Introduction |
Career
Opportunities | Illustrative
Example
Introduction
Computer Engineering has had a major impact on all our
lives during the last thirty years. Its impact has been
more significant and more pervasive than that of many
other disciplines. Think of the mobile phone, the Internet
and the Sony PlayStation 2 - ALL products that weren't
even imagined 30 years ago, but have now been realised
by the ingenuity of the computer engineer.
Computer
engineers need not only to understand how computer systems
themselves work, but also how they integrate into the
larger picture. Consider the car. A modern car contains
many separate computer systems for controlling such
things as the engine timing, the brakes and the air
bags. To be able to design and implement such a car,
the computer engineer needs a broad theoretical understanding
of all these various subsystems & how they interact.
This might involve mechanical engineering, thermodynamics
and fluids as well as the computer systems themselves.
A computer engineer needs excellent
problem solving skills, a good theoretical grounding
in the fundamentals of engineering and the practical
skills to put theory into practice. Computer engineers
may design computer hardware, write computer programs,
integrate the various subsystems together or do all
three. Computer engineers need good management skills
as they often get quickly promoted to project manager
type positions. Furthermore, computer engineers need
good people skills, as they have to sell their ideas
to other engineers, other professionals and members
of the public.
Since the BAI degree at TCD is based
on 2 years of general engineering and 2 years of specialisation,
it provides the ideal grounding for future computer
engineers. Students learn about all engineering areas
and this is of great benefit when designing real world
computer systems. Such interdisciplinary knowledge is
very important in today's complex world.
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