Mission Statement

The studies at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the Technical University of Crete are aimed at the education and high-level technical training of engineers in modern technology subjects found in the fields of IT, electronics and computer architecture, telecommunications, electric energy systems, and automatic control systems. Its purpose is for the students to acquire the necessary theoretical knowledge which will allow them to understand in depth the fundamental principles of new technologies in all the above areas, so that they can adapt and follow easily any new developments in any sector.

Computers play a central role in all technology sectors above. Studies at the ECE School emphasize the use of computers in applications in various areas of technology, such as electronic circuit design, integrated systems for factories, robotics and automation, telecommunications systems, distributed computing and information systems, companies, and implementation of digital systems.

Most of the cost of a computer system, today, corresponds to the software and not the hardware, with the latter having a decreasing cost at a rapid rate. Graduates of the ECE School acquire comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of all software principles and are suitable to staff and play a leading role in any company or organization as software engineers. Indicatively, there are needs in the market for computerization (payroll, cataloguing of goods, automation of orders, etc.), for handling large volumes of data (bank accounts, travel and hotel reservations, airline reservations, patient lists in hospitals, etc.), for the digitalization of operations in offices and organizations (government agencies, insurance organizations, etc.). Effectively dealing with such problems requires specialized knowledge of planning and handling large databases and complex information systems, knowledge possessed by the graduates of our School. Special mention should also be made of the expertise provided at the School in key scientific fields of Information Technology, such as design and development of information systems, programming in distributed and parallel systems, medical data processing, graphical and virtual reality applications, development of applications on the Internet, programming of autonomous robotic systems, data management in sensor networks, and artificial intelligence technics for solving complex problems. With the above resources, the graduates of our School are sufficiently qualified to work in the businesses of the future that will be active in areas such as e-commerce, distance education, distant medical care, online entertainment and information systems, digital libraries, etc.

In today's industries, electronic sensors and control systems must operate safely and without interruption, often under adverse conditions. Of particular importance are embedded microprocessors and microcontrollers and their uses in many electrical and electronic devices with real-time requirements (real-time systems) in a multitude of applications, such as automobiles, factories, traffic control, airports and aircrafts, robotics, automatic assembly, quality control, automated home installations, greenhouses, etc. The students of the ECE School are trained in modern methods of analysis and design of electrical and electronic circuits. They learn how basic electronic components (diodes, transistors, integrated circuits) work, how to design circuits involving analog and/or digital integrated circuits, and how to design power amplifiers, RF circuits, and large-scale integration circuits (VLSI chips). This knowledge is consolidated through laboratory exercises, which bring students into direct contact with the relevant material and appropriate tools and provide valuable practical experience.

Telecommunications are spreading rapidly throughout the world. The students of the Faculty acquire knowledge and deepen their knowledge in digital telecommunications (digital transmission, wired and wireless communications, mobile communications, satellite communications, information and coding theory, computer networks), but also in modern telecommunications applications, based on automatic voice recognition and speech processing (voice dialing, remote speech responsive database access, etc.), so that they can be employed in organizations and telecommunications companies. In addition, computer communication networks, in addition to basic data, now transfer voice, images, and video between computer systems around the world. Computer network connections are particularly important nowadays for companies and organizations, due to the rapid spread of the Internet, the upgrading of the telecommunications infrastructure in Europe and Greece and the prevalence of distributed computing systems. In fact, large companies and organizations are increasingly turning to secure private networks to adequately meet their needs in a vital area. The students of the ECE School acquire the necessary theoretical background and experience that will allow them to work creatively with a wide range of topics related to telecommunications.

Automatic control systems are very widespread and are used in a variety of important applications. The development of control systems and their successful integration into automated environments is a difficult undertaking that requires in-depth theoretical and practical training in systems analysis, design and simulation. The students are educated in depth in the theory of automatic control systems acquiring the skills required to design efficient control systems of complex processes. In recent years, the issues of reducing dependence on oil, saving energy, increasing the production of electricity from clean and renewable energy resources and increasing the efficiency of production, transmission and distribution processes as well as electricity consumption in the context of environmental protection, have emerged as extremely important at global and European level. Considering the imperative need to respond to the socio-economic activities brought about by the rapid developments in the field of electric energy, the ECE School has integrated the treatment of cutting-edge energy technologies into its curriculum. The School's training provides industry and society with high-level specialized engineers and consultants necessary for the country's development in the modern energy sector.

The theoretical and applied knowledge given to the students of the School supports them in developing applied thinking for solving modern complex technological problems in the above sectors and building the ability to compete and collaborate nationally and globally with their Greek and foreign colleagues. In addition, the undergraduate studies aim to equip students with a very strong background for pursuing graduate studies and joining world leading research groups after graduation. An important milestone in each student's studies is the final-year Diploma thesis, in close collaboration with his supervising professor. In addition to the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject of the thesis, the student also practices working responsibly and independently with the aim of presenting a comprehensive thesis as the culmination of his studies. Quite often the results of a thesis lead to a publication in a prestigious international conference or fully refereed journal.