The master's degree programme Sensor Systems Engineering combines hardware, software and infrastructure aspects with design techniques and elements of the management of complex design processes. Through this interactive approach, results can be achieved that cannot be reached by considering the individual elements separately. Successful graduates master special fields of engineering, computer science and natural sciences as well as relevant management aspects.

Sensor systems engineering requires expertise in sensor functions and knowledge from engineering, physics, chemistry and increasingly also from molecular biology. In addition, sensor systems engineering appears as an independent branch of science that deals with design methods as well as control, communication and information technologies that make it possible to handle the complexity of such systems.

Systems engineering defines a system as "a construct or collection of different elements that together achieve results that the elements alone could not achieve. These elements include people, hardware, software, infrastructure, instructions and documents". This definition goes clearly beyond the fields of engineering, computer science and natural sciences and makes it necessary to integrate management aspects into education. On the other hand, systems engineering tailored to the special needs of sensor technology cannot be achieved without profound knowledge, especially from the natural sciences; general training in systems technology or systems engineering cannot provide this background knowledge.

After successfully completing the master's degree programme Sensor Systems Engineering with both research and practice-oriented studies, the students gain outstanding specialist knowledge and excellent skills for tasks in the technical environment and at the interface to management.

A successfully completed master's degree in sensor systems engineering should enable

1. to work autonomously in companies where topics from sensor technology or systems engineering play an important role, e.g. in the automotive, mechanical engineering and telecommunications industry or in software companies,
2. to lead projects which deal with the methodology, the analysis, the modelling of engineering and technical questions,
3. to lead teams with respect to planning, development and research tasks in technical and public institutions,
4. to work as a research assistant at a university and
5. for access to a doctorate.

The master's degree programme enables graduates to autonomously acquire, at a high university level, competences in different sub-areas that are relevant for sensor systems engineering. Students gain knowledge in the key areas of systems engineering, sensor technology, system design and management aspects. They also acquire competences in independent project implementation and presentation of results.

Students also acquire profound knowledge in special fields such as system theory and control engineering, modelling, and identification, but also in sensor principles, integrated circuits, semiconductor, biosensors and radar sensors. The course also offers connections to topics which are more related to computer science, such as design methodology of embedded systems or sensor networks.

Successful graduates of the master's degree programme in sensor systems engineering are familiar with superordinate aspects of systems engineering, including project, risk, and quality management, which enable them to design and implement even more complex sensor systems. They are familiar with the relevant instruments of control engineering, they can apply procedures for the design of embedded systems in a targeted manner and know sensor components with sufficient profundity to apply them ideally in their systems.

In particular, a graduate of the master's degree programme Sensor Systems Engineering should

• know the ways of thinking, methods and tools of systems engineering and be able to apply them in projects
• know the importance of upfront analyses to minimise costs
• be able to describe (technical) systems mathematically, to explain the difference between a system and the elements of a system, and be able to manage a system
• be able to describe the model-based design of embedded systems, and to select and redesign methods and algorithms for real-time systems
• explain the relationships that lead to the development of optimal status estimators and controllers as well as apply the methods for identification, estimation, and control
• understand and be able to describe working principles, phenomena, and techniques of sensors
• be able to apply the principles of high-frequency and microwave technology for the design and metrological verification of radar sensors and wireless sensor networks
• define, design, and evaluate wireless networks and their specific requirements, as well as knowing and selecting fundamental security concepts in wireless networks and applying them to system architectures
• deepen their knowledge and specialise in other (elective) areas
   

Due to the profound understanding of the design of complex technical systems gained in this degree programme, students are able to assess the risk of such systems, also beyond sensor systems. Graduates can thus contribute to a critical and qualified discussion about the opportunities and risks of new technical systems in the overall societal context. In relation to their field of study, students acquire innovation potential in product development and product optimization. In the cross-disciplinary area, they acquire skills in project conception, implementation and presentation and are enabled to work in a constructive team.

Students also acquire skills in academic work and project management (individually and in groups). On the one hand, these skills are achieved by project work in strategic process management and the master's thesis, and on the other hand by on-campus meetings, which serve, among other things, to discuss the acquired knowledge or to intensify it in an application-oriented manner through case studies. The on-campus meetings also serve as a platform for an exchange between students, which leads to the strengthening of social skills.