Testimonials of graduates of the Industrial Electrical Engineering study programme
Ing. Baško Martin, PhD. — process engineer in plastic surface treatment development
The doctoral studies at KTPE under the supervision of prof. Kováč first and foremost taught me a very valuable skill — to see and analyse problems from a complex perspective, since my dissertation work spanned the fields of electrical engineering, civil engineering and physics. Teaching courses and presenting research results helped me overcome stage fright when speaking in front of an audience, since presenting results to management or at regular meetings is today an inseparable part of work at senior positions in any company. Doctoral studies and solving a complex problem within one’s own scientific work is an experience I strongly recommend to anyone interested in taking their expertise to a new level, because the department’s top-class equipment and creative atmosphere provide exceptionally favourable conditions for study.
I work at ZKW Slovakia, a major automotive supplier in the area of lights for cars and trucks. In my role I am responsible for the development of lights from the perspective of the feasibility of surface treatments — that is, metallisation and painting — which for me was a completely new area, more related to chemistry and materials. However, the ability to quickly study up on and orient myself in various technological disciplines, gained thanks to my doctoral studies, helped me significantly to succeed and to meet the challenge. In addition to development work, the job also involves solving technological problems on production equipment, where I again encounter electrical engineering, such as PLCs, which are an inseparable part of every piece of production equipment. Today’s industry needs specialists with broad knowledge across multiple disciplines, and studying at KTPE is the best way to set out toward this goal and open up interesting opportunities in life.
Peter Čerevka — industrial line programmer
Studying at KTPE was very interesting, as the department is equipped with modern facilities and most courses combined practical testing of theoretical knowledge on the available equipment. This way one could learn much more than just through theoretical study. The teachers’ approach to students is very humane, and they are always willing to help and advise. I work as a PLC and robotic systems programmer. My job is to create programs for industrial lines and also to modify previous programs, most often directly at the customer’s site (sometimes even abroad). At university I gained knowledge of PLC system programming, which I use daily in my work. Visualisations of programs, working with various types of motors, and getting communication over different industrial buses up and running are also essential parts of the job. The foundation for all of this was given to me by KTPE. I work at ZKW Slovakia, a major automotive supplier in the area of lights for cars and trucks. In my role I am responsible for the development of lights from the perspective of the feasibility of surface treatments — that is, metallisation and painting — which for me was a completely new area, more related to chemistry and materials. However, the ability to quickly study up on and orient myself in various technological disciplines, gained thanks to my doctoral studies, helped me significantly to succeed and to meet the challenge. In addition to development work, the job also involves solving technological problems on production equipment, where I again encounter electrical engineering, such as PLCs, which are an inseparable part of every piece of production equipment. Today’s industry needs specialists with broad knowledge across multiple disciplines, and studying at KTPE is the best way to set out toward this goal and open up interesting opportunities in life.
Ondrej Lipták — designer and programmer
My job involves the design of algorithms and control loops and their implementation, tuning, testing and commissioning of software; designs and specifications of instruments; preparation of drawing documentation for projects; design supervision; testing and commissioning; design and specification of control system configuration; and assistance with warranty and post-warranty service.
After completing my studies at KTPE I went through several interviews at various companies, and it was clear everywhere that there is great demand for graduates with a focus similar to that of the Industrial Electrical Engineering study programme. Since the company I eventually joined is a “Solution Partners Siemens” company, the decisive factor in my hiring was my experience with Siemens software and hardware, gained during my studies in several courses and while working on my Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. At work, however, I also draw on knowledge gained from the wide range of other courses in the IEE study programme, such as CAD systems, project management, and many other electrical engineering subjects.
From the first week after joining the company I worked on a project to implement the control system for feed pumps for steam boilers. My task was to program a redundant PLC, fully create the project in STEP7, write the operating procedure, commission the control system, and train the operators. The university thus gave me complete knowledge so that I could start working on real projects immediately after joining the company without needing extensive further training.
I am therefore very glad I chose to study at KTPE — not only because of the good preparation for employment after my studies, but also because of the supportive approach of the staff and the opportunity for students to specialise in what most interested them in the Industrial Electrical Engineering study programme.
Juraj Topolčani — implementation engineer
I work for a contractor company AT&T — NATEK as an implementation engineer. The project (a contract between AT&T and Shell) that Natek manages is called UCC — Unified Communications and Collaboration. The bulk of the project consists of sub-projects such as desk phone removal, DiD (softphone number) management, VoIP telephony, Response Group Service, Attendant Console, etc. Currently the hottest and most prominent sub-project is the migration of Shell from the OCS server (Office Communicator Services) to Lync 2013 (Microsoft). This migration involves migrating approximately 159,000 Shell employees from the older server to the newer one. In simple and very abbreviated terms — Shell is moving from an older server to a newer, better one.
The team I belong to is called CoE OSD team — Centre of Excellence OCS Service Desk. From the name of the team you can tell that the role is mainly about support. I work on a team that has to be on standby 24/7, but during nights and weekends we have “on-call duty”. I belong to a young, promising team where I feel very comfortable.
My main responsibilities include:
– DiD (softphone number) management, support — changing users’ numbers
– Implementation of ranges on voice gateways (Sonus SBC2000)
– Implementation and support of VoIP phones
– Handling incident tickets
– Setting feature rules (P2P audio/video, conferencing, overlay — outbound calling, etc.)
– Working with Active Directory — setting policies and the like
As for my studies at the department, I have to say that I am very satisfied. The necessary knowledge (Windows Server, Linux, MySQL databases courses) that I gained while studying at KTPE served me as a good springboard for settling into a new workplace.
Michal Nemetz — software administrator
I work for a company engaged in GPS monitoring for any kind of vehicle fleet or type of transport (trucks, cars, forklifts, buses, cranes, …), in the position of Software Support Specialist. My basic job duties are: Administration of the software part of monitoring devices
– initial configuration of the monitoring unit with the monitoring system, changes to the software settings of the monitoring unit as needed; diagnosis of malfunctions of
– monitoring units, software products, monitoring servers and systems; consulting work regarding
– configuration of software products, configuration of monitoring units, use of software products, configuration and management of the interconnection of monitoring servers, systems and units; responding to all requests, complaints and questions from customers — phone, internal Helpdesk application,
Of the knowledge I gained during my studies at KTPE, I use mainly the knowledge from courses such as:
– Windows Server, when connecting to the customer’s RDP server via VPN
– electrical engineering knowledge helped me understand the inputs/outputs of monitoring units (in addition to GPS we also monitor electrical impulses, e.g. on hydraulic cranes, buffers, etc.)
Miroslav Hudák — process engineer
I work at the U-shin s.r.o. assembly plant. It is a global company with a majority market share in access mechanisms. I am part of the production department for latches in the continuous improvement team. My job involves the continuous improvement of processes on assembly lines as well as on automated lines. My responsibilities include training operators, ensuring an ergonomic and safe environment, but also maintaining and improving production quality, creating corrective measures in case of complaints, shortening the line cycle time, modifying the PLC program or creating parts of the program for a new technology. The current situation in industry requires great speed in the development of new technologies, which gives technically focused disciplines enormous potential for very rapid professional growth in several directions at once. For example, my work offers me continuous improvement of my skills in electrical installation, in pneumatic and hydraulic systems, mechanical construction and the design of professional sensor and camera systems, and last but not least, programming industrial PLC computers, which form the control core of every line. Today’s labour market requires versatile people with a broad overview of multiple fields at once. Understanding how such a system is interconnected leads to correct control, reliability and functionality of the entire process.
Ing. Peter Barci — validation engineer
My job involves the validation and qualification of packaging equipment and instruments for aseptic filling (Bosch lines), mostly directly at customers’ sites (Asia, USA, Europe, South America), calibration of sensors (pressure, air flow velocity, temperature sensors, etc.), basic maintenance of measuring instruments, creation and revision of qualification documentation including protocols and individual installation, operational and other tests for these lines (mostly in home-office mode), carrying out individual measurements and tests directly on the lines and processing the documentation.
As a graduate, I already in my first month at the company took part in training sessions and real projects in Germany and China; at the beginning of February I am travelling to Malaysia, for which I am grateful both to the company and to KTPE, which provided me with a broad theoretical and practical overview of the fundamentals of electrical engineering as such, measurement technology, sensor technology, the principle of operation of individual technologies, the basics of processing and evaluating measured data, the basics of PLC programming — all of which enables my current work at the company. Another practical benefit for me is the precision and attention to detail with which it is necessary to create qualification documentation, which I acquired while preparing my Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. Of course, it is not possible for KTPE FEI TUKE to give students all the knowledge applicable in their specific field; in my case, however, I use it to a considerable extent. Still, I dare say that more important than information is the ability to process and solve a task, a problem, a project — and KTPE fosters this ability in students in an incredible way.
Ing. Michal Števák — industrial technician and programmer
For me, studying at KTPE was one of the best decisions I could have made for my education. During my studies at the department I always encountered a supportive and above all humane approach and a willingness to help at any time, even outside consultation hours. With the education I acquired, finding a job right after finishing my studies was not a problem.
I work as a technician and programmer in industry, which primarily involves programming PLCs and robotic systems. Of the knowledge I gained during my studies at KTPE, I use mainly knowledge from electrical engineering, control and power electronics — the principles of operation of drives and converters (operation and parameterisation of frequency converters), the operation and programming of PLCs, the visualisation of technological processes, the principle of operation of buses and communication interfaces, measurement and sensor technology, and many others I continually discover are useful to me.
Ing. Marek Štulajter — test engineer
I work as a test engineer testing electronic parking brakes. Of the knowledge I have used in practice, it is mainly the programs of the Office suite. Procedures are created in them according to which the climatic chambers operate. These are often modified and new ones are created. In the climatic chamber, brake callipers with the motor unit of an electronic parking brake are mounted, and they operate at various temperatures, voltages, currents and times. Individual recorded values from sensors and waveforms are then regularly evaluated. Reports are created from the obtained data.
For the past few months I have been at the sister plant in the Czech Republic, where production of such motor units is being launched, and I am there analysing manufactured pieces as well as various ways of testing and analysing them, according to established standards. My job also includes preparing final reports, processing data, and occasionally communicating with German colleagues. I also occasionally work with various sensors and DC motors. Of course, all standards are in English and the resulting reports and measurement records are also done in English, so the language skills and knowledge of metrology acquired at KTPE are very useful to me.