Telecommunications Networks and Software (RST)

The RST curriculum trains specialist engineers in the fields of networking, software and communication protocols.

The objectives of the Telecommunications Networks and Software (TNS) degree programme, relative to the qualification that graduates will obtain, are to acquire knowledge and skills in:

• understanding the phenomena of transmission and reception of information;
• the structure and characteristics of different telecommunications networks;
• knowledge of switching techniques and systems;
• knowledge of traffic engineering in telecommunications networks (traffic optimisation and management);
• concepts, principles and methods used in integrated telecommunications networks, relating to communication architectures and protocols;
• the design, implementation and operation of fixed and mobile communications networks, and the ability to adapt to the requirements of new technologies (fourth generation and beyond);
• the ability to apply the techniques and tools needed to develop complex communication software systems;
• a global, integrative view of fixed/mobile communications networks and data, voice, video, multimedia services.

In the undergraduate cycle, the aim is to assimilate some basic elements that will allow the consolidation of the above objectives in the master cycle.

Skills provided by the study programme:

• Use fundamental knowledge of electronic devices, circuits and instrumentation.
• Applying, in typical situations, the basic methods of processing electrical and non-electrical signals, implementing procedures of medium complexity on signal processors.
• Understand and use fundamental concepts in the field of communications and information transmission.
• Application of fundamental knowledge, concepts and methods concerning computer systems architecture, microcontrollers, programming languages and techniques.
• Analysis and adaptation of communication architectures, technologies and protocols for applications supporting local, metropolitan, wide area and integrated networks.
• Analysis, planning, configuration and operation of telecommunication services in fixed and/or mobile context (voice, data, audio, video, multimedia), service integration and information security elements.
• Use of specialised languages and tools for software engineering, software architectures oriented towards embedded telecommunication systems, as well as analysis, specification and design of software systems using object-oriented techniques, programming for networked and web-based applications.
• Methodical analysis of the problems encountered in the activity, identifying the elements for which there are established solutions, thus ensuring the fulfillment of professional tasks.
• Flexible adaptation, at user level, to new systems and technologies in the field, within work teams with well-defined tasks.

Curriculum

The RST study programme is coordinated by the Department of Telecommunications. The department collaborates, through cooperation/sponsorship contracts, with major telecommunications operators and companies in our country (Orange, Vodafone, Huawei, Luxoft, Telekom, Ericsson, etc.) and also participates in international research contracts.

RTD students have benefited from private scholarships and there are offers from economic agents to extend them. In many cases, these programmes are followed up with various forms of internships and diploma projects in these companies.

The development of diploma projects can also be carried out in the laboratories of the faculty, including through participation in numerous national or European projects (FP6, FP7, H2020, Chist-ERA, NATO, Bridge Grant, etc.) in which the Department of Telecommunications is involved.

Some companies (Luxoft, Orange, Vodafone, Huawei) offer or sponsor packages of optional courses completed with company certificates.

The curriculum has been designed with a broad, open-ended, and continuing possibility, using programs from elite universities with similar majors as models. At the beginning of the specialization (semester 5) the basic training in Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies is continued with the subjects Theory of Information Transmission, Microwaves, Analog Integrated Circuits, Electronic Measurement Instrumentation, Microcontrollers, Project 1 - Electronic Devices and Circuits and the optional subjects Automatic Control in Electronics and Telecommunications, Audio Engineering, Fundamentals of Information Science, Electromagnetic Compatibility, and Applied Interface Programming, which provide the necessary foundations for the specialist subjects.

Fundamental and core subjects are studied in semesters 5 and 6 and specialist subjects in semesters 7 and 8. There is a balance between the weightings of software and networking subjects. Optional subjects in networking are also proposed: Introduction to Operating Systems and Virtualisation, Network and Service Security.

The main disciplines, specific to the field of RTD, are presented below.

Discipline Communication architectures and protocols provides fundamental knowledge of communications concepts, principles, architectures and protocols, focusing on technologies widely used in both private networks and the networks of telecommunications service providers, both fixed and mobile, today and in the future. The content is selected to reflect the current process of integrating services and networks using packet-switched technologies and the TCP/IP family of protocols: layered architectures, technologies and protocols for local area networks, fundamentals of IPv4 and IPv6 based networks, transport layer protocols (UDP, TCP), and a selection of application layer protocols with an important role in the Internet (DNS, HTTP, e-mail, FTP).

Discipline Internet programming technologies provides the necessary knowledge to develop network-specific applications.

Discipline Computing systems architecture  aims to present the basics of building computing systems (typical architectures, hierarchical memory systems, parallel processing, examples of existing computing systems), as well as to present memory management policies in a computing system, methods for achieving spatial or temporal parallelism and for building loosely coupled multiprocessor systems. Examples are given of computing systems used in network nodes and terminals.

Discipline Operating systems introduces the basics of the organisation and functions of operating systems. The elements of multiprocess operating systems as used in network nodes (switches, routers, multiplexers, gateways, etc.) and in fixed or mobile terminals are presented.

Discipline Software engineering for communications presents methodologies, languages and software tools involved in the systematic development of communication software systems. It also presents the phases and activities of a systematic software systems development process and the elements of the Unified Modelling Language (UML) required in the assisted development of communication software systems.

Discipline Databases aims to teach the basics of creating and using databases with emphasis on specific elements of telecommunications.

Discipline Networks and services continues and develops the topics of the core course Communication Architectures and Protocols. It provides an integrative picture materialized by the convergence in practice of classical telecom networks and services (voice, audio, video) with data networks and services, based on TCP/IP architectures with multiple architectural planes and recent developments (Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), cloud technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.) Examples of specific services are presented such as VoIP, conferencing, video/media or conferencing, content and video on demand distribution, web, social networks. Current open trends such as: centralisation/distribution, increasing diversity of access/transport technologies on the one hand and the effort to integrate services at higher levels on the other hand are addressed. The lab associated with this course studies the main protocols and technologies used in today's networks (RIP, OSPF, BGP, IPV6, ACL, QoS, etc.) providing a practical basis for training in this subfield.

Discipline Mobile communication networks presents the general characteristics of mobile telecommunications systems, covering both the fundamentals of cellular network design and mobile radio systems: GSM, GPRS, UMTS, LTE. In each case, the architecture, transmission and signalling protocols, services offered to mobile subscribers, interconnection possibilities with other mobile and fixed networks are described. The applications offer the possibility to deepen the operation of GSM and UMTS systems and to study, in a practical way, the maintenance functions in GSM (on Orange equipment).

Disciplines Switching techniques and systems and Multiplex transmission techniques and systems presents the basics of wired and wireless communication systems.

Disciplines Decision and estimation in information processing, Digital signal processing, Analogue and digital communications, Data communications are fundamental disciplines for the field of networks and present the theoretical foundations of the realization of current communication systems.

Other optional subjects such as Radar, Transmission Media, Multiple Access Techniques, Optical Communications, Traffic Engineering  complements specialist training.

The RTD specialization carries out research and application activities in laboratories equipped with computing techniques and equipment specific to the field of telecommunications networks.

In the undergraduate cycle, the aim is to assimilate some basic elements that will allow the consolidation of the above objectives in the master cycle. The knowledge obtained in the RTD bachelor courses can be deepened - with a more focused specialization - in the master specializations Service and Network Management (MSR), Advanced SW Technologies for Communications (TSAC) and Integrated Telecommunications Networks (RITc).