The course consists of three components: lectures, problem-solving sessions, and laboratory sessions. The lecture component is delivered through traditional lectures. This part requires a significant amount of independent study by students in order to consolidate and complement the material covered in class. To support this work, students will have access to lecture notes prepared by the teaching staff, covering the entire syllabus, as well as the recommended bibliography and ICT-based learning resources.

The second component focuses on practical problem-solving. Some of the problems will be solved by the teaching staff during class, while others will be assigned as individual work for students.

The third component consists of 12 hours of laboratory sessions, designed both to reinforce the theoretical concepts covered in the course and to introduce new concepts through hands-on practical activities.

The primary communication channel between the teaching staff and students will be the UAB Virtual Campus: https://cv.uab.cat.

Note: Fifteen minutes of one class, according to the timetable established by the School/Degree Programme, will be reserved for students to complete the institutional surveys evaluating both the teaching staff’s performance and the course.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

This course does not offer the single-assessment option. The use of AI tools is not permitted in any assessment activities.

The course assessment is divided into theory (60%), problem assignments (15%), and laboratory work (25%). The final grade (FG) is calculated from the theory grade (TG), the assignment grade (AG), and the laboratory grade (LG) as follows:

• NF = 0,6*NT + 0,15*NE + 0,25*NP if NT >= 4,0
• NF = min(0,6*NT + 0,15*NE + 0,25*NP; 4,0) if NT < 4,0

Theory Grade (NT)

The theory grade may be obtained through:

• Continuous assessment (NAC): This consists of two multiple-choice tests taken during the semester, accounting for 50% of the theory grade (30% of the final course grade), each lasting approximately 1.5 hours: P1 for Topics 1 and 2 and P2 for Topics 3 and 4.
• Resit assessment: Students may take a final multiple-choice resit examination (PR) covering all course contents. The examination lasts approximately 2 hours and accounts for 100% of the theory grade (60% of the final course grade). The grade obtained is denoted NPR.
• Grade improvement through the resit examination: students are allowed to improve their theory grade through the resit examination. The final theory grade is calculated as: NT = max(NAC, NPR). If the student does not take the resit examination, then NT = NAC.
• At the instructors’ discretion, whenever deemed appropriate, any written assessment may be subsequently validated by means of an oral examination. In the event of any discrepancy between the results of the two assessments, the result of the oral examination shall prevail.

Laboratory Grade (LG)

• The laboratory grade consists of three components:
• Laboratory attendance (ALAB): Attendance accounts for 20% of the laboratory grade (5% of the final course grade). This component is not recoverable.
• Laboratory work (TLAB): The laboratory sessions focus on solving communication engineering problems using Software Defined Radio (SDR) platforms. At the end of each session, the progress of each team will be assessed. The average grade obtained in the first five laboratory sessions accounts for 40% of the laboratory grade (10% of the final course grade). This component is not recoverable.
• Laboratory synthesis test (PSLAB): This assessment is based on assembling and executing one of the laboratory experiments completed during the course. Students will be evaluated on both the correct implementation of the setup and their understanding of the procedures and underlying concepts through individual questions. This component accounts for 40% of the laboratory grade (10% of the final course grade) and is not recoverable.
• The laboratory grade is calculated as: NP = 0.20*ALAB + 0.40*TLAB + 0.40*PSLAB.
• Improvement of the laboratory grade is not permitted.

Assessment Schedule

• The assessment calendar will be provided on the first day of class and will be published on the UAB Virtual Campus and on the School of Engineering website, under the examinations section.
• The resit examination has an approximate duration of 2 hours.

Resit Procedure

• Students may take the resit examination (PR) provided that they have completed assessment activities representing at least two-thirds of the total course grade.
• If a student is unable to attend an assessment activity, the current assessment regulations of the UAB School of Engineering will apply. In the event that an assessment must be rescheduled, the teaching staff reserves the right to conduct the assessment in oral format.

Final Grades

• Honours Distinction (MH): The awarding of the Honours Distinction is at the discretion of the course instructors. According to UAB regulations, this distinction may only be awarded to students obtaining a final grade of 9.0 or higher. The number of honours distinctions awarded may not exceed 5% of the total number of enrolled students.
• Students who pass the course through the resit examination are not eligible for the Honours Distinction. Therefore, the highest possible final grade after the resit is Excellent.
• A student will be recorded as Not Assessed (NA) if either they have not completed assessment activities representing at least two-thirds of the total course grade, or they have not completed 100% of the theory assessment, that is, they have not taken either P1 or P2, and they have not taken the PR examination.

Academic Misconduct, Copying, and Plagiarism

• Without prejudice to any additional disciplinary measures that may be applied, any academic misconduct that may affect the outcome of an assessment activity will result in a grade of zero for that activity. This includes, but is not limited to, copying, plagiarism, cheating, facilitating cheating, or any other fraudulent behaviour.Assessment activities graded in this manner are not recoverable.
• Students should note that P1 and P2 are jointly recoverable through the PR examination. Consequently, plagiarism or academic misconduct in either P1 or P2 disqualifies the student from taking the PR resit examination.