Programme

MASTER PHOTONICS ROADMAP

The model learning track of the Master of Science in Photonics Engineering consists of 120 ECTS.

Master year 1:
52 ECTS of Compulsory General Courses
8 ECTS of Advanced Photonics Electives

Master year 2:
4 ECTS of Compulsory General Courses
8 ECTS of Advanced Photonics Electives (or 4 ECTS if the student is enrolled for the International Internship in Photonics)
18 ECTS of Multidisciplinary Engineering Electives (or 12 ECTS if the student is enrolled for the International Internship in Photonics)
a Master Thesis Project (30 ECTS)

At least 10 ECTS must be dedicated to internationalization:

• an international internship (10 ECTS)
• a master thesis abroad (30 ECTS)
• Erasmus+ exchange courses abroad (30 ECTS)
• Internationalization@Home: strong international component in master thesis (6 ECTS) + other UGent/VUB courses with strong international component (4 ECTS)

Programme highlights & strengths: Strong link with Industry

One of the major strengths that set the Master of Science in Photonics Engineering apart from other programmes is the strong link with industry. By leading large-scales European projects and working closely with innovative companies worldwide at the Photonics Innovation Center, the Brussels Photonics Group has a vast network of industry contacts.

This large network ensures that all of our master students who do an International Internship in Photonics can choose from a variety of some of the world's most innovative & high-tech companies and world-renowned research institutions.

In recent years our students have been able to do an internship at ICFO - The Institute of Photonics (Barcelona), TU/e - (Eindhoven), Ginolis (Finland), Midsummer AB (Sweden), Nanophotonics Technology Center (Valencia), Toptica Photonics (Munich), Sydney Nano Institute (Sydney), Class4Lasers (Lyss, Switzerland), ICube Laboratory (Strasbourg), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Fraunhofer IZM (Munich), Lionix International (Enschede), Microsoft (San Francisco).

By establishing these long-term collaborations with worldwide partners we can offer students the opportunity to gain some high-level working floor experience. Doing an internship in an industrial environment and engaging in professional engineering research activities our students will be trained in different work skills: project planning, analyse problems and implement solutions, communication skills, writing reports, preparing and giving dedicated presentations, working in an often multidisciplinary and multicultural environment.

It has become clear lately that doing an international internship increases your chances on the job market by a large amount so as an ambitious and innovative programme we will continuously work on expanding our international network and on improving this international collaboration such that our graduates are sure to become future leaders in Science & Technology all over the globe!