Information and Communication Technology

The most exciting innovations often come about where conventional disciplines overlap, which is why computer scientists and electronics engineers work together in interdisciplinary teams. Complex networked products and services need intensive communication between developers and engineers from various disciplines, companies, and research institutes – for today and tomorrow’s applications. The Free State of Bavaria provides additional funding for the expansion of the Faculty of Engineering and the development of the degree programme in Information and Communications Technology to supply the labour market with the specialists it urgently needs in this field. The funding enables the support provided to students to be improved and finances new professorships, which extends the range of courses for students. ICT is especially well positioned in Erlangen, thanks to the short distances and excellent collaboration between the Department of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, and Communication; the Department of Computer Science; two Fraunhofer Institutes specialising in ICT; and a unique landscape of international as well as small and medium-sized companies that are also active in this field. This excellent collaboration led to the development of the MP3 format, which became a global success. Some of the ICT professors in Erlangen were involved in developing the MP3 format. With such inspiring teachers, ICT students in Erlangen have a positive outlook towards collaboration and look forward to welcoming new students to the degree programme. Embedded systems (products in which a computer is embedded) are a particular focus of ICT. German research and industry is at the top of the game worldwide in embedded systems. Well-known researchers in this field teach in Erlangen. Additionally, several small and large companies operate in and around Erlangen, in Bavaria and in Germany in this field. Every year, Nuremberg is host to Embedded World, the most important trade show in this sector. The region is also well known for developing open-source software for embedded systems. Electronics engineers and information scientists in Erlangen are currently working on joint research projects, such as the Communicating Cars (CoCars) project. This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and in this project, traffic information is sent rapidly between vehicles via mobile technology. In this project, mobile communication companies are working with the automotive industry, electronics engineers in Erlangen are developing wireless transmission systems, and computer scientists in Erlangen are developing higher-level communication protocols. Further work includes simulating the interaction between traffic, hardware, and communication as well as developing strategies for commercial exploitation. The project can only succeed if everyone communicates efficiently and can understand each other’s work. ICT students have the opportunity to work on such projects in current research, thus gaining experience and making contacts.