The programme was approved by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Senate on December 19, 2008, University of Maribor Senat on February 17, 2009, and by the Council for Higher Education on March 30, 2009. On 24 April 2014, the Senate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science accepted the application for re-accreditation of the study programme, and the Senate of the University of Maribor accepted it on 22 September 2015. On 17 March 2016, the Council of the National Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Quality Assurance in Higher Education adopted a decision extending the accreditation of the study programme.

Conditions for advancement to the second study year: A student advances to the second study year if they collect at least 48 ECTS credits out by completing the first study year obligations. The conditions for promotion under extraordinary conditions and the conditions for repetition are defined by the Statute of the University of Maribor https://www.um.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Statut-Univerze-v-Mariboru-uradno-precisceno-besedilo-UPB-13.pdf

The second-degree study programme Telecommunications does not contain individual parts.

A graduate of the study programme for obtaining a second-degree master's education may continue with doctoral studies in the third-degree study programmes in accordance with the conditions determined by the higher education institution announcing the doctoral study programme.

The second-degree study programme Telecommunications is designed to enable the graduates the employment in areas such as the design, development, implementation, evaluation, management and use of communication systems, networks, and services on the basis of acquired knowledge and competencies. They are an indispensable part of the infrastructure for the operation of the entire company, and they are also one of the most important production and service areas in Slovenia and the world, based on knowledge and innovation. Therefore, the graduates have good employment opportunities in a wide variety of companies and institutions. In addition to their basic qualifications for engineering jobs, they have a wide enough knowledge and competencies to be able to be employed in various fields of economy and the public sector related to the profession, as well as outside it. Acquired competencies enable them to take on management functions in small, medium, and large companies and societies. However, they can also be employed in many other places: in research institutes, in primary, secondary and university education, in public administration or as founders of their own companies.

Information on study programmes offered by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are available on the following website https://feri.um.si/en/study/programmes/.

There are no other obligations.

Examination and assessment of student learning outcomes is performed in accordance with the criteria and methods defined in the Rules on the Examination and Assessment of Knowledge at the University of Maribor https://www.um.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Pravilnik-o-preverjanju-in-ocenjevanju-znanja-na-Univerzi-v-Mariboru-stev.-A4-2009-41-AG-uradno-precisceno-besedilo-UPB1.pdf In the case of an individual study unit, the type and manner of taking the examination and the conditions for taking the examination are determined by the curriculum, which is an integral part of the study programme. The curriculum determines the share of each method of examining and assessing the knowledge, which contributes to the final assessment. For all subjects in all study programmes of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, knowledge assessment is regulated by a single Assessment Scale, which is available at the following website: https://feri.um.si/studij/vprasanja-in-odgovori/. Methods of continuous examination and assessment of knowledge are encouraged, thus enabling students to continuously monitor their own progress in their studies.

The fundamental objectives of the programme • To provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the basic principles of telecommunications; • To provide students with an in-depth expertise in the fields of telecommunications systems, networks and services; • To enable students the choice of specialised areas of telecommunications which they want to discover in greater detail; • To train students for independent research, development, assessment, testing and use of design solutions, methods and products in known or changed circumstances; • To educate students for continuous and successful exploration and use of new sources of knowledge in the professional and science and research fields; • To train students to function effectively and ethically in groups and to take responsibility for managing teamwork and demanding work systems; • To train students for high-quality recording and reporting on the professional and scientific and research work; • To encourage students to get involved in international higher education, professional and scientific and research environments; • To train the students for lifelong learning and continuing studies at doctoral programmes.

With the master's degree, students improve their general competencies, which they have acquired through various presumed technical first-degree studies, and acquire some new ones, such as the following: a) The ability of independent searching and critical use of sources; b) The ability to connect professional knowledge, methods, skills and the use of engineering tools for independent solving of technical problems in known or changed circumstances; c) The capability to use abstract thinking and linking the acquired knowledge for the independent development of innovative ideas and solutions; d) The ability to conduct scientific and research work relating to the problems from the field of telecommunications and related fields; e) The ability of sovereign action in multidisciplinary groups; f) The ability to manage complex systems and to make founded decisions; g) The ability of independent communication through various means of communication and for various purposes, such as writing project documentation, public oral presentations in a foreign language, etc.; h) The awareness of the need of in-depth knowledge of the substance and systematic professional and scientific-research work to achieve progress in any field.

With the study programme, students acquire the following subject-specific competencies: a) Thorough knowledge and ability to use the principles of transmission of various types of information (data, speech, images, etc.); b) In-depth expertise in telecommunications systems, the different types of networks and services that can be offered in them; c) The ability to work independently in the selection, design and development of selected types of hardware (e.g. transmission means, communication electronic circuits, transmission systems, network nodes, terminal equipment) and / or software (e.g. communication protocols, image and speech processing, services and user applications) required in telecommunications; d) The ability to independently apply principles, methods and tools for analysis, planning and / or management in the mentioned areas of telecommunications; e) The ability to monitor and understand innovations in principles, technological approaches, devices and services in the field of communication technologies, the ability to use them and to use their own innovative development and research contributions; f) Knowledge of the most important current professional or scientific literature for the selected narrow field of communication technologies; g) The ability to operate independently in the industry and entrepreneurship.

The criteria for enrolling in the first year of the second-degree postgraduate study programme Telecommunications are the following: a) Those who have completed a first-degree university or higher professional study programme in the amount of at least 180 ECTS in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (061), Electrical Engineering and Energetics (0713), Electronics and Automation (0714), Mechatronics (0788), Economic Engineering – Electrical Engineering (0788), Physics (0533), Mathematics (0541), or Statistics (0542); b) A 1st-cycle (bachelor’s) study programme corresponding to at least 180 ECTS credits in a field not specified in the previous paragraph. Prior to enrolment, candidates shall pass the following courses corresponding to 20 ECTS credits under the 1 st-cycle (bachelor’s) study programme in Telecommunications: Introduction to Telecommunications (6 ECTS), Programming for Telecommunications (8 ECTS), and Fundamentals of Communications Networks (6 ECTS). If the candidate has mastered course content during 1st-cycle studies, a course may be fully or partially recognized. c) An undergraduate professional study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in the field of telecommunications (0714), electricity and energy (0713), electronics and automation (0714), mechatronics (0788), industrial engineering – electrical engineering option (0788), physics (0533), mathematics (0541), or statistics (0542). d) An undergraduate professional study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in a field not specified in the previous paragraph. Prior to enrolment, candidates shall pass the following courses corresponding to 20 ECTS credits under the 1 st-cycle (bachelor’s) study programme in Telecommunications: Introduction to Telecommunications (6 ECTS), Programming for Telecommunications (8 ECTS), and Fundamentals of Communications Networks (6 ECTS). If the candidate has mastered course content during 1st -cycle studies, a course may be fully or partially recognized. e) An undergraduate academic study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in the field of telecommunications (0714). Upon demonstrating mastery of relevant study content, candidates are typically awarded 60 ECTS credits and may enrol in the second year of study provided they satisfy the transfer criteria laid down in the accredited study programme. f) An undergraduate academic study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in the field of electricity and energy (0713), electronics and automation (0714), Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) (061), chemistry and chemical engineering (0531), mechanical engineering (0715), building and civil engineering (0732), mathematics (0541), or statistics (0542). Upon demonstrating mastery of relevant study content, candidates are typically awarded 30 ECTS credits and may enrol in the corresponding year of study.

When selecting candidates for enrolment in the second-degree study programme Telecommunications, the following is taken into account: success in the first-degree study programme - average grade of exams and the final work (100%).

According to the criteria for transitions, candidates enrolled in the study programmes in the field of the Telecommunications (0714), Information and Communication Technologies (061), Electrical Engineering and Energetics (0713), Electronics and Automation (0714) may transfer to the second-degree study programme Telecommunications, which at the end of their studies ensure the acquisition of comparable competencies and according to the recognition criteria, at least half of the ECTS obligations from the compulsory subjects of the second-degree study programme Telecommunications are recognised. In the process of recognition, the already completed study obligations of the students are identified, which can be fully or partially recognised, and the study obligations that they must complete if they want to complete their studies according to the new study programme are determined.

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science recognises the acquired knowledge, qualifications or abilities on the basis of the Rules on the Recognition of Knowledge and Skills in the Study Programmes of the University of Maribor, which regulates the procedures for identifying, verifying and recognising knowledge and the criteria for recognising knowledge acquired through formal and non-formal learning before enrolment and during the studies at the University of Maribor. The faculty recognises the knowledge and skills of the candidates, gained before enrolment, if, in terms of scope, their content and complexity fully or partially correspond to the general or subject-specific competencies determined by the study programme in which the candidates wish to enrol or are enrolled. The basis for the recognition of knowledge and skills are the certificates or other documents: - publicly valid documents (certificates, diplomas), - certificates of completed work of the study programme or completed obligations in the study programme, - certificates of education and training providers on successful completion of education/training, certificates and other documents, - products, services, projects, publications and other author's works of candidates, - evidence of registered patents, - relevant references on practical training and work experience, - knowledge acquired through self-education and informal learning and other evidence/knowledge assessed by the Commission for Academic Affairs UM FERI. The process of identifying, verifying and recognizing knowledge and skills begins on the basis of the candidate's application, which he submits on a special form, which is an integral part of the aforementioned rulebook.

A student who completes all the obligations prescribed by the study programme and thus collects at least 120 ECTS credits completes their studies.