This master’s degree produces graduates who have attained a high level of excellence in the analysis, management and optimisation of process control and robotics, industrial engineering and residential, social and service environments—activities which are essential for social progress, economic productivity and quality of life.
The curriculum includes 18 ECTS credits in an optional subject area that students must take during the last semester and that allows them to focus on professional, research and innovation practice and develop high-level generic competencies.

A recent study on graduate employment in the last six years shows that 6% of the graduates of this master’s degree have PhDs and are working in academia (research institutes and universities). In addition, 34% are research assistants in institutions such as the UPC, the UPV, the UIB, the UAB, the IBEC, the UPN and the UPM, in Spain, but also at Imperial College London, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the École Polytechnique de Montréal, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Technology, Sydney and the National Technical University in Ecuador. A substantial proportion (30%) work for industrial firms or technology centres in Spain (DASSA Technologies, CETEMMSA, Analitzadors Assessoria Energètica, the Barcelona Provincial Council, SEAT, Thinking Forward XXI, IREC, Hewlett-Packard, ALTEN, Durán-Corretjer, Renesas Electronics and GlobalSmartDesign), in Europe (ESS AB, Shell and ASML) and across the world (Toro Development Ltd., Honeywell Process Solutions, DIMAP Ingeniería and Plenum). A number of South American graduates have returned to their posts in academia at the University of the Andes in Venezuela, the Pontifical Catholic University in Peru, the Army Polytechnic School, the Pontifical Catholic University and the National Technical University in Ecuador, and the Autonomous University of Manizales in Colombia.
 

Generic competencies

Generic competencies are the skills that graduates acquire regardless of the specific course or field of study. The generic competencies established by the UPC are capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and social commitment, knowledge of a foreign language (preferably English), teamwork and proper use of information resources.

On finishing the master's degree, graduates will be able to:

• Undertake research, innovation and development tasks in companies and institutions.
• Conceive of systems and automate processes to increase performance, production, competitiveness, quality and the optimisation of human and energy resources.
• Include aspects of analysis, design and control in systems and processes.
• Apply these aspects to increasing performance, production, competitiveness, and quality and to optimising human and energy resources in sectors such as industry, aerospace, naval engineering, biomedicine, and natural and energy resources.

Specific competencies

• Carry out measurements and calculations.
• Create mathematical models and simulations of the problems studied.
• Monitor studies and reports.
• Identify faults and possible improvements in automated systems.
• Plan, coordinate and undertake maintenance tasks that are corrective, preventative or predictive.
• Quantitatively and qualitatively analyse the operation of processes and make improvements.
• Look for relevant information on the problems that the study is based on. Verify the state of the question and provide a solution to the problem.
• Apply knowledge to a wide range of areas: industrial, aeronautic and services in general.
• Draw up operating specifications.
• Design, draw up, execute and lead projects related to the area.
• Apply the technical and legal regulations.
• Design automatic regulation and control systems to improve the performance of systems. These should include all elements of a system.
• Combine knowledge effectively to solve multidisciplinary problems.
• Design and programme the software components needed to implement the proposed solutions.
• Take environmental effects into account in each of the solutions designed.
• Express the proposed solutions appropriately.
• Identify the problems that require special research within the field of automatic control, either because they are new or because they are difficult to solve.
• Look for the information needed to solve problems and critically analyse this information.
• Design and carry out the experiments required for research projects.
• Use computer design and modelling systems.
• Be advanced users of IT tools.
• Use IT tools for data analysis and as a support in solving problems.
• Develop advanced tools to carry out tasks related to the master's degree.
• Use, configure, and be familiar with networked computer systems.
• Apply artificial intelligence techniques to real problems.
• Incorporate systems to solve problems.

Specific academic competencies

• Work individually and in teams.
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Be familiar with and adapt to changing environments.

Attitudes

• A desire for continuing professional improvement.
• Critical awareness.
• Ethical, socioeconomic and environmental sensitivity.
• Willingness to collaborate openly with other professionals.
• Awareness of the role of engineering in today's world.