The world is undergoing a fourth industrial revolution. Digital data is the new capital, and the internet has become a resource every bit as precious as water or electricity. This master’s programme will train you to become a technology innovator, developing and innovating concepts to form the core of the next generation of cell phones, antennas, quantum computers, sensors, robots, communication systems and satellites.

The programme does not aim to provide you with all the answers — rather, to help you ask the right questions. You will graduate as an expert in wireless and photonics technologies and find yourself in high demand in areas including the aerospace, medical and automotive industries.

Wireless, photonics and space engineering:

Emerging infrastructure like data centres and new applications such as industrial automation and autonomous driving will require unprecedented investments in photonics and wireless technology. The space industry is likewise transforming, with increasing private businesses and offering new and ubiquitous satellite constellation services for global communications, navigation, Earth observation and space science.

The master’s programme in Wireless, photonics and space engineering at Chalmers will prepare you to meet these future challenges by giving you the basic knowledge of photonic and microwave devices, and how these components work at the system level.

You will be offered a unique opportunity to learn about applied electromagnetics by studying a combination of subjects for which Chalmers has world-class facilities. The Onsala space observatory​ has radio telescopes and instruments to study the earth and the universe. The Nanofabrication laboratory ​is one of the best-equipped university cleanrooms in Europe for research and fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. The research laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art photonics and microwave measurement equipment including the Kollberg Laboratory.

The lectures are given by world-leading researchers and industry professionals, They bring advanced and contemporary knowledge to the lectures they teach. The programme offers a diverse range of learning activities: lectures, tutorial exercises, home assignments, projects, teamwork activities and practical laboratory work. Furthermore, the focus in each of these learning activities is on understanding the concepts and their implications.

Topics covered:

The programme encompasses technology and fundamentals of electromagnetic components and systems.

The courses included in the programme cover topics such:

• as monolithic microwave and photonic integrated circuits,
• lasers, wireless and fibre optic communication systems,
• optoelectronics,
• satellite communication and positioning,
• antennas,
• sensor systems, 
• space techniques.

Together the research laboratories cover phenomena and applications of electromagnetic waves on all frequencies from microwaves to visible light.

Career outcomes:

The industry is in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution, where the physical and digital worlds blend, and skilled experts in wireless and photonics technologies are needed. The telecom, aerospace, medical and automotive industries are all expected to grow in the coming years and students who have graduated from this programme will be in high demand. Our alumni work as technical specialists in the design, research, development or production of wireless and photonics components, and systems.

Entrepreneurship is strong in the region including many small enterprises and start-ups, for example, Omnisys Instruments (electronic systems for space), Medfield diagnostics (medical imaging), Bluetest (antenna test systems), Iloomina (photonic integration) and Gapwaves (integrated waveguide technology). The region is also a leading European R&D and industrial node including large companies such as Ericsson, Saab, Nvidia and RUAG Space. Ericsson is one of the world's leading information and communication companies and has one of its R&D centres located in Gothenburg, Saab offers defence and security systems, Nvidia develops chip units, including photonics, for mobile computing and data centre infrastructure, and RUAG Space develops antennas, data handling systems and on-board computers for the space sector.

The opportunities for an academic career are also excellent and a master’s degree from this programme is a perfect background for pursuing PhD studies in our research fields. Chalmers is internationally recognized for its cutting-edge research in microwave electronics, photonics, antennas, THz and mm waves, radio astronomy, plasma physics, space geodesy and remote sensing.