RADMEP: FROM RESEARCH PROJECT TO INTERNATIONAL MASTER'S PROGRAMME

ONDERWIJSONTWIKKELING IN DE KIJKER

At Geel Campus, the ADVISE research group is involved in the development of chips that are able to withstand ionizing radiation. During meetings with the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CERN, in Geneva, the idea arose for establishing a research network in this field. This became RADSAGA, a successful Horizon 2020 ITN network on radiation effects in microchips. The project includes top institutes such as ESA and CNES, renowned companies such as Airbus and Intel, and partner universities. The RADMEP partners all come from this network.

Fifteen PhD tracks at different institutes in Europe have been supported through the RADSAGA project. Prof. Paul Leroux, chair of Geel Campus, has been promoting six RADSAGA PhDs and served as RADSAGA coordinator for outreach, communication and training in the network. “One of the RADSGA dreams was to establish an international school on radiation effects in electronics as a RADSAGA legacy“, explains Prof. Leroux. “This ambition remained active during the course of the project. With four RADSAGA protagonists, we decided that the best way forward is an Erasmus Mundus Master’s application under the lead of Université Jean-Monnet of Saint-Etienne in France. One year later we have the RADMEP programme granted with a substantial European funding for the coming five years”.

Prof. Paul Leroux

©Joren De Weerdt

Implementation

The students in RADMEP will start their first semester at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. In the second semester of the programme, they will travel to our Faculty of Engineering Technology at Geel Campus for a full semester of courses.

“Microelectronics is the main focus, ranging from basic to advanced implementation courses”, Prof. Leroux continues. “Also a workshop in photonics will be included in the programme, partly with external specialised lecturers. In the third semester, the students who specialise in Microelectronics will continue their study at the University of Montpellier. Those who specialize in photonics will move to the University of Saint-Etienne”. KU Leuven will also play an important role in the quality assurance board in RADMEP, as this will be coordinated by Prof. Wim Van Petegem.

The preparation for next year’s first edition of the master programme is already in full swing. The timetable of some courses on Geel Campus has been adapted to fit with the new RADMEP master. Some courses are already taught in English and recorded, such that they can be offered in a blended format next year. Meanwhile also the registration deadline for the first RADMEP generation has passed and no less than 62 students have applied. The screening and selection of applicants is currently ongoing.

The academic course team in Geel also includes academics such as Jeffrey Prinzie, Guy Meynants, Valentijn De Smedt, Peter Karsmakers and Mariya Ishteva. Together they will offer 22 credits of mandatory courses and 5 optional courses with each 4 ECTS from which the students will select 2 modules.

IMPACT

The most obvious impact will be visible on Geel Campus, where a tradition of international PhD researcher already exists, but an international master’s programme is new. Moreover, RADMEP is expected to give an impulse for outgoing international mobility. According to Prof. Leroux, RADMEP will be a challenge for the administrative services, but the enthusiasm is great and obviously the campus can rely on the experience of the faculty international team.

“The relation to research is also self-evident”, says Prof. Leroux. “The students are trained in the core of our research field, and hopefully several of them will be motivated to start a PhD after completing the RADMEP master. Moreover, these students are already screened beforehand, so they will have a good starting level. The intention is to create a fruitful interaction between education, research and relevant industries.” The early dream of “an international school of radiation to electronics” thus takes shape.

How does this fit in the career path of Prof. Leroux? “I feel very honoured to be a part of this project. Even though developing a new master’s programme is a lot of work. Fifteen years ago, I started with a research group, five years ago this resulted in a two-person spin-off company (MAGICS Instruments), which has already grown to over 20 people in size, and now a third aspect is to start, a new master’s programme. Summarizing: what started with a small seed, is now a big tree with growing branches in research, industry and education.”

Hilde Lauwereys