MSc Wireless Communication and Sensing

Wireless Communication and Sensing systems are an integral part of our modern society. It is because of these systems that we can live more safely, securely, healthy, comfortably and more sustainably. They shape society in profound ways and their impact will become only bigger. Offering you education in those fields, the WiCoS track is a multidisciplinary master level educational program in Electrical Engineering (EE) at TU Delft. Related to faculty expertise, it focuses on wireless technology as well as network design & management. The program provides fundamental knowledge for societally important developments, some of which are the following:
• 5G (and beyond) communications
• Autonomous driving
• Environmental and medical sensing

Each of the themes above offers a manifold of practical applications. For example, sensing encompasses applications in medical imaging, weather forecast and weather nowcast, traffic control, Earth monitoring, (deep) space observations and security applications.
The program takes 2 years and is fully conducted in English. It offers challenging high-level education and research to talented students holding a BSc degree in technology or science.

Program scope

The MSc EE track Wireless Communication and Sensing covers radio communication systems, networking and complex networks, signal processing, wave propagation and detection, remote sensing systems and electromagnetics, with several opportunities for specialization.

Wireless communication systems, e.g. cellular networks (4G, LTE, 5G) and Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz), are continuously evolving towards further improved services (higher data rates, better coverage, serving more users) at lower cost (more efficient spectrum use and low power techniques). New developments in wireless communication systems include the use of highly directive beams (Massive MIMO), ad hoc networking, dynamic spectrum access, and (low power) sensor networks. New standards such as 5G and beyond will integrate Wi-Fi and support wireless sensor networks, e.g. the Internet of Things (IoT) and vehicle sensor communication. All of them evolve toward achieving a higher efficiency, more flexibility, increased robustness and safety and security.

Wireless sensing and observation technologies are developed in parallel and based on similar techniques. They are widely deployed in a broad spectrum of applications from health care to space. Microwave and Terahertz sensors and remote sensing systems are used to collect up-to-date information required e.g. to enable autonomous driving, to support reliable weather observations and forecast, to monitor climate changes for example by measuring the seal level, NOx and CO2 emissions, to diagnose and treat human diseases, to manage crop health on large areas of the Earth surface, and to provide real-time observations for security and disaster prediction applications. The needs for this kind of information is vastly increasing to efficiently manage and safeguard our complex society.

Communication networks (as well as other complex networks) rely to a large extent on decentralization and self-organization. While decentralization removes obvious vulnerabilities related to single points of failure, it requires the management of a higher complexity and sophisticated design to optimize performance. The Internet is a clear example: there is no global control center, and obtaining complete information on its global state is an illusion. Additionally, a complex type of vulnerability appears in such systems. For instance, denial of service attacks, power failures and computer viruses are imminent threats to all computer networks.

The laboratories involved in this MSc Program (all from the EEMCS faculty ) are:
• Terahertz Sensing (TS) 
• Microwave Sensing, Signals and Systems (MS3)
• Signal Processing Systems (SPS)
• Network Architectures and Services (NAS)
These laboratories are related to many partners, be it commercial companies, research laboratories and other universities. This is also materialized in externally sponsored professors and other researchers at the laboratories. For students this implies that internships and thesis projects at companies during the two-years program can easily be arranged.

Scholarships

The Department of Microelectronics offers a number of scholarships which are available for students of proven excellence. These scholarships include:

• Full tuition fees for the TU Delft MSc programme and contribution to living expenses for 2 years. To be considered for these scholarships, your complete application for the MSc programme needs to be uploaded before December 1st.

Apart from scholarships other forms of financial support exist. If their thesis project is carried out at a company, students usually receive a stipend that covers part of their living expenses. Also students can earn some money as part-time Teaching Assistants.

Contact person

See also