Systems Engineering at ISSE

Systems engineers address some of the most complex challenges and problems that society faces. Systems engineering enables building, analyzing, and managing a system—be it electrical, mechanical, chemical, biological or one involving business processes and logistics. Traditionally, engineering disciplines are defined through physical attributes: electrical engineers work with circuits and transistors, aeronautical engineers with airplanes and rockets.

Systems engineering transcends the physical nature of what is designed or managed—if “it” consists of multiple interacting components performing a function that cannot be achieved by anyone component alone, then “it” is a system, and systems engineers can work to understand and improve such a system.

The courses in Systems Engineering at ISSE will equip you to address the root causes of problem situations, understanding requirements from multiple perspectives, and the tension that may exist between them. You will learn to think about the issues that may arise throughout the lifetime of a system, from cradle to grave, and to check robustly and rigorously that the system will meet user requirements throughout its lifecycle.

The course will help you to understand how systems engineers, domain engineers, and project managers come together as multi-disciplinary teams to develop solutions to real-world problems.

The MSc program in System Engineering requires 18 months and is based on a combination of core and elective courses, plus thesis research. The program is very intensive and only well-motivated and prepared students are encouraged to apply.
The courses are taught as 3- or 4-week modules of 45 to 60 hours. This includes lectures and problem-solving sessions. First-year Ph.D. students are expected to take up to 15 modules. The courses covered in the MSc and Ph.D. programs in Systems Engineering are contained and described in the ISSE Student Handbook.