The II Level Specializing Master on Navigation and Related Applications is a joint initiative of Politecnico di Torino and Istituto Superiore Mario Boella (ISMB) with the collaboration of Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris (IEN) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UN-OOSA).

The II Level Specializing Master is a post graduate academic program (taken after a Master of Science program) that provides high quality training. It provides students with professional knowledge and skills.

Innovative, added-value services and applications strictly related to user positioning information are acquiring more and more importance due to the potential benefits for the world-wide community.
Nowadays, civil users are able to fix their position on the basis of ranging signals broadcast by GPS satellites, but the problem is that GPS remains a military system and this fact limits the diffusion of potential services (with particular reference to critical and safety of life applications).
For this reason, the Galileo system which represents the European initiative in the field of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) will be a real boost for the introduction of navigation and positioning applications in the worldwide wireless mass-market. In addition, it has to be remarked that terrestrial locating systems based on wireless communication networks and integration of GNSS signals with communication signals (e.g., WLAN and Galileo) will represent a natural way for the diffusion of navigation-related services. In the next future a substantial amount of skilled personnel will be engaged in production and management of innovative navigation-oriented applications.
At the same time, short time-to-market is becoming a must for companies engaged in the development of navigation hardware, services and applications, which require advanced technical skills as well as a broad vision of the navigation/localization technologies at large.
The II Level Specializing Master in Navigation and Related Applications (MNA) is an effective answer to the work market demands in terms of high level technicians endowed with a broad vision of the navigation/ localization world but also with specific skills.

Destinatari
In order to be enrolled at the II Level Specializing Master program, applicants must have a 5-year (10 semesters) university career. The MNA program is addressed to graduate students having completed a Master of Science Degree or an equivalent title in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Enviromental Engeneering, Communication Engineering, Information Technology or related subjects. Written and spoken English is required (English is the official language of the MNA), together with basic notions in communication theory and electronics.
To profitably attend the Specializing Master program, candidates should have some background in the areas:

• Principles of digital communications
• Principles of digital signal processing
• Basics of electromagnetic wave propagation
• Basics of software tools (e.g. Matlab) and programming languages (e.g. C)

No basic knowledge in navigation is required. A lack of background in one or two of the above listed areas is considered acceptable.
Specializing master students are under the obligation to attend the specializing master program throughout the established one-year period and to acquire the related credits. A specializing master student cannot be enrolled in any other university program.

Contenuti
The MNA provides an extensive background in navigation/localization systems as well as a detailed analysis on NAV/COM integration and environmental monitoring applications or a specific training on timing. The courses range from system aspects, receiver technologies (hardware design) and innovative applications based on the user position.
Courses will cover the following aspects:

1. GPS and Galileo systems
2. Support systems for GPS and Galileo,
3. terrestrial and satellite-based (e.g., EGNOS)
4. GNSS regulatory aspects
5. Receiver technologies Localization in cellular systems (and WLAN)
6. Navigation and communication hybridization (GNSS + wireless networks)
7. Applications of GNSS in surveys and mapping
8. Added-value navigation-related services and applications
9. Timing and time scale generation
10. Synchronization.

Fall Term

• Communication Systems and DSP 6 CFU (Prof. Roberto Garello)
• Basics on geomatics and satellite orbits 4 CFU (Dr. Marco Roggero)
• GNSS Introduction 4 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• Timing in navigation systems 2 CFU (Adjunct professor)

Winter Term

• Time scale and timing in GPS and Galileo 2 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• Carrier phase positioning, augmentation and integrity 4 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• GPS and Galileo receivers 5 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• Front-End Technologies and Antennas 3 CFU (Prof. Marina Mondin)

Spring Term

• GNSS Related Applications 3 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• Integration of satellite navigation and other positioning technologies 3 CFU (Prof. Letizia Lo Presti)
• Fundamentals on Time and Frequency Metrology 3 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• Environmental applications of GNSS technology 5 CFU (Adjunct professor)
• Wide Area Augmentation Systems and their Applications 3 CFU (Dr. Fabio Dovis)
• Atmospheric effects for navigation and remote sensing 3 CFU (Dr. Riccardo Notarpietro)
• Laboratory of time and frequency metrology 3 CFU (Dr. Giovanni Antonio Costanzo)
• GNSS Applications to Air Traffic Management 3 CFU (Adjunct professor).

Note

Durata The MNA program starts in September and its duration is 12 months including a period of 3 months for pilot projects (internships). The second level specializing master is a full time program and attendance is compulsory. Students are allowed to miss at a maximum of 10% of lectures (illness included). Absences (except for the ones certified for medical problems) must be certified and approved by the master Coordinator. The program includes 70 educational credits, 50 corresponding to courses, 20 to a internship in a lab or a company operating in the field of navigation (or in the field of production of navigation-related applications) and/or in the technical laboratories of ISMB and IEN. It should be remarked that students can do the pilot project in a technical lab in their own home country under the supervision of a local tutor and the coordination of a member of the scientific committee of the MNA. Courses are divided in 5 main modules:

• Basic of communication systems and digital signal processing
• Satellite navigation systems: fundamentals and description of present systems (GPS and Galileo)
• Receiver technologies and applications of satellite navigation
• GNSS application areas

1. 3-A NAV/COM integration and GNSS technologies for environmental monitoring
2. 3-B Timing

• Pilot project.

Stage Internship is a training period offered by major companies operating in the Specializing Master field. During the internship the student is officially allocated within a company, with full insurance coverage during working hours. It is compulsory and its duration is about 3 months (480 hours). During this period student will be supported by the Specializing Master coordinator and supervised by his tutors (at Politecnico di Torino and in the company); at the end they will acquire 20 educational credits (ECTS) doing a pilot project. To set up an Internship the Master Office will be supported by the Stage & Job Placement Office. Costo The tuition fee is 8.000 Euro divided in two instalments, the first one at the moment of the enrollment and the second one at the end of March, but for this II Level Specializing Master course there is also the opportunity of obtaining a scholarship. There is also the possibiliy to be enrolled only to some courses of the II Level Specializing Master and this possibility is generally addressed to people that wants to specifically deepen only some topics. The Master Coordinator will take into consideration the request depending on the course admission requirements, availability in the classroom etc. Borse di studio e finanziamenti

• Politecnico di Torino, thanks to the support of the Compagnia di San Paolo, offers international students the possibility to receive a scholarship in addition to the coverage of tuition fees (8,000 Euro). The gross amount of the scholarship is 6,000 Euro*.  This amount could not be sufficient for the living costs in Italy, students will need their own pocket money. Payment of the scholarship occurs periodically (12 instalments). The first instalment is dependent upon the possession of the relevant documentation (residence permit, Italian fiscal code, and bank account in the name of the scholarship recipient), all obtainable upon arrival in Italy; for this reason, the first instalment is not paid at the moment of arrival at the Politecnico di Torino (September), but at the end of October. Payment of the scholarship and the participation to the II level specializing master course will be suspended if the academic performance of the recipient does not meet a satisfactory level. Scholarship winners will be selected among the students who have successfully completed and submitted the online application form within May (h 11:59 a.m., Italian time). All candidatures correctly received by the deadline will be taken into consideration for the available scholarships, it is not necessary to fill in any other proper document. * around 450 Euro net per month.
• Borsa Città di Torino (Città di Torino Grant). One grant amounting to Euro 6.000,00 * gross will be provided by the "Comitato ICT" (Città di Torino, Politecnico di Torino, Santer Reply SPA). The Master Scientific Committee will assign it on a meritocratic basis. Please note that the Città di Torino grant covers the tuition fees for recipients. Payment of the scholarship occurs periodically (12 instalments). The first instalment is dependent upon the possession of the relevant documentation (Italian fiscal code, and bank account in the name of the scholarship recipient); for this reason, the first instalment is not paid at the moment of arrival at the Politecnico di Torino (September), but at the end of October. Payment of the scholarship and the participation to the II level specializing master course will be suspended if the academic performance of the recipient does not meet a satisfactory level. Scholarship winner will be selected among the students who have successfully completed and submitted the online application form within May (h 11:59 a.m., Italian time). All candidatures correctly received by the deadline will be taken into consideration for the available scholarships, it is not necessary to fill in any other proper document. * around 450 Euro net per month.
• Politecnico di Torino, thanks to ISMB financial support offers one grant to a Vietnamese student: Borsa Istituto Superiore Mario Boella (ISMB Grant). One grant amounting to Euro 6.000,00* gross will be provided by the "ISMB" (Istituto Superiore Mario Boella) to a Vietnamese citizen. In the framework of the Italy-Vietnam cooperation on Global Navigation Satellite Systems promoted by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, ISMB provides one scholarship reserved for Vietnamese citizens. The Master Scientific Committee will assign it on a meritocratic basis. Please note that the project covers the tuition fees for recipient of the ISMB Grant. Therefore the scholarship recipient is exempt from tuition fees. This amount could not be sufficient for the living costs in Italy, students will need their own pocket money. The amount of the scholarship will not be increased in case the student will have an internship extension. Payment of the scholarship occurs periodically (12 instalments). The first instalment is dependent upon the possession of the relevant documentation (Italian fiscal code, and bank account in the name of the scholarship recipient), all obtainable upon arrival in Italy; for this reason, the first instalment is not paid at the moment of arrival at the Politecnico di Torino (September 2012), but at the end of October. Payment of the scholarship and the participation to the II level specializing master course will be suspended if the academic performance of the recipient does not meet a satisfactory level. Scholarship winner will be selected among the students who have successfully completed and submitted the online application form within May (h 11:59 a.m., Italian time). All candidatures correctly received by the deadline will be taken into consideration for the available scholarships, it is not necessary to fill in any other proper document. * around 450 Euro net per month.