Electronic and Computer Engineering

Electronic and Computer Engineering
Advancements in electronics and computing are transforming the way we live, and see the world. With this BEng in Electronic and Computer Engineering, you’ll be immersed in both - empowering you to understand, design and create the systems of the future.

This combination of electronic engineering, software, and advanced electronic hardware knowledge will give you an all-round perspective on core and emerging fields, from robotics and AI, to microcomputer technology, Internet of Things (IoT), industrial automation and sensor technologies.

At Kent, we understand that technology is always evolving. So our course prioritises hands-on, practical learning that will empower you to enter the workplace with confidence.

You will apply your knowledge to real-world systems, from autonomous vehicles to IoT devices. You’ll also work on live projects, using advanced tools and technologies as part of research or industry partnerships.

With practical, problem-solving experience, you’ll understand the factors that influence pioneering modern projects - from the importance of sustainability to the social and economic impacts of systems. You’ll also develop the teamwork and communication skills required to be part of a team that gets things done.

Foundation Year

If you don’t have the right grades to enrol directly on to our BEng (Hons) Electronic and Computer Engineering degree, you could opt to start your studies with our Foundation year. The extra year is intended to give you the best possible preparation for success on the degree pathway.

Year in Industry

The additional aims of our Year in Industry option are to give students an opportunity to gain experience as computer systems engineers working in a professional environment and to develop employment-related skills. The placement year develops students’ technical skills, employability, and soft skills as well as increasing their awareness of the future context for employment.

Your Future
Our graduates find employment in a huge range of sectors such as aerospace and automotive industries, the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence, construction and building services, energy utilities, government agencies, manufacturing industries, medical engineering, oil and gas industries, process industries, the public sector, research establishments and transport including road and railways.

The School of Engineering holds an annual Employability and Careers Day where you can meet local and national employers and discuss career opportunities. Ongoing support is provided by the School’s dedicated Employability Officer.

Accreditation

Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer.

Year in Industry

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers.

Foundation Year

If you don’t have the right grades to enrol directly on to our BEng (Hons) Electronic and Computer Engineering degree, you could opt to start your studies with our Foundation year. The extra year is intended to give you the best possible preparation for success on the degree pathway.

Year 1

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Year 1 compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Mathematics for Engineering - Topics covered include complex numbers, calculus, linear algebra, statistics and probability. Throughout the module, you’ll tackle real-world engineering problems. These include the study of mechanical and electrical systems, the use of complex numbers and linear algebra for the analysis of electrical circuits and the use of statistics and probability in the analysis of experimental data.

• Electronics for Engineers - You’ll begin your engineering journey by learning fundamental circuit analysis and fabrication skills. This will enable you to begin engineering project work right from your first year.

• Fundamentals of Programming - You'll embark on your programming journey here, mastering fundamental coding concepts and development skills. This foundation will empower you to dive into programming projects right from your first year through lectures, workshops and programming challenges.

• Engineering Materials and Design - You'll learn how to develop an engineering drawing of a product using a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) system and choose the best materials from a wide range of available engineering materials for your designed components.

• Design and Prototyping Project - To bring your engineering education to life, you’ll do a project in each year of study. In the Stage 1 project, you'll gain hands-on experience, allowing you to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. It will enhance your understanding of engineering principles and concepts.

• Electronic Circuits - This module introduces you to analysis and design techniques and electronic component properties. You’ll learn using circuit analysis software, commonly used in industry and practical work using industrial standard measurement equipment.

For more detailed information about these modules, please visit our website.

Year 2

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Year 2 compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Mechatronics and Measurements - Engineers work in interdisciplinary teams to overcome the challenges of intelligent engineering systems. Smart engineering systems are not simple mechanical or electronic components, but the result of synergistic integration between mechanical engineering, electronics, computer science and control.

• Microcomputer Technology - In this module, you’ll learn general principles of computer architecture and understand how the microprocessor executes instructions, interacts with hardware components and communicates with memory and I/O devices. The most common microprocessors and microcontrollers will be to compare their architectures and processing resources.

• Embedded Systems and IoT - This module introduces the theory and practice of employing computers as the control and organisational centre of embedded systems and examines time-critical systems. You'll also cover design aspects of embedded systems and IoT through practical work, including real-time operating systems and microcomputer programming.

• Electronics and Digital IC Design - Building on the material from Stage 1, in this module you will delve further into electronic engineering topics covering the principles and operation of essential electronic components and systems. You will learn about different passive and active electronic components (e.g., passive and active filters) focusing on both theoretical and practical aspects pertaining to the design of modern analogue and digital systems including frequency response characteristics, power-consumption and noise. You will learn about modern digital Integrated Circuit (IC) design at the circuit, chip/silicon and board level, through an introduction to the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and Complementary MOS (CMOS) logic. You will also learn the principles of microwave technology, including the design of microwave filters and transmission lines. The module proceeds via a sequence of lectures supported by example classes, exercises and workshops designed to give practical experience of the concepts introduced in the lectures.

• Signal Processing and Control Systems - After successfully completing this module, you will obtain fundamental and essential knowledge in signal processing and system control required for advanced engineering learning and future professional practice in related fields.

• Engineering Team Project - Teamwork lies at the heart of this module, seamlessly blending practical group projects with supporting lectures, emphasising the development of technical proficiency, transferable skills, sustainability, and security awareness. You will collaborate in teams to explore mechanical and electronic hardware, software development, entrepreneurship, and sustainable practices. Through hands-on project work, you will gain expertise in sensor data acquisition, programming, hardware design, understanding security protocols, and integrating sustainability principles. Additionally, you will address crucial topics such as innovation, financial management, intellectual property protection, and commercialisation strategies with a sustainable and security-oriented perspective. By merging technical knowledge with entrepreneurial insight, sustainability principles, and a focus on security, this module equips you with a comprehensive toolkit for navigating the complexities of modern innovation and enterprise securely and sustainably.

For more detailed information about these modules, please visit our website.

Year in Industry

Year in Industry

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers.

Any questions? We have the answers.

When should I start looking? Companies will recruit at different times of the year based on their size. It's good to be application ready by the summer of your first year.

Where can I get help finding a placement? Book an appointment with a placement adviser via the careers service.

Will I get paid? Most of our placements are paid.

Do I have to pay tuition fees? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website.

Where can I get visa advice if I’m an international student? Kent Students' Union can help with any visa queries.

Does the University keep in touch? You receive four-weekly check-in emails, a visit from the team every three months and you can reach out to us any time by email or phone.

Do I work for a full year? The minimum requirement for an industrial placement is 44 weeks.

Year 3

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Year 3 compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Robotics and AI - You’ll comprehensively explore the key concepts in robotics and artificial intelligence and gain essential subject knowledge. You’ll learn theoretical tools to describe kinematics and dynamics for industrial robot systems with several degrees of freedom and use cutting-edge AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms in robots. You’ll also discover software/hardware integration in robot architectures for advanced tasks (e.g. obstacle avoidance learning), industrial applications and the adoption of AI in robotics.

• Research Project - This is an opportunity for independent study on a topic of your own choice. Working on the project is a major part of your final year of study, taking place in spring and summer terms. It’s a chance for you to conduct in-depth research on a subject that is relevant to your course, helping you to further develop essential skills.

• Digital System Design - In this module, you'll learn to program in a hardware-description language (VHDL) to model and simulate digital electronic circuits. Through a series of practical sessions, you will learn the necessary electronic design automation tools and how they are used to compile and simulate VHDL code but also “synthesise” VHDL code for placement onto actual physical hardware. You'll also learn the fundamental operational principles of programmable logic devices, FPGAs and their main processing elements, and also how modern FPGAs are used to build system-on-chips (SoCs). You will be introduced to the concepts of boundary scan testing and learn about the JTAG protocol (IEEE standard 1149.1). You'll apply knowledge gained in mini projects that will involve designing complete digital systems implemented onto FPGA, deepening your understanding and building your experience.

• Communications and Networking - In this module you’ll thoroughly explore communication systems and networks, examining the principles and methodologies that underpin them. You’ll develop specialist knowledge of topics such as electromagnetic wave propagation, RF circuit design, antenna principles and design, communication system models, digital modulation/demodulation techniques, network topologies, and network architecture and protocols.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Image Analysis and Applications - You’ll learn the principles of image analysis techniques alongside their practical applications. Starting from basic image formation and acquisition, you’ll learn core image processing techniques such as how to filter noise, how to extract object outlines, how to identify regions of interest in an image (segmentation), and about image feature descriptors.

• Fundamentals of Cyber Security - The knowledge you will gain on this module provides a strong foundation to guide and inform security efforts within an organisation. Prepare to embark on a journey where every click, every byte, and every line of code matters – and where your knowledge can make a real difference.

For more detailed information about these modules, please visit our website.

Foundation Year

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Foundation Year compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Foundation Skills for Engineering, Mathematics and Physics - Your preparation for an engineering, mathematics or physics degree starts here. You will develop critical thinking and problem solving skills required to underpin your studies as well as beginning to gain knowledge to enable you to start using measurement instruments, understand forces, and fundamental electric circuits. Your ability to work with results including measurement errors as well as report writing skills will also be developed to support you throughout the degree and your professional life.

• Foundation Algebra and Geometry - A solid grasp of algebra and geometry is a fundamental requirement for advanced study in any STEM subject. In this module, you will study foundational algebra and coordinate geometry required for Stage 1 entry into your chosen degree. You will see why they are so vital to your subject area. In addition you will learn how to reason with logarithms, exponentials and gain skills in solving equations.

• Foundation Statistics and Programming to Explore Your Subject - You’ll learn the basics of probability, statistics, and hypothesis testing necessary for advanced study. In particular, you’ll gain skills in using measures of central tendency such as the mean, median, and mode, and measures of dispersion such as the range, variance, and standard deviation. You’ll learn how to use quartiles and percentiles, and to interpret and create histograms, box plots, and other graphical representations of data. In probability theory you’ll gain an understanding of the core probability rules, see how to use conditional probability, and become familiar with the binomial and normal distributions, expectation, and variance. You’ll also learn how to use basic programming techniques to help solve problems in statistics.

• Foundation Mechanics and Materials - Learn about the interplay of the core concepts physicists and engineers use to describe the behaviour of objects in the world around us. Establish the relevant quantities, units and dimensions giving you the tools to understand mechanics and materials. Learn about characterising the motion of objects through distance, velocity and acceleration with time graphs. You will examine the behaviours of forces through Newtons' Laws and the relationship between those forces and work, power and energy. You will learn about gravity as a force field, as well as circular and rotational motion. Physical bodies are usually solids, but liquids and gases also obey the laws of mechanics. The property of temperature provides an explanation for the different phases of matter.

• Foundation Functions and Calculus - In this module, you will develop your knowledge of mathematical functions to give you a solid foundation with which to grasp calculus and other advanced topics. You will then move on to study differential calculus and its applications – allowing you to quantify and model rates of change mathematically and consistently and find the gradient of any curve – followed by integral calculus and differential equations – allowing you to find anti-derivatives and model real-life situations.

• Foundation Waves, Vibrations and Electromagnetics - To prepare you for future study in your chosen degree, you will learn to analyse physical waves, vibrations, alternating current and electromagnetic waves. You will also gain awareness of the principles of electrostatics and magnetism, as well as being introduced to atomic physics.

For more detailed information about these modules, please visit our website.

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• Engineering and Technology, Institution of