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4. Electrical and Electronic Engineering

About This Course

Fact File

• Title

  Electrical & Electronic Engineering

• Code

  CK600

• College

  Science, Engineering and Food Science

• Duration

  4 years

• Teaching Mode

  Full-time

• Qualifications

  BE (Hons)

• Fees

  Student Contribution + Capitation: €3,138 See Fees and Costs for full details.

• Entry Requirements

  Refer to CK600 See Requirements for full details.

• CAO Points

  2022: 510

Course Outline

Electrical and Electronic Engineering applies scientific knowledge to develop a broad range of technological products and services that underpin modern society.  These include the generation and distribution of electricity, the development of renewable energy systems, industrial automation and control, telecommunications including broadband and mobile systems and medical systems. BE Electrical and Electronic Engineering is a four-year professional engineering course designed to prepare students for employment in the electrical and electronic sectors in Ireland and abroad. It has a broad curriculum with strong practical content, including a work placement. It has an excellent record for graduate employment.

The first two years of the course will develop your scientific knowledge, especially in mathematics, physics and the fundamentals of electrical signals.

The third and fourth years of the BE concentrate on applied engineering topics such as:

• the generation and distribution of electricity;
• the development of renewable energy systems;
• industrial automation and control;
• telecommunications;
• optoelectronics and photonics;
• medical electronic systems;
• consumer electronics;
• the design and fabrication of integrated circuits;

The final year of the BE includes several module options allowing you to tailor your degree to suit your particular technical interests and career ambitions.

The first three years of the BE course provide an access route to the integrated masters, ME in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. The ME programme has extensive industrial experience, deeper technical and professional learning and a significant final year project. It is targeted towards creating the technology leaders of the future.

Modules

Year 1 Modules:

Refer to CK600

Year 2 Modules:

Linear Circuit Analysis; Numerical Methods and Programming; Mathematics for Engineers; Non-Linear Circuit Analysis;
 Digital Electronics; Heat Transfer Semiconductor Materials and Devices; Signals and Systems; Power Engineering

Year 3 Modules:

Electronic Circuit Design; Electronic Embedded Systems; Control Engineering; Electromagnetic Fields for Engineers; Telecommunications; Introduction to Electrical Power Systems; Introduction to Electric Drives;  Digital Integrated Circuits; Analogue Integrated Circuits; Signal Processing; Mechanical Systems;

BE Year 4 Modules:

Core

Transmission Lines; Photonic Systems; Entrepreneurial Business Start-Ups; BE Project.

Electives

Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Conversion; Control Engineering; Biomedical Design; Robotics; Photovoltaic Systems; Digital IC Design; Analogue IC Design; Telecommunications; Digital Signal Processing; Industrial Automation and Control; Electrical Power Systems; RF IC Design; Processing of Integrated Circuits; Optical Electronics; Work Placement

ME Year 4 Modules:

The first part of Year 4 consists of six core technical modules, to develop your technical skills and allow access to the more advanced Masters modules in Year 5. From January to August you will have a work placement in Industry or Research Institute to further develop your skills in a practical environment. Professional lectures are held in the first semester to help support the skills needed to work effectively at an advanced level within a corporate environment.

ME Year 5:

The highlight of Year 5 is an extended Individual Research. This is supported by two management modules to enhance your professional development with the remaining technical modules being chosen from a range of advanced Masters level courses based on your own career interests.

See the College Calendar for more detailed information on the programme and the Book of Modules for a more detailed description of programme modules.

Course Practicalities

Expected lecture/lab/practical hours

Classes consist of lectures, tutorials, and laboratory practicals, totalling 20-26 contact hours per week during 24 weeks of the year, divided into two semesters.

Assessment

Written exams will take place before Christmas and in May. Not all modules will have formal examinations. Many modules use other types of assessment.

Yearly course grades are based on a balanced combination of continuous assessment and written examinations, organised at the individual module level. The final degree grade is based on a weighted combination of the marks from Year 3 and Year 4.

Who Teaches this Course

• Professor William Marnane
• Professor Peter Parbrook
• Professor Nabeel A. Riza
• Richard Kavanagh
• Gordon Lightbody
• Alan. P. Morrison
• Dr Emanuel Popovici
• William M.D. Wright
• Padraig Cantillon-Murphy
• Guangbo Hao
• Dr Barry Hayes
• John G. Hayes
• Kevin G. McCarthy
• Colin Murphy

Why Choose This Course

Our department has well-equipped laboratories with a wide range of hardware and software for the design of modern high-performance electronic systems. Our staff undertake research at the highest level and many opportunities exist for follow-on postgraduate studies.

We have close links with Ireland’s largest ICT research centre, the Tyndall National Institute, opening up further possibilities for students wishing to pursue postgraduate studies and research. Further links exist with other National Centres of Excellence such as the SFI sponsored Marine Renewable Energy Institute (MaREI) (Electrical Power Engineering) and INFANT (Advanced Signal Processing for Medical Monitoring of infants).

This degree course is built on a solid scientific foundation but also has a strong emphasis on practical content, reinforced by work placements and project work.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

At the end of Year 3, you may undertake a work placement. Some students have an opportunity to do their placement with a company abroad. Most recently, some students have been placed with a large German engineering company and have gained valuable experience working and learning a language at the same time.

You also have an opportunity to do Year 3 at an engineering college abroad. This requires approval from the Head of the School of Engineering and depends on the availability of places at our partner institutions abroad.

Students electing to transfer to the ME programme at the end of Year 3 will undertake a longer, eight month salaried work placement as part of their studies.

Skills and Careers Information

The BE Hons (Electrical and Electronic) degree is recognised internationally and our graduates have developed successful careers within the electrical, electronic and energy engineering industries and beyond. Our graduates are in extremely high demand locally, nationally and internationally, due to the continued increase in the information and communications technology market, and the fact that the discipline is the technology that underpins the sector.

While a degree in electrical and electronic engineering acts as a starting point to a career as a professional engineer, the skills acquired during this course are appreciated by a range of employers, offering you the possibility of embarking on a career in many other areas, including computing, management consultancy, the finance industry, and scientific and engineering research.

Requirements

Leaving Certificate entry requirements:

At Least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H4 in one subject, minimum grade H5 in one subject and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish.

The following are considered Lab Science subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physics with Chemistry (Joint), and Agricultural Science. Technology can be substituted for a Lab Science subject. 

Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:

English	Irish	Maths	Lab Science or Technology
O6/H7	O6/H7	H4*	O6/H7

*If the H4 is in Applied Mathematics, a H6 in Mathematics is also required.

Students presenting with a 2016 (or previous) Leaving Certificate must present with a HC2 in Mathematics or Applied Mathematics;  if the HC2 is in Applied Mathematics, a HD3 in Mathematics is also required.

Mature students: Applicants should apply directly through the CAO (www.cao.ie) for CK600.

International Students should visit the International Education website.

 

Fees and Costs

The State will pay the tuition fees for students who satisfy the Free Fees Criteria. In 2022/23 the Student Contribution Fee will be €3,000 and the Capitation Fee will be €138. Full-time EU/EEA/Swiss State undergraduate students may be exempt from paying tuition fees.

How Do I Apply

Application to Year 1 of the degree programme is made directly through the Central Applications Office (CAO). Applicants should apply online at www.cao.ie. The normal closing date for receipt of completed applications is 1st February of the year of entry.

Mature Applicants:  Application is made through the CAO (www.cao.ie) and the closing date for receipt of completed applications is 1st February of the year of proposed entry.