Master in Mathematics, Project Engineering

The Master’s Degree in Mathematical Sciences, granting 120 credits, links theory and practice, and combines analytical and numerical approaches. Three main focuses are offered : In-depth focus, focus on teaching, and focus on specialisation, each orientation leading to 30 specific credits within the 120 required credits. Students are first allowed to choose subjects from a wide range of options and then begin to concentrate on those that are specific to the sought focus, either in the first or the second year of the Master’s degree, depending on how their decision evolves. The training includes compulsory courses as well as optional courses, internships / work placements and personal projects, plus a research project and dissertation on a chosen topic to conclude the studies.

High-level techniques of programming, learning of languages and ethical reflection on sustainable development, as well as the possibility of an exchange programme under the Erasmus scheme, are all aspects with which Unamur seeks to enhance the profile of today’s mathematician, regardless of the chosen focus.

The Master’s degree with a focus on specialisation

This orientation, which is the one that particularly corresponds to the Unamur approach, allows students who are planning to work in firms and entities both from the public and the private sectors, to focus more specifically on preparing their future professional life and projects.

Students carry out team work on a project that is new for each year. The project calls for unexplored techniques and practical knowledge of applied Mathematics as a response to a current problem in society. Interdisciplinary skills are obviously at the heart of this approach. The nature of these projects can go from the setting up of a get-together in space, to the creation of a synthetic population, the choice of a gift on Facebook,  the construction of a robot, or collecting data on an individual’s whereabouts on Twitter. The training sessions are organised in short and specific modules, with emphasis on team work and on  programming in various languages, under the supervision of members of staff or external coaches. Deadlines are to be met and regular reports are to be written, with the purpose of resembling the rhythm of the professional world. The reality of work within a firm or entity is at the center of this orientation, which revolves around the project as well as the internship/ work placement lasting 3 to 5 weeks. Basic training in management is another important aspect of the training. Students are equally confronted with the current problems of the gathering of data, respect of privacy, and application of laws on confidential details. A single assessment before a jury that includes members of faculty as well as external judges finalises this intensive four-month period.

Students who choose to spread out the specialisation courses over the two years of the Master’s degree can begin the internship / work placement in a firm or entity and follow the training in management from the first year on. The carrying out of the project then takes place more specifically in the second year.