Focus areas

The students specialise in one of the nine alternative focus areas (30 credits each). Focus areas give the students in-depth knowledge from the chosen study area and provide the students with professional expertise in this field. The master's thesis will be written in connection of the student's focus area. Alternative focus areas in the Master's Programme in Information Technology are:

Communication Systems and Networks »
Computational Systems Biology »
Digital and Computer Electronics »
Human-Technology Interaction »
Mathematics »
Multimedia »
Positioning and Navigation »
Signal Processing »
Software Systems »

Communication Systems and Networks

The Department of Communications Engineering carries out teaching and research activities across a wide range of communications technologies. A great emphasis has been placed on various aspects of emerging wireless and broadband communication systems, well as on IP networking.

The Communication Networks and Protocols specialization covers various aspects of wired and wireless packet switched networks. The courses focus on TCP/IP protocols, routing and MAC-level algorithms and methods, networking paradigms (e.g. peer-to-peer networking) and information security. Current research topics include the performance analysis and simulation of wireless networks and the development of concepts and technologies for the Internet of Things. Basic software engineering skills are considered as an essential prerequisite for the studies.

The Wireless Networks specialization is related to the practical techno-economical optimization of wireless networks based on the latest technologies, as well as to the theoretical aspect of optimizing the radio access system performance through the design of the radio network topology and radio resource management functions. Good understanding of waveform, modulation and coding related aspects and/or networking related aspects is also developed during the studies.

The Communication Theory specialization develops information theoretic view to wireless and wireline communications, including modulation, detection and coding techniques, and link performance analysis for single and multi-antenna systems aiming at Gbps data rates. Good understanding of radio access system related aspects is also developed during the studies.

Communication Systems and Networks as a focus area provides competence for design, implementation and analysis tasks in the chosen core area, as well as a broad understanding of the operation principles of communication systems. The mission is to train top-level experts for communication network operators, R&D houses, manufacturing companies, consulting work, and research institutes.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a B.Sc. in communications, computer, electronics, or information engineering, or a closely related field. In the Networks and Protocols specialization area, basic software skills are a prerequisite. In Wireless Networks and in Communication Theory, good knowledge of signal theory is needed.

Computational Systems Biology

Systems biology requires collaboration between experts of different fields - molecular and cell biology, biomedical sciences, mathematics, statistics, signal and image processing, and computer science - in studying complex biological phenomena. Due to the increased number of large-scale biological and biomedical measurements, mathematical models are increasingly used in order to interpret the experimental data.

Computational systems biology provides mathematical and computational tools for analysing and modelling the structure and function of biological systems. Knowledge of signal processing methods and dynamic system analysis provides an excellent basis for entering the expanding field of modern systems biology. The focus area in computational systems biology gives the theoretical basis and practical skills for the design and implementation of the required computational tools, as well as for successful inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a B.Sc. in computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, or physics. Solid mathematical background is recommended.

Digital and Computer Electronics

The major subject Digital and Computer Electronics focuses on the design of digital systems, including application-specific circuits, processors, embedded systems and systems-on-chip. A wide variety of application areas are present in our teaching and research, for example, mobile communications, consumer electronics, wireless sensor networks and positioning and navigation systems. The share of digital and processor circuitry in electronics systems has been continuously increasing. Advanced IC technologies enable integrating ever more complex systems into a single chip, which sets challenges for designers. Knowledge of design methods and the skilled use of tools are important factors. Students learn to understand the functionality of digital and computer systems, and to design new equipment using modern methods and design tools.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a B.Sc. in computer systems, electronics, or a closely related field. The applicant's background should include basic studies in computer hardware, programming, microprocessors and digital circuits.

Human-Technology Interaction

The effective and pleasurable interaction with technological systems and products is an essential part of quality of life in industrial and post-industrial societies. The field of Human-Computer Interaction grew initially from the difficulties in building user interfaces for increasingly complex computers. Later computers were networked and turned mobile. Now they are embedded in almost all the technology that we use. The master's degree education focusing on Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) is a response to this development. The goal is to prepare future developers and researchers for the challenges that lay ahead in ensuring that the increasingly complex technological environment is designed to be easy and satisfying to control. The aim is to make technology serve our daily needs even better than it has done in the past.

The human-technology interaction focus area prepares students for flexible professional career in the field of human-technology interaction. The students can specialize in one of the three options: 1) User Experience Design and Evaluation, 2) Interaction Design and Research, or 3) Development of Interactive Software. The focus area in Human-Technology Interaction gives the students a solid practical and theoretical background for understanding, analysing, and designing human-centered technology. Success as a researcher, user experience designer, usability engineer, or other HTI specialist also requires excellent communication and team work skills.

The education is carried out in close cooperation between the Unit of Human-Centered technology (IHTE) at the Tampere University of Technology and Tampere unit for Computer Human Interaction (TAUCHI) at the University of Tampere. Responsibility for focus area User Experience Design and Evaluation is at IHTE. TAUCHI has the responsibility for the focus areas on Interaction Design and Research and Development of Interactive Software.

Mathematics

Mathematics as a focus area, combined with a minor in an engineering subject, provides competence for innovative research and design in advanced technology for industry, as well as a strong theoretical base for post-graduate studies in many areas. Students can focus their studies in either Mathematical Modelling or Discrete Mathematics:

Mathematical Modelling is the analysis and simulation of phenomena in technology, physics, economics, biology, medicine, etc., using mathematical tools such as differential equations, linear algebra, statistics, optimisation, and functional analysis. Typically, there is extensive use of computers for data analysis, numerical solutions, and visualisation. The department's

core courses cover the main tools of mathematical modelling, and advanced courses can be chosen to specialise in an application area or in the theoretical foundations. The mathematics department's research in this area includes inverse problems, systems theory, positioning algorithms, biostatistics, finance, and Clifford analysis.

Discrete Mathematics is a branch of mathematics used in the modelling of digital information processing and data transmission, operations research, computer algebra, and in theories of computation and information. The courses in logic, algebra, finite fields, graph theory, automata, information theory, and coding provide an overview of core topics in this area. Advanced courses can be chosen to specialise in an application areas or in the theoretical foundations. The mathematics department's research in this area includes algorithmics, algebra, combinatorics, logic, and information modelling.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a B.Sc. in mathematics, applied mathematics, or statistics, or a B.Sc. with a strong mathematical component, i.e. at least 50 ECTS credits in mathematics.

Multimedia

Multimedia deals with versatile information processing in human-computer interaction. Multimedia engineering aims at combining complex information technologies and communication systems with digital audio, images and video, 3D graphics and advanced user interfaces. The focus area in Multimedia provides an understanding of the fundamental aspects of the field and practical knowledge of multimedia systems technology. The studies include topics about human perception and multimodal integration, methods of processing multimedia signals, network protocols, systems and terminals, and standards for the representation and delivery of multimedia data.

The students learn to integrate signal processing, telecommunications and software skills in the development of multimedia systems. Problem-solving, system design and cooperation in developing practical applications are addressed in the advanced studies. Future information processing devices and applications are targeted. A typical example of processes dealt with in this field is the conversion of mobile phones into wireless multimedia terminals.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a BSc in computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, or physics. Solid mathematical background is recommended.

Positioning and Navigation

Positioning and navigation applications are rapidly growing in numbers, and there is an increasing demand of professional engineers in this field. This study block gives both theoretical and practical knowledge of navigation technologies and applications, including satellite-based systems (GPS, Galileo, etc.) and non-satellite techniques such as inertial navigation. The topics covered include:
- Satellite positioning systems, satellite signals, accuracy of satellite-based positioning
- Algorithms to compute position, velocity and time, and their accuracies
- Enhancing or assisting satellite navigation systems with available information
- Signal processing, Kalman filtering, and statistics from the viewpoint of navigation
- Inertial sensors and inertial navigation algorithms
- Indoor navigation

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a BSc in electrical engineering (communications, electronics, or computer engineering), applied mathematics, or statistics.

Signal Processing

Signal processing and its applications are playing an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. Smart phones, MP3 players, DVD players and digital TV broadcasting are just a short excerpt from a long and continuously developing list of applications based on advanced signal processing methods.

The courses of the focus area in Signal Processing deal with processing and interpreting digital signals in the wide sense of their information content. The mathematical basis of signal processing methods and algorithms is particularly emphasised. Key application areas of these algorithms comprise telecommunications, instrumentation and automation, as well as various kinds of speech, audio, image and video representation, compression, processing and delivery.

The focus area in Signal Processing deepens the student's theoretical and practical skills of analysing signals and designing signal processing methods and systems, especially for one of the major application areas of signal processing. Studies in signal processing teach the student to independently select the optimal signal processing methods when confronted with a new kind of signal processing problem. The goal is to train the students to design hardware and software for signal processing systems.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a BSc in computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, or physics. Solid mathematical background is highly recommended.

Software Systems

Software systems and information technology have rapidly spread throughout the main sectors of modern societies and even formed the backbone of many economies. Over the last decades, there has been a dramatic shift from a hardware-centric to a software-centric implementation of many computing systems. The focus area in Software Systems equips the students with a solid, extensive background in software engineering with an emphasis on contemporary as well as future concepts and practices. This is achieved by providing students with a good understanding of software systems, the ability to design and implement software systems, as well as the ability to manage and improve software development processes. In addition, this focus area gives the students a solid theoretical background for understanding, analysing and designing reliable and efficient programs, algorithms, and data structures.

Best suitable educational profile:
Applicants should have a B.Sc. degree with good grades in computer science, software engineering, or a closely related area. Theoretical and analytical skills are particularly valued.