What is Telecommunications Engineering? Telecommunications engineering course is concerned with the design, development and maintenance of all aspects of voice and data communications systems – from satellite and optical fibre networks to data encoding, compression and encryption.

Telecommunication engineers are responsible for providing people with the ability of communicating with each other on the telephone and using high-speed data services.

Communications is the fastest growing industrial sector in the world. The past few years have seen rapid and extensive developments in all aspects of telecommunications. In Uganda the trend is taking its way and because of this, Makerere University started offering the course in telecommunication engineering a few years ago.

Makerere university annually admits about 80 students on undergraduate level. The course takes 4 years to complete.

Entry requirements: An applicant must have obtained two advanced level passes, one in Mathematics and one in Physics, at the same sitting of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education or its equivalent. Key subjects considered include Mathematics and Physics as Essential subjects.

Chemistry, Economics, Technical Drawing, Applied Mathematics or Pure Mathematics are the other relevant subjects required for admission.

Telecommunication Engineering Career Opportunities: A graduate with a Telecommunications Engineering degree can work for telecommunications service providers (such as MTN, Vodafone, Orange, Airtel), major equipment and device manufacturers (such as Nokia, Samsung or Apple) and a huge range of specialist technology groups.

The demand for Telecommunications Engineers is growing as new technologies emerge.

Other opportunities include engineering positions involving planning, design, implementation, operation and management of telecommunications systems and networks. Completing the combined Master’s level program will give you a significant advantage when seeking employment.