Overview

Overview

The MAP-tele Doctoral Programme in Telecommunications is a joint venture of Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Aveiro and Universidade do Porto (MAP), three Portuguese Universities with a strong tradition in the area of Telecommunications Engineering. The Programme represents a fusion of the doctoral offers in Telecommunications in the three institutions and constitutes a unified effort to prepare highly qualified human resources in Telecommunications.

The Programme is supported by an academic staff of more than 150 PhDs whose research and development activities cover a wide range of topics, ranging from theoretical and fundamental aspects to the experimental and applied areas of Telecommunications, and comprehend wide-ranging collaborative work with leading industries in this country and abroad.

The MAP-tele Doctoral Programme in Telecommunications targets both national and international audiences and is designed for excellence and competitiveness at the international level. All courses and seminars will be given in English. It aims to prepare selected students for leadership in research and development careers in industry, academia and independent entrepreneurial initiatives.

The Programme comprises a one-semester curricular component and a five to seven semesters of research component leading to the PhD thesis. The research will be carried out in one of the research centres affiliated with the three Universities (IT, IEETA, INESC TEC, Centro ALGORITMI) or in leading companies associated with the Programme.

Programme Structure

(TO BE UPDATED: see Edition 2024/2025 above)

Starting in 2022, the MAP-tele Doctoral Programme in Telecommunications  consists of a one-semester curricular componente (starting in the fall and comprising three courses), which is followed by a period of 5 to 7 semesters dedicated to research leading to the PhD thesis.

The curricular semester features two mandatory courses and one elective course. The former consists of Seminar and Thesis Plan. Seminar includes keynotes delivered by MAP research teams and renowned international scholars, and includes two dedicated modules, one module on Scientific Research Methodologies, and another module on Introduction to entrepreneurship. The thesis Plan is devoted to preparing the background and the roadmap supporting and guiding the PhD research. It is materialized as a 30-60 page document that specifies the PhD research topic, and includes an extensive review of the state of the art, a set of detailed objectives and methods, and outline of potential contributions and a roadmap to achieve them. A jury is then organized that evaluates the Thesis Plan in a public session. Approval of the Thesis Plan sets the start of the official PhD research. Finally, the elective course can be chosen from the set of MAP-tele optional courses, or any 3rd cycle course offered by one of the three universities in the MAP-tele consortium. The latter requires a specific request of the student, which must be supported by the advisor, and approved by the MAP-tele Scientific Committee.

Following the curricular semester, which is worth 30 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), the graduate student initiates the research and thesis development phase, which lasts between 5 to 7 semesters and corresponds to 150 ECTS.

In terms of organization, the MAP universities agreed upon a general model, in which the curricular part is taught entirely in one of the institutions, rotating every year between Minho, Aveiro and Porto. During the curricular semester, arrangements are made such that a student is assigned a supervisor and possibly also a co-supervisor. Beyond the regular thesis supervision, the student's progress is monitored by a PhD advisory group consisting of two other recognized experts in the field of the dissertation. Submission of the thesis and thesis defense follow standard international practice. A student will be awarded a doctorate degree, in the form of a joint PhD degree by the Universities of Minho, Aveiro and Porto, if his/her thesis is judged to represent original and substantial contributions advancing the knowledge in the chosen area.

Faculty

The MAP-tele Programme is supported by an academic staff of more than 150 PhDs whose research and development activities cover a wide range of topics, ranging from theoretical and fundamental aspects to the experimental and applied areas of Telecommunications, and comprehend wide-ranging collaborative work with leading industries in this country and abroad.

The quality of the Programme is monitored by the MAP-tele Scientific Committee and is supervised by a committee that includes the MAP-tele Director, professors and students, and is appointed annually.

Scientific Committee

Current director: Prof. Adriano Moreira, University of Minho (edition 2023/2024)

Members of the Scientific Committee:


List of faculty

Since its start, in 2007, the MAP-tele Doctoral Programme in Telecommunications counts with the active involvement of a significant number of professors and researchers. Among them, are the following:

Partners

Academic partners:

Industrial partners: