Master Computer Science at the University of Antwerp

The Antwerp Advantage

Since the world relies so heavily on virtual connectivity through social media and online resources, and computers increasingly interact with the physical world, there has never been a more pressing time to Master Computer Science.

As one of Belgium’s hubs for digital innovation, the city of Antwerp is booming with high-tech advantages. The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science in the Faculty of Science at the University of Antwerp is the ideal location for any aspiring computer science student.

The rise of the digital age has encouraged the city of Antwerp to ‘build the city of tomorrow’. To support this vision, the University of Antwerp has launched a range of cutting-edge postgraduate courses.

Most courses take place on the green Middelheim Campus, easily accessible via regular bus routes and swift eco-friendly bike rides. Antwerp is a vibrant city of art and culture, so when not working towards your Masters degree, there are plenty of extra-curricular options.

Master of Computer Science

At the University of Antwerp, you can master one of the world’s most prominent contemporary subjects with the Master of Computer Science (CS). Offering the choice to study one of three core majors, the research-oriented programme prepares you with essential tools and techniques so you can lead rather than follow in this exciting and ever evolving field.

If you choose to study the major in Data Science as part of your CS Masters, you’ll learn how to effectively contribute in cutting edge international projects and how to overcome technological challenges. The programme promotes a growth mindset, so in your research projects and thesis you’ll also get the exclusive chance to make original contributions to the global development of data science.

If you’d rather focus on the Computer Networks and Distributed Systems major, you’ll build upon your knowledge of network design, Internet of Things and cloud computing to tackle the connectivity and systems challenges of the future. Once you’ve completed the degree, you could end up in the research and development sectors of innovative industrial organisations. In Belgium alone there are ample jobs at big telecom operators, vendors and Internet of Things startups.

In the Software Engineering major, you’ll adapt to the demands of fast-changing environments and understand how to address niche technological issues. You will develop new automated testing techniques, will model and analyse software to guarantee safety in for example autonomous cars, and will develop sophisticated modelling and code generation techniques to automatically come up with new and cost-optimal designs of complex systems. In academic alignment with the other two majors, your research efforts will cater to current industry demands.

Extensive Research Efforts

Research has always been the driving force behind the University Antwerp’s impressive academic achievements. Constantly innovating, the Computer Science programme stimulates students to partake in research projects and push the boundaries of innovation.

There are various research groups dedicated to different problem and solution domains. If you’d like to design software-intensive systems, the Antwerp Systems and Software Modelling group (Ansymo) is your first choice. If you want to master IoT networks, designing for example new communication protocols for ad how networks, IDlab is a natural match for your interests. If manipulating – storing, retrieving, searching in, finding hidden patterns in – vast amounts of data is what interests you, the “big data” research in AdRem is where you find world-class researchers.

Additionally, a vast array of research and innovation talks, conferences and debates take place on campus. With topics ranging from sustainable development, the structures of modern-day mobility and the impact of new technologies, there’s plenty to discuss at the regular research events – not to mention the fact that this is a chance to boost your professional reputation and hold a talk of your own!

CS Career Prospects

What’s great about having a globally-recognised computer science degree from Antwerp is that you will get exciting job offers even before you graduate. We live in a world where every single aspect of our lives relies heavily on computer science. This causes an ever increasing demand for computer scientists to drive their innovation.

As Addis, Master of Computer Science student from Ethiopia, explains, “When I wanted to pursue my academic studies, I found that the University of Antwerp offered a postgraduate programme that fits into three different specialisation streams. As its highly research-oriented, it offers the unique chance to conduct your own project at the university. I aim to contribute to the open source community where we could contribute tools and techniques on model-driven software development.”

Sara from Albania also comments on her Antwerp CS experience, “Unlike my previous university, this one has complex courses in data mining and model-driven engineering. Yet, as most of the courses are taught in English and the lecturers are helpful, these topics are easy to overcome!”

With a qualification in computer science from Antwerp, there’s a whole world of career opportunities waiting for you. There’s potential to become a computer scientist solving the problems of the future.

With this degree, your future is just as vast as the World Wide Web!

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