university of cape town electrical engineering
About Us
New forms of technology, which were once unimaginable, and achieve what once seemed impossible, are emerging every day. At the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town we are at the cutting edge of research and teaching, not just in South Africa, but across Africa and globally.
We aim to produce graduates who are innovative and capable of becoming the leaders in their fields. Our students are given an excellent foundation in the principles of electrical engineering. From this base, they develop the ability to conceptualise, and to analyse and solve problems.
Our department’s research projects cover a wide range of subjects, including the investigation of novel computer systems, the simulation of electricity markets, the use of computer control and instrumentation to optimise process performance, ecologically sustainable power generation, radar sensors and telecommunications.
We focus on working closely with industry so that the department remains at the forefront of electrical engineering trends worldwide.
Become a part of our creative and stimulating degree programmes where we aim to solve the very problems whose articulation and analysis is our focus.
All three programmes have the same first-year curriculum which makes it possible to change programmes at the beginning of the second year.
- Bachelor of Science (Eng) in Electrical Engineering covers both light-current and heavy-current engineering.
- Bachelor of Science (Eng) in Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that combines fundamental studies in mechanical engineering, electronics, embedded systems and control engineering.
- Bachelor of Science (Eng) in Electrical and Computer Engineering is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that combines a fundamental study in electrical engineering with relevant parts of the three year computer science programme.
Career Opportunities
The electronic and electrical industry is one of the fastest growing industries at present. Electrical and electronic engineers work in many types of organisations, including private consultation firms and development laboratories, large and small private companies involved with the design, development, production and marketing of electronic and electrical systems, subsystems, and components of products, as well as government and semi-government organisations, including a career as an Academic and Researcher at universities. Graduates of the Mechatronics programme can be found creating mobile and industrial robots; designing artificial intelligence software to identify faulty machinery; constructing new packaging systems for bottled beverages; developing diagnostic systems for the next generation of motor vehicle or working in robotics and control research at a university, amongst many other exciting career opportunities
Undergraduate Programmes
The undergraduate degree programmes attract scholars who are good at maths and science and interested in how things work.
Three degree programmes share a common base in the first and second years. Thereafter specialisation in mechatronics, computing or power, electronics and communications leads to the degrees in Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
There are three four-year undergraduate degree programmes offered in the Department:
- BSc(Eng) in Electrical Engineering
- BSc(Eng) in Mechatronics, which combines the fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering with light current Electrical Engineering.
- BSc(Eng) in Electrical and Computer Engineering, which combines the principles of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science for the purpose of developing computer based systems