Program Overview

About this Master

The mission of the Master in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media (CSIM) is to train the researchers and professionals who will investigate, develop and design the interactive cognitive systems and media of tomorrow. The results may be physical devices, such as robots, or logical ones, such as sophisticated software that provides new experiences and/or virtual environments.

Why Choose this Program?

The CSIM programme draws on three main fields of knowledge: interactive technology, cognitive sciences and interactive media. To achieve its objective, the programme takes an interdisciplinary approach that is critical to providing students with an in-depth knowledge of the design, construction, development, deployment and analysis of interactive cognitive systems and media, along with the necessary skills to successfully carry out all of these stages. The CSIM programme's goal is to produce integrators of such interactive cognitive devices and programmes.

Who is it For?

Students on this master's programme should have a background in technology engineering (computing or telecommunications), psychology, biology, audiovisual communication or another area related to the programme's interdisciplinary approach. Candidates must be highly motivated and hard-working and have both a strong interest in technology and cognitive sciences and a creative spirit. They must moreover have prior knowledge of programming and be willing to immerse themselves in technological topics.

Duration and Calendar

• Duration: 1 academic year full-time, 2 academic years part-time (60 ECTS credits)
• Calendar: From September to June

Timetable and Fee

• Timetable: Afternoons schedule (full-time)
• Fee:
  • EU students: 1,302 €
  • Non-EU students: 5,749.8 €

Places and Course Type

• Places: 30
• Course type: On Campus

Language and Grants Access

• Language: English
• Grants access to: PhD in Information and Communication Technologies

Center

The program is offered by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department of Engineering with the collaboration of the Department of Communication and Department of Humanities.

Career Prospects

This master's programme offers a wide range of career opportunities. Students seeking a career in research will be able to pursue doctoral studies in any of the areas included in the programme's interdisciplinary focus. Students seeking careers outside of academia will be able to draw on their experience with the analysis, design, implementation, experimentation, testing and assessment of interactive devices via cognitive systems to enter a wide range of fields, from industrial and home robotics to outdoor interactive advertising, the smart technology used by the automobile industry, the development of systems to help rehabilitate people with physical or cognitive disorders, large-format interactive entertainment, or smart museum technology.

Mission

The mission of CSIM is to train the future generation of researchers and professionals that will investigate, develop and engineer the CSIM artifacts that will populate our current and future societies. The CSIM program is based on the convergence of three fields of knowledge: cognitive science, interactive technology and interactive media. The program will achieve its goal through a fundamental interdisciplinary approach to instill a deep understanding of the design, construction, development, deployment and analysis of CSIM artifacts combined with the practical skills to realize them. The CSIM program aims at training integrators of such CSIM artifacts.

Research and Real-life

CSIM is a research-oriented program that pays constant attention to the priorities set by the main research institutions. However, CSIM is interested in real-life problems and needs of our society and therefore always focuses on real-world and down-to-earth contexts for CSIM artifacts. These artifacts can be physical devices, such as robots, or logical ones, such as sophisticated software providing new experiences and virtual environments.

Experience, Quality, and Projects

Since 2006, the CSIM program offers a very attractive set of lectures and tutorials by well-established scientists. The research projects that our students undertake are based on top research of our research groups. The students are embedded in research teams that have a high impact in their research fields at international level, producing high-quality publications and content.

Hands-on and Theory

CSIM provides just the right balance between theoretical fundaments and hands-on practical work. From a theoretical point of view, students will acquire basic knowledge on the brain cognitive functions and their computational models as they will become central to the development of such CSIMs. From a practical point of view, students will learn to envision and develop creative and scientific solutions to incorporate the CSIMs in current and future needs of our society in an efficient, coherent and justified manner. The CSIM program offers students scientific and practical tools to learn how to carry out their studies autonomously and how to develop and integrate CSIMs into useful systems for real-world applications.

Who is it Aimed At?

CSIM students can have a background in technological engineering (computing, telecommunications), psychology or biology, audiovisual communication, or any other degrees that may link to the interdisciplinary nature of the program. Candidates must be highly motivated, hard-working and have a clear interest in technology and cognitive sciences, combined with a creative spirit. They must have solid fundaments on programming and be willing to dive into technological subjects.

Interdisciplinarity and Internationality

CSIM is a melting pot of geographical origins, cultures and social backgrounds. Although initially CSIM was born with a clear European focus, we have seen that its interdisciplinary nature is quite unique and draws the attention of people from around the world. Hence, we are proud to say that we host around 15 different nationalities per year. Here is a list of the different nationalities of students that have passed through CSIM since 2007 (in alphabetical order):

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• India
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Peru
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Spain
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• Ukraine
• Uruguay
• USA
• Venezuela
• Vietnam.