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Gaining an understanding of the revolutions in engineering

Text: Anne Aho Photo: Milan Kolarovic

Following the development in the field of Engineering is the lifeblood of the School of Engineering. The school provides companies with employees who do not only have the skills and the passion, but are equally equipped with profound knowledge of cutting edge technology.

In the Degree Programme of Information technology the student gains a good understanding of the field.

In the Degree Programme of Information Technology, to keep up with new developments in the field is especially important, in addition to the necessary basic knowledge and skills.

- The basic structure of the degree programme remains entirely the same, however we update it by changing the contents of the study unit to be more appropriate. Teachers develop themselves in different types of training, with periods of working life and individual projects, for example, with postgraduate studies, clarifies Jyrki Laitinen, Department Head of Information Technology at the School of Engineering.

Ess, Oh, Pea, Cee? As in what?

The hottest topic at the School of Engineering is the utilization of the SoPC system. The term comes from System on a Programmable Chip. The term, while seeming to have escaped from the acronym jungle, is quite commonly understandable.

– This type of system chips can be found in car steering and location systems. The advantage is the placement of more than one function on one chip, however they are more flexible in comparison with other systems.

SoPC is also the cheaper solution. It can be used for developing prototypes and to find out if a certain solution works according to specifications. The School of Engineering became acquainted with SoPCs in a most unusual manner.

– We noticed that we were missing this kind of education, so we decided to arrange it. We applied for funding from the State Provincial Office and we got it. With that we had a whole year of training for the teachers of our school.

Success in studies is a good sign of attitude

SoPC and the handling of other information technology in their entirety would take longer than it is possible to teach at the University of Applied Sciences. Therefore, learning continues in working life.

– We strive for students to gain an understanding of the subject they study. It is most important that they gain perception of what can be done with the subject and what its benefits are.

Jyrki is satisfied that yearly about 80 of roughly 100 students of information technology do their final work as part of a commission to a company.

– As the industry grows, I get weekly communiqués from companies requesting the assistance of a student. There are more free spaces than there are students.

Jyrki stresses that companies prefer to take someone who has satisfactorily completed their studies, as this is what tells that their heart is in the right place.

The School of Engineering offers both modern knowledge and equipment. The laboratories used in education are some of the best ones, on the scale of universities of applied sciences, so at least in terms of equipment, nothing will hold back one’s progress.