Fifty seven years have passed since the foundation of the Electrical Engineering (EE) Department (25.9.1967) as the first engineering department whereby the Polytechnic School of the University of Patras was founded and operated. The initial minimal infrastructure and the small number of teaching and research staff as well as the small number of administrative staff and personel were not obstacles for the fast development of the EE Department and its great contribution to the creation of significant scientific manpower in Greece, very useful for our country and with international recognition. The broadening of scientific subjects led to the extens ion of the title of the Electrical Engineering Department (EE) to Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) in 1995.
The current status and physiognomy of the ECE Department is depicted in the Department's bulletin.
The bulletin comprises of the curriculum of the undergraduate studies together with a summary of the content of the courses, the regulations and the curriculum of the postgraduate studies. Information on the foundation of the University of Patras, the structure and operation of the ECE Department and of the other supporting offices, Student care, scholarships, etc. is also provided. The curriculum of the undergraduate studies of our ECE Department is continiously evolving and being improved according to the scientific subjects which must correspond both to basic demands and current scientific-technological trends and peaks. This is a contemporary five-year program that covers the scientific divisions of telecommunications and information technology, electrical power systems, electronics & computers and automatic control systems and industrial informatics. There are obligatory courses of basic knowledge, common to all students, as well as selective cours es that students must choose from according to their special interests. Studies in our Department is based upon both the theoretical and laboratorial consolidation of knowledge.
Our Department has a very high level of members of: Thirty Six (36) Teaching Scientific Personnel (D.E.P.), Thirteen (13) Laboratory Teaching Staff (E.DI.P.), Four (4) Special Technical Educational Staff (E.T.E.P), Teaching and Research Assistants and Administrative staff, for about 2500 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The undergraduate program of studies is divided into 10 semesters. The first six semesters are comprised of 40 obligatory courses common to all students, 2 selective courses of general education and 4 courses of foreign language and terminology. In the first four semesters, courses of general background are taught (e.g. Matchematics and Physics), while the core courses of the Electrical and Computer Engineer are offered in the 5th and 6th semester. At the beginning of the 7th semester, the students have to specialize their studies, by choosing one of the following divisions (fields of specialization):
- Division of Telecommunications and Information Technology.
- Division of Electrical Power Systems.
- Division of Electronics and Computers.
- Division of Systems and Automatic Control.
The courses offered within a specialization field are mainly special technological courses. During the last four semesters (7 - 10), students are obliged to attend 6 (out of 22) courses, selected from at least two other fields of specialization. In this way, their background knowledge is expanded, while a good degree of specialization is achieved.
The number of courses that the postgraduate students have to attend depends on the Diploma or Degree that they already hold. An in-depth knowledge of postgraduate courses is a prerequisite for the continuation of their postgraduate studies towards a PhD dissertation and acquisition of the PhD.
