Computer Science and Electronic Engineering BEng (Hons)

Fundamental course on circuit analysis techniques.

The module comprises of two parts Digital Electronics and Integrated Electronics. For the Digital part, students are provided with the knowledge of number systems, laws of Boolean algebra and introduced to the basic methods for designing combinational and sequential logic circuits. For the Integrated part, students are introduced to various silicon electronic devices and provided with the opportunity to understand the basic principles of silicon microelectronics designs processes including designing layouts for simple circuit.

This module aims to introduce students to fundamental electronic devices (diodes and transistors), and how these devices are used in amplifier and switching circuits. The module is assessed via two laboratory sessions (20%) and one final exam (80%)

Introductory module that teaches practical skills for electrical engineering students, focusing on basic laboratory skills. The practical skills are linked with theory presented in other Year 1 modules including those on analogue and digital electronics, and electromagnetics. The module includes an introduction to a technical programming language (MATLAB) and an introduction to the ethical and sustainability issues that face modern engineers.

The intention of COMP122 is to introduce students to the concepts and methodology of object-oriented programming using the Java programming language. Topics covered include hierarchical structures, polymorphism, collections and iterators, exception handling, and graphical user interface design. Basic concepts of software design methodology, testing, and version control are also included in the module. It is normally expected that students have prior programming experience.

Mathematics for students registered in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, to support their technical modules.

Basic mathematics for students registered in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, concentrating on those groups of students who have, on the average, weaker preparation for University level Maths such as entrants with the BTEC qualification (but not limited to that group). Exam practice is another important component of this module. This module follows on from ELEC191

The module provides an introduction to procedural programming using current language platforms. The module incorporates program design, problem solving, the importance of maintainable, robust software and testing as well as introducing procedural language main programming constructs. Students gain practical experience with program design, programming and testing during weekly laboratory sessions.

This module is for students that already have some programming skills. Students will learn about the two main programming paradigms: imperative programming and functional programming. Since most introductory programming courses teach imperative programming, this module will focus on the functional paradigm. Students will learn how to program in Haskell, a popular functional programming language. They will learn how to formulate programs in a functional way, and the common techniques and idioms that are used to solve problems in functional programming.

This module will teach fundamental knowledge on communication systems.

This module introduces students to the problems arising from databases, including concurrency in databases, information security considerations and how they are solved; the integration of heterogeneous sources of information and the use of semi-structured data; non-relational databases and the economic factors involved in their selection and to techniques for analysing large amounts of data, the security issues and commercial factors involved with them.

​This module covers two areas.  In digital electronics, it covers topics which build on the basic knowledge gained in the first year digital electronics programme and learning some hardware description language (HDL) programming. In microprocessor systems, it introduces the topic from the basics describing how a microprocessor works and learning some assembly language programming.

This module covers the design and operation of instrumentation devices as well as the design of continuous time control systems.

The aim of this module is to provide students with practical work which underpins, confirms and gives application focus for academic study, while testing a wide range of skills.

Introduces continuous and discrete signal operations and analysis, the frequency domain and spectral analysis, including Fourier Series and Fourier, Laplace and z Transforms. Introduces system quantification and analysis, including pole-zero plots, feedback, basic stability criteria and block diagrams.

This module deals with the issues associated with the analysis, design, implementation and testing of significant computing systems (that is, systems that are too large to be designed and developed by a single person).

This module covers the concepts of distributed systems and the underlying principles of distributed computing and discusses the issues and various solutions proposed in the distributed computing community. Specifically, communication and broadcast, election algorithms, synchronization and concurrency, fault-tolerance and security related issues will be discussed in the lectures. Where applicable practical implementations of the concepts will be introduced.

The module introduces basic concepts of the electronic circuits incorporating amplifiers required for instrumentation and communication. It deals with a wide range of amplifiers and the problems that might be encountered in a actual application. It also deals with circuitry needed in communication for example oscillators and phase-locked-loops.

This course will help student to understand the object-oriented design concept and to gain knowledge and practical skills of C++ as an advanced programming language.

On successful completion of the module, students should be able to understand/design/develop C++ applications (both console and GUI-based) with a specific emphasis on developing GUI-based applications.

In this module students gain an understanding of the architecture and operation of embedded computer systems and their components. Furthermore, they gain an understanding of how computer performance is dependent upon the design of computer architectures and sub-circuits.

Introduction to neural network theory, applications and artificial intelligence.

​This module covers project management for year 3 students registered in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics.  Entrepreneurial skills are also be covered.

The Aims of this module are as follows:

To introduce the student to various aspects of advanced modern management.

To develop a knowledge and understanding of modern management tools.

To stimulate an appreciation of management and its importance in organisational success.

A broad range of topics are covered. Case studies and example tutorials emphasise the practical aspects of digital control design and optimisation.​

As more complex computational systems are used within critical applications, it is becoming essential that these systems are formally specified. Such specifications are used to give a precise and unambiguous description of the required system. In addition, as computational systems become more complex in general, formal specification can allow us to define the key characteristics of systems in a clear way and so help the development process. Formal specifications provide the basis for verification of properties of systems. While there are a number of ways in which this can be achieved, the model-checking approach is a practical and popular way to verify the temporal properties of finite-state systems. Indeed, such temporal verification is widely used within the design of critical parts of integrated circuits, has recently been used to verify parts of the control mechanism for one of NASA’s space probes, and is now beginning to be used to verify general Java programs.

This module will introduce: the principles of standard formal methods, such as Z; the basic notions of temporal logic and its use in relation to reactive systems; the use of model checking techniques in the verification of reactive systems.

This module is an introduction to the area of algorithmic game theory, which is a novel area in the intersection of economics and computer science. It provides tools for dealing with and analysing problems related to applications motivated by the Internet. Examples involve various Internet auctions and e-commerce systems, like, Google’s sponsored search, Ebay auctions, recommendation systems, etc.

Multi-agent systems have emerged as one of the most important areas of research and development in information technology in the 1990s. A multi-agent system is one composed of multiple interacting software components known as agents, which are typically capable of co-operating to solve problems that are beyond the abilities of any individual member. Multi-agent systems are important primarily because they have been found to have very wide applicability, in areas as diverse as industrial process control and electronic commerce. This module will begin by introducing the student to the notion of an agent, and will lead them to an understanding of what an agent is, how they can be constructed, and how agents can be made to co-operate effectively with one another to solve problems.

​The aims of this module are: To introduce students to the fundamental principles of opto/electronic systems for the transfer of information. To introduce the duality of light as both wave and ray.  To show intensity and phase related optical principles. ​To demonstrate optical information transfer through a number of applications.​

This module is aimed at developing the basic framework for signal processing and to demonstrate its applications. Also, the module provides students with a good understanding of the types, behaviours and design of FIR and IIR digital filters.

Teaching and learning are provided through a variety of means like formal lectures, problem sheets, supplementary questions, along with formative and summative online tests (through CANVAS, the electronic VLE system).

Assessment is carried out by means of two assignments and final (written) exam.

The overall aim of this module is to introduce students to a range of advanced, near-research level topics in contemporary software engineering. The actual choice of topics will depend upon the interests of the lecturer and the topics current in the software engineering research literature at that time. The course will introduce issues from a problem (user-driven) perspective and a technology-driven perspective where users have new categories of software problems that they need to be solved, and where technology producers create technologies that present new opportunities for software products. It will be expected that students will read articles in the software engineering research literature, and will discuss these articles in a seminar-style forum.

The honours year project gives students the opportunity to study independently on an extended piece of work under the guidance of an academic supervisor. Many diverse projects are available for selection, inspired by the research of the department. Each student is encouraged to propose a project in an area that meets their own personal needs, whether it’s related to their career aspirations or simply an interesting academic pursuit. The project consolidates learning from the taught part of the course, with authentic assessment that is designed to encourage communication of complex ideas via a range of media. On completion of the module, students will have the confidence to pursue their career, having developed proficiency in their chosen topic and an ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

​Students undertake an extended individual project.  Projects are specified by academic staff and cover the whole range of Electrical and Electronic Engineering including hardware (both analogue and digital), software and simulation or a mixture of these.  Students can also suggest their own projects which need to be approved by an academic supervisor.  Students work closely with their academic supervisor to realize their project aims and assessment is split between a preliminary report, an oral presentation, the bench inspection and the final report.

Biology inspired adaptive algorithms such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Genetic Algorithms (GAs) play an important role in modern computing, information processing, and machine learning. The latest increase in computer power ensured broad use of the algorithms to solve problems in science and engineering previously considered impossible to tackle. ANNs are now broadly used in pattern recognition, including speech recognition and classification problems, statistics, functional analysis, modelling financial series with considerable stochasticity, etc. GAs are search procedures based on the mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics. They provide effective solutions to a variety of optimisation problems in economics, linguistics, engineering, and computer science. Both ANNs and GAs can exploit massively parallel architectures to speed up problem solving and provide further understanding of intelligence and adaptation.The main goals of the module are to introduce students to some of the established work in the field of Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms and their applications, particularly in relation to multidisciplinary research. To equip students with a broad overview of the field, placing it in a historical and scientific context. The module provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to keep up-to-date in actively developing areas of science and technology and be able to make reasoned decisions.

The module introduces to the students the basic concepts of electrical plasmas and how they are used in industry. It concentrates on the engineering principles behind plasma technology rather than the physics of the discharge, however some mathematical approaches are explored so that quantification of the action of plasmas upon material surfaces can be made. The module explains how a gas can turn into a plasma and how high energy ions in the plasma can be generated to process a substrate, such as silicon wafer in micro-electronics fabrication. The module is taught by a mixture of power points notes and chalk and talk. There are a number of question sheets given out to help the students understand the basis plasma-material processes. On completion, students will understand how plasmas are used in industry, they will have an appreciation of some aspects of simple design and how plasmas can be configured for the next generation of fusion power stations.

This module introduces students to the digital design techniques used in industry and research. The methods for describing digital systems using the Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL) are introduced. Student will examine the operation of the MIPS Processor and will also be introduced to Altera’s NIOS-II Processor. The module is assessed via 4 assignments and two class tests. Altera’s Quartus package is used for synthesising the digital systems.

This module will provide an introduction to cloud computing. It will cover physical cloud infrastructure (data-centres, networks and servers), and the software stacks that run on it (containers, micro-services, orchestration and web frameworks).
During the course, students will assemble their own cloud-based application, which will be a webpage with a scalable micro-service-based backend.