The Department of Computer and Communications Engineering at the Antonine University (UA) has developed a well-defined set of Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) to assure the quality of our program and future success of our graduates. These objectives are broad statements that describe the professional accomplishments that a Computer and Communications Engineer should attain or achieve within a few years after graduation.

In the pursuit of our mission, and to fulfill the needs and expectations of the program's constituencies, the department developed Program Educational Objectives, which are the following:

• Graduates will demonstrate general technical knowledge, expertise, and leadership in the analysis, design, maintenance, evaluation, improvement, and innovation for contemporary problem solving in the field of information and communications technologies.
• Graduates will demonstrate a commitment to teamwork and a capability to lead and engage diverse teams through effective communication, interpersonal, entrepreneurial, and project management skills
• Graduates will demonstrate ethical engagement in the advancement of the engineering profession, by contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for the benefit of society in the environmental, economic, and societal dimensions.
• Graduates will demonstrate a strong commitment to pursuing life-long learning, research, and ongoing professional development opportunities.

To be eligible to pursue a degree in Computer and Communications Engineering, the candidate must have the following requirements:

• The candidate should hold a Lebanese Baccalaureate or equivalent diploma, in Life Sciences or General Sciences exclusively.
• The candidate should possess knowledge of both French and English for the French section, and English for the English Section.

The teaching methods delivered by the Department of Computer and Communications Engineering are different and varied in an array of forms, such as:

• Lectures: mainly addressed to a large group of students, during which they come to grips with the theoretical concepts underlying a subject matter. The teaching sessions are highly interactive, solicit the students’ full participation, and stimulate their interest, thus greatly improve the learning process.


• Practicum (TP): during which students come face to face with real-life experimental situations. Hence, students will be able to apply the theoretical notions in a practical setting. The assessment process will be based on the students' ability to implement acquired knowledge into practice.


• Tutorials (TD): during which students apply the knowledge gained during lectures to a series of exercises and case studies. Students will be assessed on their ability to apply those theoretical concepts to solving tasks.


• Problem-based learning: where students work in groups, discover, study, and apply the elements of the subject by solving problems with the help of the resources provided to them. Students will be assessed on their ability to work in a group, to analyze a problem, and to propose solutions based on their acquired knowledge.


• Project-based learning: where students wind up having a concrete product, achieved through the knowledge and skills gained from one or more courses. Students can work on the project either individually or in small groups. The assessment will be based on their ability to manage a project, work in a group, identify needs, carry out scientific research, propose solutions in answer to a practical challenge, and on the delivered project.

*The previously mentioned learning activities can be adopted partially or fully depending on the pedagogical nature of the course.

In addition to the mentioned learning activities and teaching strategies, students also validate their competencies through a Final Year Project and two Internships.

• Final Year project, during which students validate their specialization skills. They carry out a project resulting in hardware or software implementation. Students will design and carry out different stages of the project. Each student will have the aid of a supervisor, whose role is to support students during all of the project’s stages.

Registration takes place during Semester 8, with an overall duration spanning over nine months for the completion of the project’s requirements and its presentation. The project expected outcome is a concrete and complete product.

As to the assessment, it is divided into two steps:

• Progress assessment, called mid-project monitoring, is conducted through an oral presentation; and
• Final project’s assessment, the student has to deliver a scientific report and defend his project before a jury composed of the supervisor, a reviewer, and an examiner.

• Student "workman" internship, during which students discover the practical nature of work. They observe the running and implementation of the activities and participate in several basic tasks under the supervision and follow-up of an internship tutor designated by the company.
• Engineering internship, during which students validate the learned specialization skills in the framework of a company. Students join a work team and contribute to the project implementation, under the supervision of an internship tutor designated by the company and an instructor from the university.

The assessment of the students’ internship relies primarily on the student’s personal or collective contribution and the original input of the written production; hence, each citation of external sources must be adequately referenced.

The assessment of competencies and skills takes place during the semester of study and through a:

• Two-phase individual exams, including a mid-term part exam and a semester final exam. Students will be informed about the examination schedule via an administrative circular; and
• Learning assessment activities conducted during the course sessions such as tutorials, practicums, projects, quizzes, etc.

Each assessment represents a percentage value, whose total adds up to 100% of the final grade on the subject.

The grade distribution of a course is determined at the beginning of the semester and mentioned in the syllabus.

In case of any absence to the assessments, students should be aware that there would be no automatic make-up (retake) examination.

A course is validated when the final grade calculated is greater than or equal to the required average of 60%. Otherwise, the student will be bound to enroll once again in the course.

Registration in any course depends on the validation of the prerequisite and mandatory course(s).

The Program Learning Outcomes, yet articulated as Student outcomes, support the Program Educational Objectives. Attainment of these outcomes prepares graduates to enter the professional practice of engineering. The student outcomes are the following:

• An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
• An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
• An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
• An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
• An ability to function effectively in a team whose members together present leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
• An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
• An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

The Systems and Networks Option provides students with skills that enables them to administer and secure a network or computer system, develop modules (drivers) in open-source environments, work with virtualized systems and networks, work with different database management systems, and interconnect heterogeneous systems.

Using Software Defined Networking (SDN), students will be able to "program" a network that can be centrally controlled, and implement network automation.

Upon the completion of Systems and Networks option program, the student will be able to fill the following positions:

• System administrator.
• Design engineer in interconnection solutions for complex systems.
• Security administrator.
• Cyber security engineer.
• Business intelligence engineer.
• Database administrator.