Doctoral studies in Software Engineering

 

The purpose of the study program

 
The purpose of doctoral studies in Software Engineering is to create the conditions for the highest level of education in this scientific field, which will ensure for the students to achieve scientific competences and academic skills in the field of software engineering. In that sense, the study program should provide students with a sense of critical assessment of their own research, as well as others’.
General competences of graduates of this programme are: knowledge of achievements in the area, creative and critical thinking, ability to participate in international scientific projects, solving theoretical and practical problems from the given area, as well as presentation of results from individual research in world recognized journals.
 
The Software Engineering area provides students with professional work in software development, which is of particular importance because it is known that software products, in their reliability, are significantly behind the reliability of products from other areas of technology. This is the result of insufficient application of both standards and clearly defined procedures in software development. What is a normal practice in the development of other products is often not in the development of software products, as these products develop without rigorously set up processes and development activities. Research in the field of software engineering is necessary in order for this young scientific discipline to achieve the necessary maturity (like other, older technical disciplines), a maturity that leads to the development and production of much better and more reliable software systems. The second purpose of the study program is also the creation of new university teachers in a discipline where there is a very pronounced lack in both quantitative and qualitative terms, since most of the current professors, the older generation, could not have adequate academic education in this young scientific discipline.
 

The objective of the study program

 
Software Engineering is a discipline that deals with the development and maintenance of reliable and efficient software systems. The educational program in the field of software engineering aims to provide the foremost knowledge necessary for the development of professional software with a high level of reliability in operation. Accordingly, the importance of phases in software development is emphasized, i.e. the analysis and evaluation of software requirements, requirements specifications, software design and software development and testing. Also, software engineering relates to process and quality management, creativity and innovation, standards, separate skills of individuals, and also the ability to team work and the application of rules and experiences from professional practice. In addition to creating top experts who will lead teams capable of developing even more complex software systems, this study program also has a second goal – to advance the education of future university teachers in the field of software engineering. The curriculum of doctoral studies is in line with the needs of modernizing and expanding courses in postgraduate studies at the Metropolitan University, as well as the needs of the research environment in this highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field.
 

Structure of the study program

 
Doctoral studies in Software Engineering last for 3 years or 6 semesters (180 ECTS). The study program contains 6 compulsory and 4 elective subjects. The three compulsory subjects are specific (SE691, SE692 and SE693, i.e. Research Project 1, 2 and 3), because they enable the preparation of candidates and their dissertation work in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th semester, since each of them (as a projects) has the defined conditions for the beginning and the end, and clearly defined outcome. Other courses enable students to acquire additional knowledge necessary for the successful realization of the research that they perform in the function of designing and presenting the doctoral dissertation.
 

Sem

No.

Courses

ECTS

L

IRW

1

1

NT600 Methodology of scientific research

10

6

2

1

2

SE630 Models for Software Systems

10

4

2

1

3

SE640 Architecture of Software Systems

10

4

2

2

4

SE691 Research Project 1

10

2

8

2

5

Elective course 1 group 1

10

3

2

2

6

Elective course 2 group 1

10

3

2

3

7

SE692 Research Project 2

10

2

8

3

8

Elective course 1 group 2

10

3

2

3

9

Elective course 2 group 2

10

3

2

4

10

SE693 Research Project 3

30

2

18

5

11

SE694 Independent Research Work on Doctoral Dissertation

30

0

20

6

12

SE695 Preparation and Defense of the Doctoral Dissertation

30

0

20

Elective courses group 1

CS661 Semantic Web Technologies Usage in the Public Sector

10

3

2

CS675 Research of e-Learning Systems

10

3

2

CS681 Real-time and Embedded Systems

10

3

2

SE620 Testing and software quality

10

3

2

Elective courses group 2

CS550 Serious Games and Simulations in Real-time

10

3

2

CS662 Experimental computing

10

3

2

CS682 Software for Real-time and Embedded Systems

10

3

2

SE650 Research in Software Engineering

10

3

2

CS655 Artificial Intelligence

10

4

2

 

NT600 Methodology of Scientific Research
 
SE630 Models for Software Systems
 
SE640 Architecture of Software Systems
 
CS661 Semantic Web Technologies Usage in the Public Sector
 
CS675 Research of e-Learning Systems
 
CS681 Real-time and Embedded Systems
 
SE620 Testing and Software Quality
 
CS550 Serious Games and Simulations in Real-time
CS662 Experimental Computing
 
CS682 Software for Real-time and Embedded Systems
 
SE650 Research in Software Engineering
 
CS655 Artificial Intelligence
 
SE691 Research Project 1
 
SE692 Research Project 2
 
SE693 Research Project 3
 

SE694 Independent Research Work on Doctoral Dissertation
 
SE695 Preparation and Defense of the Doctoral Dissertation