.aau.dk. Be aware of the Danish rules for tuition fee for non-EU/EEA citizens: http://studyguide.aau.dk/apply/tuition. The academic year is made up of 2 semesters, which begin around September 1 and February 1. You can apply for admission in September in Copenhagen and Aalborg, and for admission in February in Copenhagen. The detailed curricula for the September intake are given in the following.

A: September intake (Copenhagen and Aalborg)

The first semester consists of mandatory courses only, see Table 1. On the first semester you will acquire a deep understanding of platforms, technologies, services and applications, building on competences from your bachelor education.

First semester: Semester 1 (fall): Services and platforms

Entrepreneurship, innovation and business models Scientific methods, theory, ethics and communication Project-organized Problem Based Learning Internet technologies and service architectures Communication and broadcast networks Communication networks Fundamentals of baseband algorithms Internet of Things Project

Converging Media Technologies (Copenhagen)

Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory

Telecom Infrastructures (Aalborg)

Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory

Table 1: Structure of courses on the 1st semester.

ECTS
5 1 1 5 3 3 3 2 15

Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory

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On the second to fourth semester you can choose one of the sub-specializations (tracks) and continue with training and project units within the specific areas and technologies of these sub-specializations. This is shown in Tables 2A and 2B. Elective courses may generally be chosen from mandatory courses on other sub-specializations or from other related MSc programs within the School of ICT, after consultation with the program coordinator and/or supervisor. Depending on student demand, not all tracks or elective courses may be offered in a given semester.

Second to fourth semester (Converging Media Technologies): Sub-specialization

Semester 2 (spring): Interaction design Development of ICT and media services ICT techno-economics Standardization Application security and identity management Project Semester 3 (fall): Content and media management Governance of ICT infrastructures Advanced security topics Cognitive systems and service adaptation Creativity and ICT design Governance of ICT content, services and applications Project Semester 4 (spring): Project 30 Mandatory 5 5 5 5 5 5 15-25 5 5 5 5 5 15

Service development
Application development Mandatory Mandatory Elective Elective Elective Mandatory Advanced ICT solutions Mandatory Elective Elective Elective Elective Elective Mandatory

Business development
Design and markets Elective Elective Mandatory Mandatory Elective Mandatory Governance and strategies Elective Mandatory Elective Elective Elective Elective Mandatory Master Thesis Mandatory

Secure services and technologies

Secure services Elective Mandatory Elective Elective Mandatory Mandatory Secure technologies Elective Elective Mandatory Elective Elective Elective Mandatory

Table 2A. Course structure for "Converging media technologies" (offered in Copenhagen), including mandatory and elective courses for the 3 sub-specializations.

ECTS

Mandatory

Aalborg University August 2010 Second to fourth semester (Telecom Infrastructures):

ECTS

Sub-specialization

Cognitive radio

Telemedicine

Semester 2 (spring):
Standardization Advanced telecommunication IPR, patenting and technology transfer Project 5 5 5 15

Development of ICT-based applications

Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory

Semester 3 (fall):
Distributed systems management and security Privacy, ethical and legal Issues Cognitive radio techniques and aspects Telemedicine techniques and aspects Project 3 2 5 5 15-20

Cognitive radio systems design

Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory Elective Mandatory

Telemedicine systems design

Mandatory Mandatory Elective Mandatory Mandatory

Semester 4 (spring):
Project 30

Master Thesis
Mandatory Mandatory

Table 2B. Course structure for "Telecom infrastructures" (offered in Aalborg), including mandatory and elective courses for the 2 sub-specializations.