Master's Programme in Automation and Electrical Engineering

The Control, Robotics and Autonomous Systems major provides a strong basis in control engineering and automation, allowing students to specialise in a particular area of interest such as factory automation, robotics, autonomous smart systems, or industrial software systems. Central topics for all students include modelling, estimation and control of dynamic systems, as well as embedded systems and software for modern automation systems. Upon completion of the Major, the student is able to:

• Understand the need for automation

• Design models and controllers for dynamic systems

• Analyse properties and dynamics of systems

• Design industrial software applications

• Understand one of the focus areas in-depth:

  • robotics and autonomous systems

  • smart systems

  • control engineering

  • automation software

  • factory automation

The Electrical Power and Energy Engineering major offers a firm base for engineers working in the field of electrical power and energy engineering. The field includes power transmission, distribution, smart grid, and sustainable generation and utilisation of electrical power, as well as power-conversion devices such as motors, generators, and power electronic converters and their control. Upon completion of the Major, students are able to:

• Identify fundamental aspects and considerations for electrical energy systems

• Develop applications for energy efficiency, integration of renewables, and distributed generation

• Analyse and evaluate existing and future challenges in the field of electrical power and energy engineering

• Design and analyse power systems or energy conversion devices

• Understand one of the focus areas in-depth:

  • electromechanics

  • power electronic systems

  • power systems

  • sustainable electrical energy

Electronic and Digital Systems (EDS) is a multidisciplinary major focusing on embedded systems and system level design especially for intelligent and autonomous devices and applications. It covers the chain from sensors small enough to enable smartdust, over autonomous embedded systems, up to data synthesis and real-time decision making for traditional industries as well as IoT and digitally based economies. EDS emphasizes the process of transferring results from fundamental studies into functional products and services. There are two study tracks, which are (i) embedded systems and sensing and (ii) integrated smart systems.

Upon completion of the Major, the student will be able to:

•   translate the electronic and digital systems application needs into technical requirements;

•   create product innovations based on holistic system level thinking;

•   apply embedded HW and SW design principles, understand their constraints, performance as well as environmental and safety impacts;

•   apply the design and fabrication principles and understand the basics of upscaling and lifecycle management of strongly miniaturized autonomous sensor and actuator systems;

•  apply methods for processing, analyzing and combining of data from sensors and sensor networks

Required prior knowledge

A high‐quality Bachelor’s degree in in Electrical Engineering, Automation, Control Engineering or Materials Science. Excellent candidates with degrees in other fields such as Computer Science, Engineering, Natural Sciences or Mathematics will be considered if they have sufficient studies and proven skills and knowledge in Electrical Engineering, Automation, Control Engineering or Materials Science.

Applicants who already have a Master’s degree of comparable quality and content in Electrical Engineering, Automation, Control Engineering or Materials Science or related field, or who intend to complete one, or who have a valid study right in this application target will not be accepted to the programme except for special reasons, which the applicant must explain in the application. The Master’s programme should provide genuinely new knowledge and further the career of the applicant.

The following background knowledge is required:

Required background subjects:

• mathematics (linear algebra, calculus, probability theory and statistics)
• programming skills
• physics and/or chemistry
• project and team work
• technical writing

For applicants whose previous degree is in a subject other than Electrical Engineering, Automation, Control Engineering or Materials Science, it is critical to demonstrate the knowledge of
the above areas and the specific major requirements (as described below) in the application.
In addition to the general background requirements, each major has specific requirements. The major is selected at the beginning of the studies, and at that point the background requirements listed below are considered. The applicants are asked to indicate in the motivation letter which major they wish to follow. The majors offered have the following specific requirements.

1. Control, Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Required knowledge:
• basics of control engineering

Knowledge of the following areas is considered an advantage:
• robotics
• industrial automation
• basics of electronics
• good programming skills

2. Electrical Power and Energy Engineering
Required knowledge:
• circuit theory (including three-phase systems)
• electricity and magnetism
• basics of electronics and electronic components

Knowledge of the following areas is considered an advantage:
• basics of control engineering

3. Electronic and Digital Systems

Knowledge of the following areas is considered an advantage:
• good knowledge of physics and/or chemistry
• basics of electronics

In addition to the mandatory application documents, applicants to the Automation and Electrical Engineering programme are requested to provide the following additional documents:

• curriculum vitae*
• motivation letter*
  • The motivation letter should be written in English. The maximum length of the motivation letter is about 4000 characters. You should write a separate motivation letter for each study option you apply to.

* the lack of these two application documents will adversely affect the evaluation of your application

• at least one original recommendation letter (preferably academic)
• work certificates and certificates of other relevant achievements
• copies of any publications
• the official transcript of records for other university studies which are not included in the mandatory part of the application

The application should fully explain the educational history of the applicant. If the applicant has started or completed other studies in addition to the Bachelor's degree mentioned above, he or she should also provide the respective official transcripts and other possible (degree) certificates.

If the applicant has work experience or other activities or achievements to support their application, certificates or other proof should be included in the application. If the applicant has publications, copies or permanent web links to the publications should be provided. The CV should be used to provide a summary of one's personal history, achievements, objectives and other points that one considers important for the application.

The motivation letter can supplement the description of personal history. The motivation letter should also describe why the applicant is applying to the study‐option and why she/he would be a good candidate for the study option.

The recommendation letter should preferably be from a university professor, lecturer or a thesis instructor who has supervised the applicant’s studies at the university. The recommendation should comment on the applicant’s suitability to the specific study option and major.

General instructions on study-option-specific documents

All additional application documents described above should preferably be submitted in English. If some other language than English, Finnish or Swedish is used in them, the applicant must provide precise, word-for-word translations of them.

Upload the documents to your online application form in pdf-format. Name the file(s) according to format: Name of the document-Lastname-Firstname (e.g. CV-Lastname-Firstname.pdf). Maximum file size is 1.0 GB.

The study-option-specific documents must be uploaded for each study option separately, even if you use the same document (e.g. CV). Please check carefully the study-option-specific document requirements for each study option you apply to.

The deadline for the study-option-specific application documents to be uploaded to your application form is the same as for the general application documents.

The applicants must first meet the general eligibility requirements of Aalto University.
Applicants meeting the general eligibility criteria for master's studies are evaluated and ranked
according to the evaluation criteria listed here.

Firstly, the applications are evaluated based on the following (critical) criteria.

• Relevance of previous studies
• Academic performance

Only the applications who fulfill the requirements for these criteria will be evaluated against the full
set of evaluation criteria. After the evaluation of the remaining criteria below, the best applicants will be selected based on the joint evaluation of all criteria.

• Recognition and quality of institution
• Suitability
• Other areas of competence

Relevance of previous studies

Academic performance

Recognition and quality of institution

Suitability

Other areas of competence

The minimum GPA for applicants from Finnish universities of applied science is 3.8. Applicants with a GPA below the 3.8 limit will not be admitted unless they have other exceptional merits. Meeting the minimum GPA does not guarantee admission to the programme.

Previously, all admitted students whose previous degree was from a Finnish university of applied science were required to take a selection of complementary studies. This is no longer required, and complementary studies are assigned only in individual cases. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate the depth of the required prior knowledge in the application. This can be achieved, for example, with excellent grades in the relevant Bachelor courses and by completing a small number of demanding courses in the areas of required knowledge. A limited number of seats for non-degree students are available in the Bachelor-level courses in Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Programming at Aalto University, and similar courses may be available through the Open University.