Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Embedded Systems Engineering
Every other programme in this School and in the School of Energy, Climate and Earth Systems depends on people who can design power electronics, control systems and embedded devices that survive African grid conditions. This is the Universit...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Electrical engineer
- power electronics engineer
- embedded systems and firmware engineer
- controls engineer
- instrumentation engineer
- edge computing engineer
- energy systems engineer
- hardware product engineer.
Employer types
- Utilities and independent power producers
- manufacturers
- telecommunications
- solar and mini grid developers
- medical device and instrumentation firms
- automotive and mobility
- consulting engineers
- and hardware start ups.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- The broadest employment surface of any engineering programme in the University, with strong absorption across energy, manufacturing, telecommunications and health technology.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Embedded Systems Engineering. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 110 | Engineering Mathematics I Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 111 | Physics of Electricity and Magnetism Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 112 | Programming for Engineers Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| IEM 113 | Electrical Workshop and Wiring Practicum Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 130 | Engineering Mathematics II Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| IEM 131 | Electrical Circuit Analysis Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 132 | Digital Logic and Microcontrollers Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 133 | Engineering Materials and Manufacturing Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 210 | Analogue Electronics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 211 | Electrical Machines and Drives Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 212 | Signals and Systems Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 213 | Measurement, Sensors and Instrumentation Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 230 | Power Electronics and Converters Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 231 | Engineering Statistics and Reliability Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| IEM 310 | Control Systems Engineering Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 311 | Embedded Real Time Systems and Firmware Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 312 | Power Systems, Protection and Earthing Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 313 | Communication Systems and Networks Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| IEM 330 | Edge Intelligence and TinyML Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| IEM 331 | Electrical Safety, Codes and Standards Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 410 | Hardware Product Engineering: Prototype to Manufacture Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| IEM 411 | Renewable Integration and Energy Storage Electronics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| IEM 412 | Industrial and Building Electrical Design Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| IEM 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| IEM 430 | Electrical Engineering Capstone: Real Client Hardware System Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| IEM 431 | Designing for Unstable Grids: Surge, Sag and Thermal Survival Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| IEM 432 | Engineering Economics and Project Management Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| IEM 433 | Professional Engineering Practice, Ethics and Registration Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 178
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Embedded Systems Engineering
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Analyse and design electrical circuits, machines and power electronic converters.
- PLO 2Design, program and debug embedded systems including real time and safety critical constraints.
- PLO 3Design and tune control systems and validate them on hardware.
- PLO 4Deploy machine learning at the edge under memory power and latency constraints.
- PLO 5Design electrical and electronic equipment that tolerates unstable supply, surge, lightning and heat.
- PLO 6Apply electrical safety standards, earthing and protection correctly.
- PLO 7Take a hardware product from prototype to manufacturable design.
- PLO 8Diagnose faults in installed electrical and electronic systems in the field.
Why this programme exists
Every other programme in this School and in the School of Energy, Climate and Earth Systems depends on people who can design power electronics, control systems and embedded devices that survive African grid conditions. This is the University's broadest engineering degree and its most reliably employable, spanning power electronics, drives, control, embedded firmware and edge computing. It is distinguished from a conventional electrical engineering degree by the depth of its embedded and edge intelligence content and by an explicit stream on designing for unstable supply.
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in Physics and Mathematics, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics, Physics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
Intelligent Engineering
Other open programmes in this School
Bachelor of Engineering in Robotics and Embodied Intelligence
Embodied intelligence has just been created as a formal undergraduate discipline in the world's largest university system, with institutions fast tracked to deliver it, and no African university offers a dedicated undergraduate degree in it...
View programme BEng (Hons)Bachelor of Engineering in Semiconductor and Microelectronic Engineering
Integrated circuits are the physical substrate of every intelligent system, and the discipline has been identified as a strategic priority in every serious industrial policy in the world. Africa currently designs almost none of them. Fabric...
View programme BEng (Hons)Bachelor of Engineering in Intelligent Manufacturing and Mechatronics
Uganda's industrial parks are filling with plant that nobody local can commission, optimise or repair, and the resulting dependence on imported technicians is a recurring hidden cost of industrialisation. This programme builds the engineer ...
View programme BEng (Hons)Bachelor of Engineering in Autonomous Systems and Low Altitude Aviation
The low altitude economy — drone logistics, aerial survey, precision agriculture, infrastructure inspection, medical delivery and eventually urban air mobility — is one of the fastest forming new industrial sectors in the world, and it is o...
View programme BEng (Hons)Bachelor of Engineering in Smart Infrastructure and Construction Technology
Uganda will build more infrastructure in the next twenty-five years than in its entire history, and construction remains among the largest absolute job creators in the world. The failure mode is not a shortage of civil engineers but a short...
View programme MScMaster of Science in Robotics and Autonomous Systems
A research and translation degree producing the small cadre able to lead robotics programmes in African industry and to found deep technology ventures. It is deliberately weighted towards deployable systems rather than simulation results, a...
View programme MEngMaster of Engineering in Integrated Circuit Design
The global shortage of chip design and verification engineers is structural, the work is routinely performed remotely, and the barrier to African participation is training rather than capital. This programme converts engineering and computi...
View programme MScMaster of Science in Advanced Manufacturing Systems
Industrial transformation in Uganda is constrained less by machinery than by the absence of engineers who can design, digitalise and lead a production system. This programme is built for working manufacturing professionals and for graduates...
View programme PhDDoctor of Philosophy in Intelligent Engineering
Doctoral research across robotics, microelectronics, manufacturing, autonomous systems and smart infrastructure, anchored in African engineering problems and required to terminate in something that works outside a laboratory. Candidates pub...
View programme