International students - Guide
Master’s degree in Electronics Engineering - a student guide
https://www.unipa.it/dipartimenti/ingegneria/cds/electronicsengineering2234/
(Download the guide)
Here you get a short summary of important information to guide you through the Master’s degree organization and make your University life easy and enjoyable.
Schedule of classes: semesters and modules
The academic year is split into 2 semesters. 12 weeks of lessons are scheduled for each semester.
1st semester: lectures October-December
2nd semester: lectures March-May
Yes, they are called semesters even if they are not made by 6 months! If you add also the months scheduled for exams and holidays you get roughly semesters!
Each semester is made by 2 modules of 6 weeks each: I and II module (1st semester) and III and IV module (2nd semester). Details about starting and ending dates are found in the “academic calendar” (calendario didattico) of the Department of Engineering published each academic year before the start of the 1st semester.
Study Manifesto (master’s degree program)
The courses that must be attended by the students for each of the 2 years of the master’s degree are reported in the study manifesto, where you find the courses credits (CFU) and the temporal schedule (year, semester, and module). The total amount of credits is 120 and these are approximately split into 60 credits per year with 24 credits assigned to the final year project thesis. Details about syllabus, examination method, study materials, textbooks and more are to be found in the “course specifications” document for each course.
Study Manifesto is available here: https://offertaformativa.unipa.it/offweb/public/corso/ricercaSemplice.seam
Organization of the lessons
It is strongly recommended that you attend lessons and laboratory classes for each course. The classroom and time can be found in the lessons timetable that is published just before the start of each semester
(https://offertaformativa.unipa.it/offweb/public/aula/weekCalendar.seam).
Once you enroll at the University of Palermo, you will get your personal UniPa student account. This will allow you:
1) To register to each course you attend, where usually the teacher upload the lecture slides and other relevant study material.
2) To register for taking exams at the end of the course lessons.
Scheduled sessions for exams
During the academic year there are several sessions for exams, and these are of course outside the time scheduled for lessons. There is always 1 call for exams (appello di esami) between I and II module (usually in November) and another one between III and IV modules (usually in April). Sometimes these are used for intermediate tests for the courses that have a full semester duration. The main sessions of exams are at the end of each semester hence January-February and June-July. Here you get 3 calls for exams usually spaced at least 2 weeks apart. You have also 1 call for exams in September, after the summer vacation but before the start of the 1st semester lessons.
To prepare yourself best and maximize your chance to be successful at exams you are advised to prepare 1 exam at time unless you are/consider yourself a genius! For example, in the January-February session with 3 calls for exams limit yourself to just 3 exams only in sequence. If a course is left out, you best use the call for exams in April or later. It’s up to you to organize at the best your time schedule for taking exams.
It could take a bit longer than 2 years to complete the master’s degree if you fail or cannot make it with some exams, you are warned!
Register for exams
The dates for exams are shown for each course on the Unipa portal that is accessible through your account credentials. You must register in advance at the call for exams of the courses exams you want to take. In case you cannot make it for the scheduled date it is advisable to cancel your exam booking or even to inform in advance the professor by e-mail that you are not going to show up.
Your UniPa card can be required to be shown for identification purposes at the exam. As an alternative you can use the free app UniPaInTasca that can be downloaded on Android and Apple (iOS) stores.
Exams - examination methods
Depending on the course, exams can be:
- a written test only
- oral examination only
- both write and oral examination usually only if you pass the written test.
Sometimes the exam can be a slides presentation or a practical project, just ask the professor well in advance.
Usually for an oral exam the student is asked to answer and explain questions (often with the aid of the dashboard) related to the course topics and randomly picked by the professor from the course syllabus. If you are not used to oral examination, it is advisable to practice at home while you study to prepare yourself to take the exam.
The assessment is based on a scale that goes from 18 to 30. The grades are as follow:
a) excellent (30-30 cum laude): excellent knowledge of the topics, excellent use of technical language, good analytical ability, the student is able to apply knowledge to solve the proposed problems;
b) very good (26-29): good knowledge of the topics, good use of technical language, the student is able to apply knowledge to solve the proposed problems;
c) good (24-25): basic knowledge of the main topics, discrete use of technical language, limited ability to independently apply the knowledge to the solution of the proposed problems;
d) satisfactory (21-23): the student knows the main topics but has not a full grasp of them, satisfactory use of technical language, poor ability to independently apply the acquired knowledge;
e) sufficient (18-20): minimal knowledge of the main topics and basic use of technical language, very little or no ability to independently apply the acquired knowledge;
f) insufficient: the student does not have a minimum acceptable knowledge of the contents of the topics covered in the course.
In case you fail to pass an exam, you can repeat it and book the exam at the next available date.
Credits for subjects/courses of your choice (total 9 CFU)
Your Study Plan requires you freely choose subjects for a total of 9 CFU. You can choose among subjects that are closely related to your study course, but it is also possible for you to freely choose subjects not linked/related to your study course. In the last case your request will be considered by the Council of Master’s Degree Course (Consiglio di Corso di Studi) that will take a decision if your request/choice can be approved or not. Further information and practicalities can be found in the appendix A.
Credits for internships, apprenticeships, and other training activities (total 6 CFU)
To earn a master's degree, students must fulfill 6 credits for “other learning activities” including internships and apprenticeships.
The full 6 CFU can be earned by undertaking available company/factory internships and apprenticeships. More information can be found at the link (just use google translator) www.unipa.it/dipartimenti/ingegneria/didattica/stage.html.
For further assistance about internships, please contact Prof. P. Cusumano (pasquale.cusumano@unipa.it ) or Dr. Stefania Agnello (stefania.agnello@unipa.it). For assistance with teaching issues, credit validation, etc., please contact Dr. Michela Bolino (michela.bolino@unipa.it).
These credits can be also earned by attending seminars and/or workshops whose CFU are approved in advance by the Council of master’s degree Course. These are usually organized by the University itself or by student’s organizations. News about these seminars/workshops is given through the website of the MSc Degree Course in Electronics Engineering (https://www.unipa.it/dipartimenti/ingegneria/cds/electronicsengineering2234/)
Usually, you must attend several seminars and/or workshops to reach the total of 6 CFU. Further information and practicalities are given in the appendix B.
Final year project thesis
This is the final and most rewarding task of your academic career. The thesis subject is proposed by a professor (tutor) and can be carried out in a research lab at the university or in collaboration with a company. In this case it is often carried out at the company site during the student internship for earning credits for other training activities. The master’s degree thesis should include a practical/experimental activity, as an example the design, realization and testing of an electronic circuit/system, other test and measurements or even results of software simulations applied to non-trivial problems/systems. Just get in touch with the professor you choose and ask which thesis subjects are available and relevant details.
Available topics are also reported in our website: https://www.unipa.it/dipartimenti/ingegneria/cds/electronicsengineering2234/Info_corso/Tesi-e-prova-finale/Argomenti_tesi/
After you have identified your supervisor and the topic for your thesis, please fill in the following form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhS7uJel8v75KhO50MoaJ1p21q9dm7bWhXtt2IsJ9rXXh0ew/viewform
This last exam consists in the writing up of the master’s degree thesis and a short slides presentation (normally 15 minutes) and discussion of the results in front of an academic panel including the tutor.
Students’ life, facilities and services at Unipa
Many on campus services and facilities are available to students including libraries, canteens and cafeterias (bar), sports facilities etc. A complete list can be found at the links:
www.unipa.it/target/studenti-iscritti/ this is in italian, just use google translator, plenty of exhaustive information
www.unipa.it/mobilita/en/ this is in English, check the pages “About Palermo University” and “Facilities & Services”.
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Appendix A - How to “ADD” free choice subjects/courses (9 CFU – MATERIA A SCELTA LIBERA) to your Study Plan
To “add” the free choice subjects to you study plan you need to:
1) Access to the Student’s Portal.
2) From “APPLICATION”: select “New Application Form”.
3) Scroll down and click on “+” to the “Rinnovo iscrizioni, Conguaglio Tasse, Piano di Studio….”.
4) It will open a window with several applications to select from; you must click on “Domanda di modifica del piano di studi per gli insegnamenti a scelta libera”.
5) Now select “Inserimento in Piano” and click on the research icon.
6) Fill the blank spaces with all, or also some specific information of your free choice subject: “codice insegnamento” = ID Subject, “Nome insegnamento” = Subject’s name, “nome dell’insegnante” = Teacher’s name, “CFU” = Number of Credits.
7) You must click on “invia” for sending the request to the Study Course Coordinator even for the subjects not related to your study course.
N.B.: If you choose more than one subject (e.g. 1 subject 6 CFU and 1 subject 3 CFU), repeat the above procedure for each chosen subjects.
N.B.: It is possible to choose two subjects with more than the maximum number of credits. For example, it is possible to choose two 6 CFU subjects (so you reach 12 CFU).
Appendix B - How to get the 6 CFU for “other training activities” (ALTRE ATTIVITA’ FORMATIVE 6 CFU)
After having scored the 6 credits from internship or from attending seminars or workshops with their own verification tests/reports of acquired knowledge, login to the Student’s Portal with your credentials, then go to “EXAMS”, and click on “Study plan”; scroll down until you find “11039 – ALTRE ATTIVITA’ FORMATIVE 6 CFU” click on “Prenota” button; then you must book the closest available date. The procedure is exactly the same as booking for taking an exam of a course. Please remember that credit validation and upload can be done also after the date you have booked (don't worry and wait for the following days!). Moreover, unlike other exams, your signature is NOT required (since there is no grade).
N.B.: It is possible to book through the Student’s Portal only during an exam session. You can’t book it whenever you want.
After that, you need to send your request by email to:
- Professor Sferlazza: antonino.sferlazza@unipa.it
- Professor Stivala: salvatore.stivala@unipa.it
- And by CC to: Dr. Bolino: michela.bolino@unipa.it
Your request email must include document attachments as follow:
- Filled and signed self-declaration form (“Autodichiarazione dello studente”) Fig.1.
- Filled and signed “assCFUex_art10” form, Fig. 2.
- A copy of your student’s identity document (for example, you ID card, or passport copy).
In the self-declaration form, you must provide your credential information:
Name; Surname; Birthplace; Birth Date; Which kind of identification document you want to use; ID’s number; ID date of issue; University’s email; ID university’s number; Name of Study Course; Year of the Course.
Then, in the declaration paragraph (“DICHIARA”), you must specify:
The single titles of seminars/workshops you attended; Scheduled date of seminars/workshops attended; Heads Teachers.
On the “assCFUex_art10” form, you must provide your credential information
again:
Surname; Name; Residence; Address; Telephone number; ID university’s number; Which year of study course you are attending now.
“STRUTTURA”: How is been organize the single seminar/workshop: if it was online or not; if you needed to do a final test, or a final report; How many credits (CFUs) were assigned for the seminar/workshop.
“OGGETTO DELL’ATTIVITA’”: Title of seminar/workshop.
“NUMERO ORE”: Total amount of time in hours of the seminar/workshop.
Then, you must specify how many, and which documents you are sending by email attach. For example: “2 (documents and these are) - Copy of ID card and the self-declaration file”.