Technical Aspects

Technical Focus

Sensor technology is among the fastest-developing branches in modern technology, and contributes to all aspects of industrial applications. The transformation in miniature, intelligent and convoluted sensor systems will enable scientific and engineering innovations to leap the advances ranging from defense, space, civil, health to environmental technology sectors. To embrace such a transformation, the Certificate Program in Sensor Technology for Experiential Learning provides cross-disciplinary, experiential training in combined areas of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, environmental control, semiconductor and microelectronic. The goal of this Certificate program is to prepare the participants to establish the technical capability for tackling multifaceted challenges at workplace.

Program Elements

This Certificate program offers to committed participants who are expected to complete the 3-course (9-credit) Certificate in 8-12 months.

The Certificate Program consists of three courses (9-credit). It includes

• A core course, SENS 545, “Introduction to Sensors and Microelectronic Devices”, which provides a general introduction of sensor principles, techniques, devising, and application, and is tailored for a general audience, locally or remotely. The experiential learning opportunities will be provided through a two-stage training.

• Through mentored interdisciplinary sensor project course, SENS 546. Sensor experts in academia, industry and national labs are resources for these projects. They will design research projects to address problems identified by industrial partners. To promote multidisciplinary training, each participant’s project may have one or more faculty mentors (one is identified as a primary mentor) and one industrial partner, who will co-mentor the ExLENT participant to develop technical, communication and critical thinking skills, reducing the barrier for them to carry out a successful industrial internship.

• Through industrial internship course, SENS 558. Companies committed to collaborate will offer internships to the ExLENT participants. Upon completion of a co-mentored one-semester project on campus, each participant takes a one-semester internship at the industrial setting to fulfil the Certificate program requirement while readily equipped to launch a career in the emerging technology fields.

• Experiential learning opportunities will be offered in four broad areas of sensor technology: sensor materials, sensing modalities, device prototyping and data processing.

• The lecture course and on-campus project are evaluated by a letter grade, and the industrial internship is evaluated by pass/fail. Participants are expected to achieve a GPA of 3.0 or above to be awarded the Certificate.

• The Certificate Program is stackable to the MS in Sensor Science and Technology Program at Illinois Tech. For participants who would pursue higher education in other institutions, we will provide documents, including course syllabi and recommendation letters, to support their applications.

Program Timeline Example: