Plan de estudios

AIMS OF THE DEGREE COURSE

Located midway between traditional engineering and information technology engineering, the general aim of the Degree in Multimedia Engineering is to produce professionals in the ICT Sector who are capable of leading new projects in the world of Multimedia, whether in the Leisure and Digital Entertainment sector or in management of content for dissemination across information networks.

The course provides quality training based on “Project-led learning”. This type of training is aimed at providing students with the skills necessary to create digital systems for the management of multimedia information, to provide technical support to multimedia projects in the field of culture, telecommunications, teaching or business, and to produce and provide support to the technical elements involved in the creation of images and sound related to “digital leisure”.

COMPETENCES

General Competences (CG)

• 1:Capacity to conceive, prepare, organise, plan, develop and implement projects in the field of multimedia engineering and the conception, development and exploitation of multimedia systems, services and applications.
• 2:Capacity to manage the activities involved in multimedia engineering projects.
• 3:Capacity to design, develop, evaluate and ensure the accessibility, ergonomics, usability and security of multimedia systems, services and applications, as well as of the information they manage.
• 4:Capacity to define, evaluate and select hardware and software platforms for developing multimedia systems, services and applications.
• 5:Capacity to conceive, develop and maintain multimedia systems, services and applications using software engineering methods as the means of ensuring their quality.
• 6:Capacity to conceive and develop centralised or distributed computer systems and architectures by integrating hardware, software and networks.
• 7:Capacity to understand specific national and international legislation on the publication of multimedia content: royalties, intellectual property and distribution of audiovisual material, and observe binding specifications, regulations and standards.
• 8:Understand the basic subjects and technologies that enable one to learn and develop new methods and technologies, as well as those that endow one with great versatility in adapting to new situations.
• 9:Capacity to solve problems with initiative, decision-making skills, autonomy and creativity. Capacity to communicate and transmit the skills, abilities and competences required by professional Multimedia Engineers.
• 10:Capacity to analyse the social and environmental impact of technical solutions, including the ethical and professional responsibilities of Multimedia Engineers.
• 11:Understand and apply basic economic, human resources management, project planning and organisation skills, as well as the legislation, regulation and standardisation applicable to multimedia projects.
• 12:Capacity to work in multidisciplinary groups and in a multilingual context and to communicate, orally and in writing, knowledge, procedures, results and ideas related to Information and Communication Technologies and, more specifically, with the multimedia aspects of said technologies.
• 13:Capacity to use the scientific method for planning and carrying out different tasks, both at academic and professional level.
• 14:Capacity to handle any source of information related to the degree course, including on-line bibliographies and materials in the form of text, image, sound and video.

UA Basic Transversal Competences

• CT1:Foreign language skills.
• CT2:Computer and information technology skills.
• CT3:Oral and written communication skills.

Specific Competences:

Basic

• B1:Solve mathematical problems arising in multimedia engineering by using one's knowledge of algebra, geometry, differential and integral calculus, numerical methods, statistics and optimisation.
• B2:Understand and master the basics of discrete mathematics, logic and their application to automatic data processing using computer systems, and to solve engineering-related problems.
• B3:Understand and master the basics of the use and programming of computers, algorithmics and computational complexity.
• B4:Understand and master the structure, working and interconnection of multimedia computer systems.
• B5:Understand and master the basics of Physics as applied to computing and signal processing to solve multimedia engineering problems.
• B6:Understand and master the concept of companies, their institutional and legal framework. Company organisation and management.
• B7:Understand the fundamentals of graphic expression and design, apply them to multimedia content and develop one's a capacity for spatial vision.
• B8:Understand and master the concept of multimedia, the characteristics of multimedia language, the technologies involved, organisation and management of multimedia systems and their sociocultural impact on the information and knowledge society.

Specific

• C1:Develop, maintain, administrate and evaluate multimedia services that satisfy all user requirements and behave reliably and efficiently while complying with quality standards.
• C2:Prepare and direct multimedia engineering projects efficiently and effectively, paying attention to all factors relating to viability, sustainability, legislation, health and safety at work, regulations, standardisation and accessibility and gender equality related with the information society when developing projects.
• C3:Understand the legal framework regarding intellectual property and apply user licences correctly in multimedia production, recognising their main characteristics, differences and the consequences deriving from their use, as well as the technologies used to manage them.
• C4:Understand information recovery and extraction techniques using multimedia, multilingual and multimodal resources.
• C5:Programme applications robustly, correctly and efficiently, choosing the most appropriate paradigms and programming languages by applying one's knowledge of basic algorithmic procedures and using the most appropriate data types and structures.
• C6:Identify, manage, integrate and implant systems and infrastructures for the distribution, storage and support of multimedia content.
• C7:Select and use the right development platform to programme heterogeneous sets of devices, with different hardware, operating system and different kinds of input and output interfaces.
• C8:Understand, master and evaluate the structure and architecture of the systems and devices that support multimedia applications.
• C9:Understand the fundamentals of information theory and be able to choose the best compression and coding systems for the transmission, storage and protection of multimedia content.
• C10:Select and manage platforms to support multimedia content from its creation to its distribution and consumption.
• C11:Understand the characteristics, functionalities and structure of operating systems, to allow them to be used and administrated correctly, and design and implement multimedia applications based on their services.
• C12:Understand the characteristics, functionalities and structure of distributed systems, computer networks and Internet, to allow them to be used and administrated correctly, and design and implement multimedia applications based on their services.
• C13:Understand and know how to use persistent storage technology and multimedia information methods, especially files and databases, to obtain information systems that satisfy requirements efficiently.
• C14:Design, implement, integrate and implant the tools, applications and components needed to store, process, distribute and access web-based information systems.
• C15:Understand and apply the principles, methodologies and life cycles of software engineering.
• C16:Create, design and evaluate man-computer interfaces that guarantee accessibility and usability.
• C17:Understand and apply the fundamentals of digital image and video in their different formats, as well as the technical and creative dimensions of tools for the acquisition, production, edition and post-production of images.
• C18:Understand and apply the fundamentals of digital sound and image in their different formats, as well as the technical and creative dimensions of tools for the acquisition, production, edition and post-production of images.
• C19:Understand and apply basic computer graphics techniques, including 2D, 3D, rendering and lighting.
• C20:Plan and produce graphical elements and visual communication processes that allow one to contribute towards building effective visual environments with aesthetic and cultural values.
• C21:Design, build and animate three-dimensional models, including all the stages needed to produce computer graphics images and sequences.
• C22:Guarantee acceptable quality levels (performance, security, continuity, integrity, reliability) when distributing and storing multimedia content.
• C23:Design and develop videogames and simulation systems.
• C24:Develop narrative structures for multimedia products.
• C25:Design, produce and manage multilingual and multimode multimedia content systems to guarantee their internationalisation, localisation, accessibility and usability.
• C26:Understand, design, integrate and implant appropriate content management systems for specific requirements.
• C27:Understand the different types of web-based development models, as well as the technologies used to develop applications in said environment and devices in which they can be implemented.

Optional

• CO1:Analyse, design and construct systems and applications requiring parallel, concurrent, distributed and real-time programming techniques.
• CO2:Acquire and apply Virtual Reality principles, techniques and technologies.
• CO3:Understand, apply and optimise techniques for developing complex games including advanced graphics, physical engines for videogames, artificial intelligence and networked games.
• CO4:Understand and apply advanced audiovisual postproduction techniques integrating different kinds of content, both that generated synthetically and that obtained from different capture sources.
• CO5:Understand and apply advanced audiovisual content sound techniques.
• CO6:Understand and apply different kinds of audio and video broadcasting systems and develop interactive services using said systems.
• CO7:Design and implement multimedia e-learning systems.
• CO8:Understand, evaluate and apply business models and marketing techniques designed to exploit multimedia technologies.
• CO9:Design and implant documentary multimedia systems.
• CO10:Design, implant and administer multimedia content management systems designed for the diffusion of information.
• CO11:Understand, implant and administer Internet-based multimedia services and systems, guaranteeing quality, security and availability levels.

Final Project Competences (PFG)

• TFG1:Ejercicio original a realizar individualmente y presentar y defender ante un tribunal universitario, consistente en un proyecto en el ámbito de las tecnologías específicas de la Ingeniería en Multimedia de naturaleza profesional en el que se sinteticen e integren las competencias adquiridas en las enseñanzas.

Basic Competences and Competences included under the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (MECES)

• CB1:Que los estudiantes hayan demostrado poseer y comprender conocimientos en un área de estudio que parte de la base de la educación secundaria general, y se suele encontrar a un nivel, que si bien se apoya en libros de texto avanzados, incluye también algunos aspectos que implican conocimientos procedentes de la vanguardia de su campo de estudio.
• CB2:Que los estudiantes sepan aplicar sus conocimientos a su trabajo o vocación de una forma profesional y posean las competencias que suelen demostrarse por medio de la elaboración y defensa de argumentos y resolución de problemas dentro de su área de estudio.
• CB3:Que los estudiantes tengan la capacidad de reunir e interpretar datos relevantes (normalmente dentro de su área de estudio) para emitir juicios que incluyan una reflexión sobre temas relevantes de índole social, científica o ética.
• CB4:Que los estudiantes puedan transmitir información, ideas, problemas y soluciones a un público tanto especializado como no especializado.
• CB5:Que los estudiantes hayan desarrollado aquellas habilidades de aprendizaje necesarias para emprender estudios posteriores con un alto grado de autonomía.

• Credit structure of the degree course
• Distribution of credits per subject type
• General description of the course programme
• Optional subjects and routes
  

CREDIT STRUCTURE OF THE DEGREE COURSE

Subjects in the Degree in Multimedia Engineering, each worth 6 European ECTS credits, are organised into semesters. Specifically, students are required to take 5 subjects each semester, to complete 30 credits per semester and 60 credits per year, for a total of 240 credits over four years.

In order to make the course compatible with other activities, students are allowed to take a part-time course consisting of 30 credits per academic year.

DISTRIBUTION OF CREDITS PER SUBJECT TYPE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE PROGRAMME

Students are required to take the core block, worth 60 credits (6 of which are complementary credits, corresponding to the discipline of Statistics, part of the area of the Social Sciences), the common block, so-called because it is common to the two proposed 132-credit routes, and 36 optional credits forming the two different routes:

Route I1: Digital creation and entertainment

Route I2: Content Management

Moreover, during the final semester, students are required to undertake a Final Project, worth 12 credits.  Prior to evaluation for the final project, the student must provide evidence of ability in a foreign language.  Among other forms of accreditation, the minimum necessary requirement at the University of Alicante is to have attained level B1 of the European Framework of Reference for Languages, and this requirement may be raised in the future.

The course programme has been designed to reflect the need to implement a project-based teaching methodology.

Project Based Learning refers to a teaching methodology where students learn concepts by means of carrying out projects or by solving problems designed and put to them by their teacher. Projects are appropriately designed if, in order to complete them successfully, students are obliged to acquire the concepts that the teacher wishes to transmit.

This teaching method will be applied from the 2^nd Year onwards, mainly via a series of subjects taught in the first term, with a second subject providing continuity in the second term. The aim is to form teams from students in different years, with students performing different roles in common projects. Projects will be supervised and coordinated by 4^th Year students taking the subject Multimedia Projects. 3^rd Year students from Multimedia Systems Design will be entrusted with analysis and design, whilst 2^nd Year Multimedia Systems students will be entrusted with programming.  

These three subjects form the backbone of project development, and are preceded by those other subjects necessary to develop the responsibilities held by project participants. In the case of Multimedia Systems, students must have taken Programming I and Programming II, both in the 1^st Year, in order to be entrusted with programming tasks. Likewise, Multimedia Systems Design is preceded by Multimedia Systems Analysis, taught in the second term of the 2^nd Year. Accordingly, 3^rd Year project students can take on both analysis and design.

Moreover, projects should be proposed by Multimedia Projects students. Accordingly, at the beginning of the year, their projects should already be underway, at least with regard to their specifications and initial design. This initial work should be carried out as part of the subjects Multimedia Systems Analysis and Multimedia Systems Design. In this way, 2nd and 3^rd Year students will be working on projects proposed by 4^th Year students, whilst at the same time preparing the projects they will direct when they take Multimedia Projects.

The fact of working simultaneously on two different projects, one as creators/directors of their own projects and another as assistants on other students’ projects, is aimed at helping them to learn how to build and execute their own projects successfully.  This should increase students’ sense of responsibility when working on third-party projects. In short, the aim of this project system is to simulate a professional environment within the degree course, wherein the success of third-party and own projects implies “promotion”, just as in the professional and labour world.  

Although the subjects mentioned above are essential to project execution, projects encompass content from all degree course subjects. Accordingly, in each subject from the 2^nd Year onwards, 1.5 credits will correspond to group tutorials aimed at supporting project development.

Implementation of project based learning during the early years of the degree course

During the second and third years of the implementation of the course programme, while there are as yet no students in higher years to act as project directors and analysts, the teachers of the subjects not yet taught, along with the teachers of the subjects already underway and students themselves will undertake management and specification tasks in the first year, and management tasks in the second year.

Moreover, the content of subjects which are core to the project-based learning method has been designed to emphasise the need for integration and coordination with the other subjects. Accordingly, they include constant references to those subjects which are not yet taught in the early years.

OPTIONAL SUBJECTS AND ROUTES

Students are required to take 36 optional ECTS credits, from either of two routes:

Route I1: Digital creation and entertainment

Route I2: Content Management

In order for the route to be recognised, students must take at least four optional subjects (24 credits) from the same route. The 36 credits corresponding to the optional subjects which make up the routes include the possibility of students taking 12 credits in English language (English I and English II) or work experience (Work Experience I and Work Experience II).

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT (IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Students who study an undergraduate degree at the University of Alicante must confirm a minimum level of B1 in a foreign language (a B2 is recommended) in order to obtain the diploma.  

The required language level is in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. 

The language accreditation requirement can be obtained previously or at any time during university studies. However, the language requirement will be necessary in order to be able to assess the final year project.

The different forms of obtaining such language requirement can be consulted in the additional information in this section.  

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LANGUAGE TEACHING COMPETENCE CERTIFICATE

Students who want to have a career in non-university teaching when they finish their studies are recommended to obtain the teaching competence certificate (Valencian and/or foreign languages).

This certificate can be obtained by taking specific itineraries in your university studies or by taking the UA teaching competence course in Valencian, German, French and English.

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FINAL YEAR PROJECT (TFG)

All the official undergraduate degrees must be completed by preparing and defending a final year project, which must be done in the final phase of the studies and be aimed at the assessment of competences associated to the degree.

The final year project must be an original, independent and personal work. The elaboration of it may by individual or coordinated. Each student will prepare this project under the supervision of a tutor, allowing students to show the received training content in an integrated many, as well as the acquired competences associated to the undergraduate degree.

In order to register in the final year project, students must comply with the requirements established in the “Regulations for continuation studies for students registered in undergraduate degrees at the University of Alicante”. Among the requirements established to be able to register in the final year project, a minimum of 168 credits must be passed in undergraduate degrees with a total of 240 credits, and a minimum of 228 credits in undergraduate degrees with a total of 300 credits or more.

In order for the final year project to be assessed, a B1 level of a foreign language (B2 is recommended) must be confirmed.

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• Access routes
• Procedure for applying for admission
• Recommended applicant profile
• Number of places and pass marks

ACCESS ROUTES

Admission to this degree course is open to any applicant who meets one of the following entrance requirements:

1.     SPANISH BACCALAUREATE (LOMCE) UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM (PAU): Although students can access university by means of any Baccalaureate specialization, the recommended one is Sciences.

Admission scores for this degree can be improved by taking the specific modules of the University Entrance Exam (PAU) as indicated in the table below with their respective weightings.

TABLE 1

2.     PREVIOUS BACCALAUREATES WITH OR WITHOUT A PASS IN THE UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM (PAU): Students who have completed their Baccalaureate under previous education systems and have passed the PAU will be able to use the mark obtained in their application.

However, students can take specific exam modules during the voluntary PAU exam period in order to improve their admission score as shown in table 1. They can also sit for the obligatory PAU exams, in which case they will have to take all the exams scheduled during this period.

3.     VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: Vocational educational qualifications such as senior technician, senior technician of plastic arts and design, or senior technician in sports is the preferred professional area although access to this degree may be through any professional field.

Admission scores can be improved by taking the PAU exam in up to 4 of the modules in table 1.

4.     STUDENTS FROM EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OR OTHER STATES WITH WHICH SPAIN HAS AN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT: Accreditation is required and issued by Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED).

Students can sit for exams in subjects included in the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE), organised by the UNED, in order to improve their admission score up to 14 points as indicated in the weightings in Table 1.

5.     STUDENTS FROM FOREIGN EDUCATION SYSTEMS: Prior to applying for the validation of their foreign Baccalaureate, students may sit for up to 4 exams in subjects offered by the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE) organised by UNED (at least one subject from the core subjects).

The weightings indicated in table 1 will be applied to core and/or optional subjects.

6.     OTHER: University degrees and other similar qualifications. University entrance exam for students over 25 (preferential option: Engineering and architecture). Access on the basis of professional experience (applicants over 40 years of age). Access to applicants aged 45 years or more by means of an exam.

Weightings of the subjects of the specific phase of the Proof of Access to the University (PAU) in the previous years

High School Diploma Subjects

Academic Years 2010-11 2011-12

0.1

x

x

x

0.2

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Academic Years  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

0.1

x

x

x

x

x

0.2

x

x

x

x

x

PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING FOR ADMISSION: PRE-ENROLMENT AND REGISTRATION

• Anticipated number of places offered during the first pre-enrolment session:95 

• In order to apply for a place, the procedure and pre-enrolment periods established each year must be observed. Information concerning the application procedure  (Pre-enrolment).

• Applicants admitted to a course must formally register within the timescale established annually in the enrolment calendar Registration Information.

RECOMMENDED APPLICANT PROFILE

New students should possess:

• A capacity for work (perseverance, method and rigour);
• A capacity for reasoning and critical analysis;
• The ability to work individually or as part of a team;
• The capacity to obtain, interpret and apply knowledge;
• Problem-solving skills;
• A capacity for synthesis and abstraction and good communication skills;
• A specific interest in multi-media creativity and communication;
• Artistic and cultural sensitivity in one or various forms, whether written, plastic or audiovisual.

NUMBER OF PLACES AND PASS MARKS

• "Pass marks" indicated correspond to the results of the first adjudication of June.
  
• The definitive marks can be inferior to the here collected.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

The multimedia engineer is the professional responsible for leading multimedia product development projects, aimed primarily at two main sectors:

1.- The digital leisure sector: The digital leisure sector can be defined as the production  infrastructure which has emerged around the construction of videogames and related variations such as those deemed “serious games” or those devoted to entertainment and/or to learning.

Moreover, the digital leisure sector also includes the synthetic image production industry, working in cinema, special effects or television.

The multimedia engineer will possess the skills necessary to analyse and specify the needs of creative professionals in these sectors, and convert such needs into products and multimedia systems.

 2.- The production and dissemination of enriched digital content sector: the multimedia engineer is equipped to develop products related to the creation, management and diffusion of enriched digital contents through telecommunication networks. Thus, the multimedia engineer possesses skills related to the creation of content management systems for digital libraries, digital news and, in general, new information dissemination systems, including those related to distance learning using new technology.

Professions for which graduates are qualified: Multimedia Engineer; Multimedia Programmer; Multimedia Network Designer; web Designer; Human-Machine interface Designer; multimedia Architect; Internet/Intranet, audio and video Technician; web information Specialist; web content Strategist; web content Programmer; web Producer; creative web Specialist; web art Specialist; web Graphic Designer; videogame Designer; digital special effects Technician.

IMPLEMENTATION

TIMESCALE

EQUIVALENCE PROCEDURE

The proposed degree will not be replacing any previously offered degree at the University of Alicante. Therefore, since the Degree in Computer Engineering constitutes the closest discipline to Multimedia Engineering, it is envisaged that an equivalence system will be established in order to offer continuity of studies for those students currently taking the Degree in Computer Engineering  who wish to continue their studies on the Degree in Multimedia Engineering. This is warranted due to significant similarities in the basic contents of both degree courses.

DEGREE IN MULTIMEDIA ENGINEERING. SYLLABUS SUMMARY

Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIC) of the Title

• Structure of the Centre for Quality
  • Comission of Internal Quality Guarantee
  • Other Commissions  
• Handbook SGIC
• Procedures
  • Strategic (PE)
  • Key (PC)
  • Support (PA)
  • Measurement (PM)

• Management of the SGIC (Access to ASTUA)

Follow-up of the Title

• International quality label
• Self-reports UA
• External reports AVAP 
• Other reports
• Improvement Plans
• Progress and Learning Outcomes