Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrônica e Computação – MEEC
Focus Area – Electronic Systems
Area characterized by activities of teaching, research and development of electronic and computer systems with focus on the areas of Energy Management, Health and Multimedia Systems, with a multidisciplinary approach involving industrial systems, energy generation and distribution, signal and images processing, audio and video, microelectronics, physiological data management, ehealth, sensing, quality control in hospital environments.
The area of Electronic and Computer Systems’ integration is in form of Embedded and Distributed Systems integrated by means of development of specific application devices, and it combines techniques of hardware and software. Among the several applications embedded and integrated of the present day, the systems related to the health, energy systems and multimedia systems areas require special attention to the levels of quality and reliability. The area of focus reflects the researches developed by the permanent teachers of the proposing institution, UCPel; permanent and collaborators from institutions temporarily associated, UFRGS and UFSC, with focus in the application of researches in the areas of energy management, multimedia systems and health.
The region of Pelotas emerges as an important region in the formation of professionals graduated in engineering, computing and in the technological area in general. Such growth is driven by the settling of several technology companies in the region, some of them of significant national importance. Investments from the World Bank in the Technology Pole and from PAC in transport and logistics, aside from clear governmental policies to encourage the industry’s development and the local economy stress even more the perception that, locally, the graduation in technology is in a period of plain development. That is reinforced by the fact that, in November of 2017, the course of Computer Engineering of the Catholic University of Pelotas (UCPel) received the maximum quality concept assigned by the Ministry of Education (MEC). UCPel’s graduation was evaluated in loco with grade 5 by the National Institute of Studies and Educational Researches Anísio Teixeira (Inep). By contrast, the offer in terms of post-graduation stricto sensu is reduced and certainly far from meeting the region’s demands.
The historic evolution of the courses to which the group of teachers from UCPel is bound, in the technological area, indicated the possibility of creating a Master’s program. However, after a deep and detailed assessment, UCPel’s teachers, integrated in that proposal, concluded that, in order to reach the desired levels of quality, it would be necessary to expand the teaching staff. The history of the relationship established in the last decade with teachers researchers from UFSC and UFRGS justified, then, the creation of a Master’s program in UCPel in association with those institutions. That way, a Master’s was proposed in temporary association with those two superior education institutions, both federal, aiming to obtain a number of qualified teachers from each associated institution, needed to begin the activities of orientation of post-graduates in the Master’s level in Master’s level in UCPEL after the necessary approval of the project by CAPES.
The invitation for the association was motivated by the already existing relationships of scientific cooperation between UCPel and those institutions. Those relationships began a few years ago with UCPel’s initiative to stimulate their teachers for further formation in those institutions in doctorate level. From the completion of those doctoring works, there was a natural narrowing of relationships between UCPel’s teachers and those of the aforementioned Post-Graduation Programs from those institutions, allowing that an initiative of that kind (masters in temporary association) could be effectively realized. In the last few years, several joint entities amongst teachers from UCPel, UFSC and UFRGS were developed, including cooperation projects, participation in doctorate and master’s boards, as well as joint publication of several scientific articles in relevant congresses and journals. It’s worth highlighting also the co-orientations of teachers from UCPel in the master’s and doctorate programs of UFSC and UFRGS. That way, the master’s program has allowed to extend the already existing integration between the researchers from the Catholic University of Pelotas, of the Graduation Programs of Microelectronics and Computing (PGMicro and PPGC – UFRGS) and of PPGEEL/UFSC, allowing research and formation of students at master level in the area of Computing and Electronic Engineering, with emphasis in the lines of research of Embedded and Distributed Systems and Integrated Electronic Systems.
One of the application areas of masters, health, is justified by the natural proximity of teachers from the technology and health areas in UCPel. The favorable situation for the performing of researches associated to the needs of the HUSFP (University Hospital of São Francisco de Paula) of UCPel also stimulates some master’s students to create works related to the needs of UCPel’s Hospital. Despite the health area being one of the main application areas, considering the diversity of a master’s course, which encompasses lines of research with different topics related to the main focus area – Electronic and Computing Systems aroused the interest of professionals with different formations. Engineers, with graduations in electric engineering and production engineering, professionals with formation in geoprocessing, and professionals with formation in Medical Physics have sought the enhancing of their formation in UCPel’s MEEC. This way, in face of the diversity of research topics related to the formation of master’s students, the lines of research in a master’s course have as application focus the areas of health, energy management systems and multimedia and application systems.
Course Objective
The Master’s in Computing and Electronic Engineering (MEEC) main goal is to stimulate the qualification of computer engineers, electrical engineers, with formation in electronics, and professionals from related areas, forming human resources capable of promoting scientific and technological development aimed to the needs of companies and to those of the society. MEEC has as its basic goal the development of activities which allow the creation and dissemination of science and technology in the area of Engineerings IV. With that goal, it aims to seek improvement in the quality of life of the society and its sustainability. In that context, the former student of MEEC must incorporate to its original formation the scientific and technological bias, acting to serve primarily the highest-level needs in academic/scientific research, as well as those of the advanced technology market.
Profile of the professional to form
Masters with competencies and skills to identify problems in the barrier of knowledge in the lines of research proposed in the Program with a systemic perception, coupled with scientific rigor and accompanied by capacity of application for development of innovative solutions for problems inherent to the area of Electronics and Computational Systems.
Specific Goals:
– To implement and strengthen the research conditions in the area of Electronics and Computing Systems in Pelotas and region, becoming an important qualification possibility for local teachers and technicians.
– To provide teachers-researchers from UCPel and other local superior education institutions the possibility of consolidating and expanding their researches, through the creation of new projects.
– To allow an effective integration between graduation and the resources associated to the Post-Graduation program. The Electric Engineering, Computer Engineering and Electronic Engineering graduation courses students have the opportunity to be inserted in scientific initiation projects, through their participation in projects which investigate the master’s course lines of research.
Coordinator
Teacher Doctor Eduardo Antonio César da Costa