Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Smart Telecom And Sensing Networks (SMARTNET)

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master degrees programme SMARTNET is a collaborative two-year (120 ECTs) joint master degree programme with the goal to provide training in the inter-disciplinary fields of photonic and 5G wireless technologies for data communication, sensing and big data processing. It will be accomplished by leading European Universities with distinctive and complementary academic qualities and strong educational and research traditions, namely:

• Aston University (Birmingham, UK), Aston, Coordinator (Areas of expertise: wireless and optical communications network systems, optical sensing)
• Université Paris-Saclay (France), UPSaclay, through its member institution Télécom SudParis. TSP (Évry, France), and Télécom ParisTech, TPT (Areas of expertise: physical layer of telecom and sensing networks, electromagnetic, nano-photonics, antenns design, microwave technology)
• University of Athens (Athens, Greece, UoA) (Areas of expertise : digital signal processing, machine learning, Big data management systems, security of networks)

The programme complies with the ERASMUS mobility rules. Incoming students will start from any of the three institutions where they will spend the first two semesters of their studies and receive the core part of their training. The third semester will be carried out in a different institution and will include specialization courses that enhance the interdisciplinary of the offered degree. The fourth semester will be devoted to an independent project that will be reported in the Master’s thesis. Students will carry out their MSc project in close collaboration with industrial partners.  

SMARTNET has received the strong support of 19 industrial partners, who will provide internship opportunities to students and contribute to their training experience:

The application submission is exclusively online via the SmartNet website. The application procedure takes some time, so make sure you have plenty of time to do it.  Before starting, make sure that you have all the required documents (see document list below) in pdf format. After submission, you will receive by email an automatic acknowledgment of receipt.

Application Deadlines

• For Erasmus Mundus Scholarships: 2nd of March 2020
  
• Self-funded paths: 15th of May 2020

We advise applicants to submit their application well in advance of the above deadlines, in order to avoid last minute problems with incomplete files, overload of the online application system etc. and to have some margin to cope with such problems Application files that are incomplete or partially uploaded on the submission deadline of  will not be considered.

Application Procedure

To proceed please read carefully the guidelines for online application and then press here.

You will be asked to select if you would like to apply for an EMJMD scholarship or for a self-funded position. If you would like to be considered in both categories you will have to make two separate submissions.

The application process consists of the following steps:

• In the first step, you provide your personal information which includes: nationality; date, country, and place of birth;  country/city/address/ZIP code of residency; telephone number; email; contact address (if different from residence address during the selection period); marital status and disability
• In the second step you choose if you are a Programme or a Partner Country applicant and provide your educational background, which includes: current status and subject of your degree; CGPA; degree awarding date; University; English language knowledge and acquired Certificate; and finally your mobility path preference.
• In the third step you proceed with the upload of the main documents of your application, see below list. Detailed directions are also given on the required content of each document. The files should be in pdf format and named according to the template [Surname_FirstName_DocName.pdf].
• Finally, complete the declarations of knowledge about the use of your personal data, the eligibility, admission and selection criteria, and the application procedure; enter the submission date and your signature and proceed with the submission. Note: If you feel that you need to re-visit your application and improve it, the online system allows you to do it at any time before the submission deadline.

List of documents:

1. Passport: A full scanned copy of your passport (i.e. all pages). For EEA citizens, a scan of your national ID card will also suffice [Surname_FirstName_Passport.pdf].
2. Curriculum Vitae (CV): The CV should be in English and follow the European template, which can be found here. It should provide details on your educational background, professional experience and any other information that you feel it is useful for the evaluation of your application [Surname_FirstName_CV.pdf].
3. Letter of Motivation: Describe your personal reasons and your particular interests and motivation for undertaking post-graduate studies in SmartNet (~750 words) [Surname_FirstName_Motivation.pdf].
4. Transcripts of academic records: Provide both the original copy and a certified English translation of your academic transcripts reporting the final grade and the grades of all undergraduate modules taken. Should you still need to complete your studies at the time of application, please upload scans of your intermediate transcripts. However, do note that your final transcripts will have to be submitted upon enrollment [Surname_FirstName_Transcripts.pdf].
5. Degree Certificate: Please provide the original copy and a certified English translation of your BSc degree. If this is not available at the time of application upload a letter from your university that states the expected day of graduation. Do note that a copy of the BSc degree will have to be submitted upon enrollment [Surname_FirstName_DegreeCert.pdf].
6. Certificate of Residence: The residence certificate should be in accordance with the applicant’s municipality normal registration rules and it should clearly state the exact address of your residence. They must have been issued no later than 12 months before the submission deadline of the application. Here, you should also include any other document that clarifies your status again the 12-months residency rule (for further instructions click here) [Surname_FirstName_ResidenceCert.pdf].
7. English Certificate:  Please provide a certificate of your English language proficiency according to the admission requirements of the SmartNet programme [Surname_FirstName_EnglishCert.pdf].
8. Two reference letters: Both reference letters should be in English. Preferably, at least one of the letters should be from a faculty member of the university from which you obtained your BSc degree. The second letter can also be from from your current employer or supervisor. The letters have to be written in English, on a letterhead of the referee’s organization and include the signature and the contact details (i.e. postal address, phone, email) of the referee. Letters not respecting these requirements will NOT be accepted [Surname_FirstName_Reference1{2}.pdf].
9. Thesis Summary (optional): If you have already carried out your BSc thesis, please include a 2-page summary of the scope of your thesis, its main results, and conclusions [Surname_FirstName_ThesisSummary.pdf].
10. Other Documents (optional): Upload a collection of any other document, you feel they might support your application [Surname_FirstName_OtherDoc.pdf].

Privacy Statement

We inform that the data of selected applicants (either for a scholarship or put on the reserve list or enrolled on a self-paying basis) may be used for the purposes of EU project management, EU programme evaluation and producing statistics. Data could be made available to the EACEA, the European Commission, the European External Action Service staff, as well as, to other stakeholders of the Erasmus+ programme, such as the Erasmus+ National Agencies, National Erasmus+ Offices and the Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association.

See also the following privacy statement of the EACEA here.

What happens next

• An admission notification will be sent to you by email, by the beginning of May 2019, confirming an offer or advising you that your application has been unsuccessful. The offer of a place may be subject to certain conditions which you have to meet before your admission can be confirmed (conditional offer).
• If you receive an offer, you will have within a given deadline to provide confirmation of its acceptance. The confirmation should be done by email by including the following documents:
  • a signed confirmation letter of your attendance at the SmartNet programme
  • a signed copy of the Student Agreement
  • a valid copy of passport or international ID
  • any other documents that might be requested in the admission notification

The Student Agreement will define the student’s rights and obligations and will cover, as precise as possible, all the academic, administrative, financial and insurance aspects in relation to your participation to the SmartNet course. This will include the tuition fee payment to the SmartNet programme, but also, the payment arrangements of the scholarship contributions to the corresponding holder.

If you do not comply with the deadline or the provision of the requested documents, your place will be offered to another applicant.

• You will have to start the VISA process as soon as you receive your admission letter. Do not forget that at least 3 months are usually required to obtain a European visa.

SMARTNET programme comprises 4 semesters (modules), each providing at least 30 ECTS. In the first three semesters traditional courses and laboratory sessions are provided, while the 4th semester is dedicated to independent work by the student relevant to his MSc thesis, see bellow. The offered programme focuses upon the development of proper competences in the key interconnecting areas of telecommunication networks and informatics and encompasses a wide range of topics and expertise related to the development of highly skilled telecommunication engineers to develop future 5G systems. In the introductory section, students will be provided with strong preparation to ensure that they are fully up to date on latest developments and have the required flexibility to keep up with the fast-paced evolution of the particular scientific field. By the end of the learning activities, they will have completely mastered the areas of wired and wireless communication systems, photonic and microwave devices, network architectures, signal processing, big data information systems and analytics.

Modules offered by Aston University

1st Semester : Mandatory: Telecommunication Networks and Quality of Service (7.5 ECTS), Radio Systems and Personal Communication Networks (7.5 ECTS), Optical Networks (7.5 ECTS)
Elective: Broadband Wireless Networks (7.5 ECTS), Digital Communications and Information Theory (7.5 ECTS), Strategic Management and Finance (7.5 ECTS), Modeling and Characterization of Fibre Photonic Devices (7.5 ECTS)

2nd Semester : Mandatory: Mobile Data Networks (7.5 ECTS), Machine Learning (7.5 ECTS)
Elective: Pervasive and Mobile Communication Networks (7.5 ECTS), Optical Communication Systems (7.5 ECTS), Internet of Things (7.5 ECTS), Introduction to Parallel Programming Techniques (7.5 ECTS)

3rd Semester : Note: Students of the 3rd semester will have spent the 1st year of their studies at TPT/TSP or UoA
Mandatory: Telecommunication Networks and Quality of Service (7.5 ECTS), Radio Systems and Personal Communication Networks (7.5 ECTS), Optical Networks (7.5 ECTS)

Elective: Broadband Wireless Networks (7.5 ECTS), Digital Communications and Information Theory (7.5 ECTS), Strategic Management and Finance (7.5 ECTS), Modeling and Characterization of Fibre Photonic Devices (7.5 ECTS)

4th Semester : Mandatory: MSc Dissertation (30 ECTS) (it may involve placement to industrial partner)

Modules offered by Télécom SudParis and Télécom ParisTech

1st Semester: Mandatory: Computer Science (6 ECTS), Probability and Statistics (3 ECTS), Effective Communication (3 ECTS), French as a foreign language (3 ECTS), Computer Networking (5 ECTS), Microwaves and Antennas (5 ECTS), Fundamental of fibre optic communications (5 ECTS)

2nd Semester : Mandatory: Signal Processing: detection, estimation, advanced statistical techniques (5 ECTS), Scientific Project (8 ECTS), French as a foreign language (2 ECTS), Advanced Optoelectronic Devices (5 ECTS), Wireless Systems (5 ECTS), Radio-frequency for connected objects (5 ECTS)

3rd Semester : Note: Students of the 3rd semester will have spent the 1st year of their studies at Aston or UoA
Mandatory: Optoelectronic Devices (4 ECTS), Digital Information Processing (3 ECTS), Error-Correcting Codes and Coded Modulations Applied to Optical Communications (2 ECTS), Optical Information Propagation and Point-to-Point Transmission Systems (3 ECTS), Advanced and Next Generation Optical Transmission Systems (2 ECTS), Optical Networks (4 ECTS), Future Trends in Optical Networks (2 ECTS), Photonic Systems Towards Other Applications (3 ECTS)

Elective: Refresher: Physics of Optoelectronic Devices (2 ECTS), Refresher: Communication Networks (2 ECTS), Refresher: Digital Communications (2 ECTS), Fonction et Intégration photonique (3 ECTS), Nano-photonics (3 ECTS)

4th Semester: Mandatory: MSc Dissertation (30 ECTS) (it may involve placement to industrial partner)

Modules offered by University of Athens

1st Semester : Mandatory: Advanced Optical Communications and Optical Networks (6 ECTS), Telecommunications Subsystems (6 ECTS), Wireless Broadband Networks (6 ECTS), Machine Learning (6 ECTS)

2nd Semester : Mandatory: Advanced Network Architectures (6 ECTS), Techno-economic evaluation of Telecommunication Systems (6 ECTS), Telecommunications and Network Security (6 ECTS)
Elective: Photonics Integrated Circuits (6 ECTS), Big Data Management (6 ECTS), Investment under Uncertainty/Risk Analysis (6 ECTS)

3rd Semester : Note: Students of the 3rd semester have spent the 1st year of their studies at Aston or TPT/TSP
Mandatory: Software Defined Networks (6 ECTS), Large Scale Data Analysis Techniques (6 ECTS), Artificial Intelligence (6 ECTS)

Elective: Advanced topics in wireless and mobile communications (6 ECTS), Computational Photonics (6 ECTS), Knowledge Technology (6 ECTS)

4th Semester: Mandatory: MSc Dissertation (30 ECTS) (it may involve placement to industrial partner)