Presentation on Wireless Communications courses and research at COMNET by PRof. Jyri Hämäläinen

1. Wireless Communications: On the education
and research
J. Hämäläinen, August 2013
Department of Communications and Networking

2. Contents
• International Master’s Programme in Communications
Engineering
• Master’s Thesis
• Doctoral education
• Comnet research

3. International
Master’s
Programme in
Communications
Engineering

4. The general structure
Our focus areas in
the following
discussion

5. Master’s Programme in Communications
Engineering: The general structure
Degree: Master of Science in Technology
- Two-year programme (120 ECTS)
- Three majors: Networking Technology, Radio
Communications, Digital Signal Processing
Structure: Six study modules:
1. Basic Module in Communications Engineering (20 cr)
2. Intermediate Module in Communications Engineering (20 cr)
3. Advanced Module in major (20 cr)
4. Methodological Studies (10 cr)
5. Elective Studies (20 cr)
6. Master Thesis (30 cr)
In the following we focus on Radio
communications major =>>>>>>
https://into.aalto.fi/display/enmasterelec/Homepage

6. Basic module in Radio Communications
(20cr)
Compulsory courses:
In addition at least 5cr is selected from a list of 3 courses
This module gives basic understanding on the communications
systems from radio communications perspective

7. Intermediate module in Radio
Communications (20cr)
Compulsory courses:
In addition at least 7cr is selected from a list of 8 courses
This module further enhance the understanding on the
communications systems from radio communications perspective

8. Advanced module in Radio
Communications (20cr)
Compulsory courses:
At least 5cr is selected from a list of 7 courses
Let us dig in bit deeper on some ideas in this module =>>>>>>

9. Course contents
• Radio Communication Systems I (RCS I)
– Contents: Fundamentals of channel modeling, radio system
evaluation methodology, general interference models, radio
interface protocols and procedures (general level perspective)
• Radio Communication Systems II (RCS II)
– Contents: Principles and standards of recent mobile
communication systems (HSPA, LTE, LTE-Advanced) are
considered in details.
• Radio Resource and Spectrum Management (RRSM)
– Contents: Modeling of interference in wireless networks,
interference mitigation and control, spectrum access methods
and policies, fairness - performance tradeoff.

10. Idea behind the studies in this module
• RCS I and RRSM:
– Goal of the courses is to strengthen the student’s understanding
on the radio communication systems and control principles.
– Content of the courses is relatively static
• RCS II:
– The course material is updated almost every year according to
progress in technology evolution.
– Focus is in most recent/widely deployed communication
system(s). This year main focus will be in LTE and LTE-
Advanced. Last year focus was on WCDMA/HSPA and LTE
– Course is focusing on radio communication principles from
standards perspective.
Goal: Understanding on theoretical principles, practical systems
and standards. Target is also that students can more easily find
MSc thesis work from industry

11. RCS II: Implementation 1/3
• Lectures and exercises
– Exercise problems consider both mathematical problems and
literature study where publications are used as a reference
material
• Group assignment
– Done in groups of 4-6 students
– Consists of: presentation, debate, and report
– Each group has assigned instructor (MSc/DSc level teacher)
– Topics related to technologies that are recently/currently
standardized
– Applied material should include both scientific papers and
standardization documents

12. RCS II: Implementation 2/3
Presentation and debate:
– Each presentation consists of two
parts, and has duration of 30
minutes.
– First, 2-3 members of the group
(supporters of the technology) give a
brief overview of the topic and their
findings (10-15 min).
– This is followed by a debate (15
min), where the rest of the group
takes the role of opponents of the
technology that was presented
– Audience and teachers may make
questions as well.

13. RCS II: Implementation 3/3
• Report
– group prepares a final report related to the presentation topic.
The report should have a length of approximately 7-10 pages
and form of the report is defined by report guidelines
• Grading
– The course exam gives a maximum of 30 points
• On top of exam points student may get (at maximum) 12 points
from the group assignment and 3 points from the exercises.
– Out of the 12 points, the teachers will give a maximum of 8
points, and the remaining 4 points will be given based on group
peer evaluation
• each group member evaluates the work done by the other group
members. The peer evaluation will be carried out at the end of the
course by e-mail.

14. Experiences from RCS II
• In general experiences has been very good and students
have liked the course
• Participation to group work should be closely followed.
Otherwise 1-2 students in each group may work less than
others
• Grading is slightly challenging - especially the comparison of
group works
• Students have been maybe too easily gaining high grades
but that has been incentive to attract students to the groups
– Course can be optionally carried out individually, then individual
assignment needs to be done but no extra points are granted

15. Methodological (10cr) and elective
studies (20cr)
Methodological module: Compulsory course
At least 5cr is selected from the list that includes mostly math courses
Elective studies: Compulsory course
In addition, choose any courses to fulfill 20cr module

16. Master’s thesis

17. MSc thesis principles
• Work load: 30cr (= 6 months work)
• Supervised by Aalto professor, instructor must admit at
least MSc degree
– The purpose of the thesis is to prove that the student has
acquired the level of maturity that is required for a higher
university degree.
– Thus, students are required to prove that they master their
majors and the methods of research in their respective fields,
and are also capable of carrying out an academic research
project in an independent and mature way.
8/20/2013
17
https://into.aalto.fi/display/enmasterelec/Master%27s+thesis

18. MSc thesis principles
• Most thesis works done while working fulltime (either
employed or on a scholarship)
• The objective is to complete the thesis work in 6 months,
– It is not uncommon to finalize the project in eight or nine months.
• Thesis options:
– Based on needs of businesses and industries (most usual case)
• Funding and instructor from the company that orders the work
– Based on the needs of the academic community
• Funding (in some cases) and instructor from university
– Students can also suggest a topic based on their own interests
• Not very usual case, thesis done without funding

19. Typical MSc thesis structure
1. Introduction
– Background discussion and setting the research problems, and
discussing the importance and justification of the study.
2. Theory
– May include required theoretical background, literature study on
the topic, and general level system description (example:
description of 3G or 4G including the parts needed to
understand the thesis problem)
These parts of the thesis can be usually written based on
textbooks, publications and e.g. standardization documents

20. Typical MSc thesis structure
3. Description (=what has been done and how)
– May include discussion on research methodology, especially in
case of simulations and experimental studies. Also specific
aspects of the research problem and its potential solutions can
be discussed.
4. Presentation of the results and analysis
– Student show the results and analyze them carefully.
5. Conclusions
– Summary of the results and optionally a discussion on the future
research directions
These parts contain core part of the student’s own work.

21. Follow-up
• Supervisor:
– After defining/accepting the structure supervisor gives for the
student a possibility to explain the progress made, which the
supervisor can then comment. Supervisor may give guidance on
some content issues especially when thesis is done in university
research project.
– In the end of the process supervisor write the statement on the
thesis and proposes the grade – after discussing with instructor.
• Instructor:
– Main advisor on technical, content and writing issues. Instructor
also may support student to achieve high quality presentation,
and help student to find relevant references. Instructor may also
support student with tools and laboratory arrangements.

22. Thesis example
Osman Yilmaz: Self-Optimization of Coverage
and Capacity in LTE using Adaptive Antenna
Systems (Nokia Siemens Networks), 2010.
Learning the thesis framework:
Network self-optimization in LTE
Writing of the thesis
report. Also two
conference papers
were done. Now
Osman is with Nokia
System
modeling
Performance
evaluation

23. Thesis example
Ankit Bhamri: Distributed coding and
modulation for 2-hop communication via
relays (Eurecom, France), 2010.
Writing of the
thesis report.
Ankit got PhD
student position
from
Eurecom, Fran
ce.
Understanding LTE and
relaying basics.
LTE physical
layer modeling.
Implementation
on simulator
and HW.

24. Beneyam Berehanu Haile: Co-channel
Interference in Heterogeneous Networks:
Rician/Rayleigh Scenario (Comnet), 2010.Thesis example
Understanding
the system model
Creating the mathematical toolbox
Deducing the results
Showing the results
Writing of the thesis report. Beneyam
is now a doctoral student in Comnet

25. Doctoral education

26. General structure of doctoral studies
• Recommended duration: 4 years
• Doctoral degree requirements
– Theoretical studies (40cr)
– Doctoral thesis that is examined by external evaluators and
defended in public.
– Student should demonstrate independent and critical thinking in
relation to their field of research
• Theoretical studies are divided into two modules:
– Research field (20-35cr)
– Scientific practises and principles (5-20cr).
https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoralelec/Homepage

27. Theoretical studies
on the research field
• Research field (20-35cr):
– Currently in School of Electrical Engineering there are 29 fields
(with named responsible professor(s)).
– In Comnet there are 5 research fields represented:
• Communications Engineering
• Network Economics
• Information Theory
• Networking Technology
• Teletraffic Theory
• Supervisor of the doctoral student usually is also
responsible professor of the research field

28. Scientific practises and
principles
• Scientific practises and principles (5-20cr):
– The aim is to provide students key characteristics of scientific
research and scientific knowledge. Students learn to apply the
principles of good scientific practice.
– The study module may include studies in research methodology,
research ethics and the history or philosophy of science and
principles of scientific writing.
– Also learning about university practices, such as teaching and
guidance of research work, can be included.
– The module may include some scientific preparatory tasks
related to the research project and presentations in a scientific
conference in the research field of the student.

29. Doctoral thesis
• Article dissertation, i.e., several scientific articles, published or
accepted for publication, and a summary of these.
– In joint papers the contribution of the doctoral candidate should be
independent one.
– It is not recommend that an article dissertation contains conference
papers alone
– Extended abstracts (1-2 pages) and papers published in national
conferences must not be included in a doctoral dissertation
• Monograph: Coherent scientific contribution on the research field.
– In practice almost all monographs are based on papers published by candidate.
– In case of monograph candidate must specify his or her own contribution to the
dissertation
– If number of papers on which the monograph is based is small, then the
evaluation of a monograph is difficult. Such works require more often corrections
and changes which means that the review process becomes longer
https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoralelec/Instructions+for+writing+the+doctoral+dissertation

30. Quality control
• Doctoral Programme Committee of the School
– Approve the research topic and confirm the study plans of
doctoral students
– Appoint the preliminary examiners for doctoral dissertation
– Decide on the permission to publish dissertation manuscript
– Appoint the opponent(s) for the defense
– Grade dissertation
• This is true quality control
– There are many cases in which committee has given negative
decisions in different phases of the doctoral degree process.

31. Doctoral thesis: Examples
• Ömer Bulakci: ”Backhaul Link Enhancement and Radio Resource
Management for Relay Deployments”, 2013
– Main publications: 5 Journal papers and 6 conference papers
– Length: 76 pages (the summary part)
• Jarno Nousiainen: “Forwarding Capacity in Large Wireless Multihop
Networks”, 2013
– Main publications: 1 Journal paper and 7 conference papers
– Length: 126 pages (the summary part)
• Muhammad Al-Rawi: “Opportunistic Packet Scheduling Algorithms
for Beyond 3G Wireless Networks”, 2010
– Monograph, 176 pages
– Materials from 1 Journal paper and 6 conference papers included
• More dissertations can be found from
http://otalib.aalto.fi/en/collections/e-publications/dissertations/

32. Funding and supervision
• Most usual sources for funding
– University research projects: Mosth usual way of funding
– Grants from doctoral programmes: Heavy competition
– Work outside the university: Part time students working in e.g.
industry (Nokia, Ericsson, operators)
– Other grants: Some international students fund their studies from
grants they have gained in their home countries
– https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoralelec/Financing+your+studies
• Supervision
– Depends on the supervisor working style and student’s needs.
– Typically weekly/biweekly/monthly follow-up meetings where
progress is followed, joint publications prepared, project, teaching
and other things updated.

33. Degrees granted
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
D.Sc. (Tech.) 2 4 7 8 7
Lic.Sc. (Tech.) 3 1 1 2
M.Sc. (Tech.) 81 91 144 68 58

34. Comnet Research

35. Grand Challenges
Carbon-neutral networking
• Sustainable communications
• Connecting the remaining 2 billion to mobile and 5 billion
to Internet
Instant wireless Internet
• Wireless access delays below the limit of human perception
Scaling the Internet to a thousand devices per user
• Internet of things, cyber-physical systems
Secure cyber space
• Network security, critical infrastructure protection
8/20/2013
Comnet
35
Source: EU FP7 project EARTH
Source: NSN
Source: Ericsson
“Aalto University found a total of 2 915
automation devices in Finland that were
accessible to just about anybody
through the Internet – and vulnerable to
cyber attacks.”

36. Communications and Information
Theory
Computational methods in discrete
matematics and information theory
Prof. Östergård
• Mathematical objects (existence and
classification problems)
• Combinatorial algorithms
Advanced Transmission Methods
Professors Hämäläinen and Tirkkonen
• Space-time codes,
• Codeboodk design for MIMO systems
• Optimized CQI feedback
• Nonlinearity (DirtyRF)
8/20/2013
Comnet
36
libexact package
Beamforming codebooks based on
Grassmannian Packings

37. Advanced Radio Communication
Systems (1/2)
Professors Hämäläinen, Jäntti and Tirkkonen
Cognitive radio and spectrum aware
communications
• Co-primary and secondary sharing
• Overlay (black space) and underlay (D2D)
transmissions
• Interference modeling and control
Wireless broadband systems and system
optimization
• HETNETS and deployable networks
• Small cells, relays
• Self-organization & self-optimization
• RRM
• Energy efficiency
8/20/2013
Comnet
37
Cognitive radio network
testbed
TVWS Assesment tool
http://quasar.netlab.hut.fi/
3GPP compliant simulation tools

38. Advanced Radio Communication
Systems (2/2)
Wireless Sensor Systems
Professors Jäntti and Ott
• Real-time sensing
• HW & SW Architectures
• Development and testing tools
• Protocols
• IoT, automation, and military applications
• RF tomographic imaging and Device Free Localization (DFL)
8/20/2013
Comnet
38
Software Model
LowLevel
Automated Daemons
Middleware
Application
Level
Comm.Stack
RTOS - APIsPeripheral Drivers
Power Manager
“Time SYNC”er
Device
Abstraction APIs
Sys
Monitoring
Comm. Drivers
Application
Transport
Network
MAC
PHY
pRoot node and middeware
DFL System
http://wsn.aalto.fi/en/

39. Performance analysis and teletraffic
theory
Queuing theory and teletraffic theory
Prof. Aalto
• Age and size based scheduling
• Dispatching problems
• Flow level performance analysis
• Internet traffic engineering
• P2P, wireless networks, M2M communications,…
Performance measurements
Prof. Manner
• Energy-consumption measurements
• Experimental data center
• Internet traffic measurements
• Mobile access speed measurement service: Netradar
(http://www.netradar.org/en)
8/20/2013
Comnet
39
Comnet data center
Size- and state aware dispatching
Netradar

40. Internet technologies (1/2)
Professors Kantola, Manner, and Ott
Networking technology
• Carrier grade Ethernet
• Access and core networks
• Software defined networking (OpenFlow)
• Energy efficient communications and networking
Network security and trust
• Internet wide trust / Evolution of cooperation
• Customer edge switching
• Cyber security: Security of critical infrastructure
8/20/2013
Comnet
40
Control place for Carrier-Grade
Ethernet Network
Analysis of Cyber weapons and
attacks

41. Internet technologies (2/2)
Internet protocols
• End-to-end transport, multipath transport, flow and
congestion control
• Customer Edge Traversal
• Transport layer cognitivity
• Opportunistic Networking
• DTN routing, transport, and application protocols
• P2P
• Content-based networking
• Multimedia protocols
• Energy efficient operation
• IETF standardization
Military communications
• Tacoms - Tactical Communications for Federated Network
Environment
• Generic messaging protocol (MICS)
8/20/2013
Comnet
41
The ONE simulator for Opportunisti Networking
http://www.netlab.tkk.fi/tutkimus/dtn/theone/
Proxies for Energy-Efficient Web Access

42. Network Economics
Prof. Hämmäinen
Quantitative analysis of mobile user behavior
• Challenging the boundaries of complex data mining, privacy
• Understand the behavior in context, social activity and service
adaption/diffusion
Optimal industry and technical architecture for
flexible radio access
• Enable flexible spectrum use: Technical, regulatory and
economic rules
Techno-economic bottlenecks of Internet
scalability
• Identify and eliminate techno-economical bottlenecks
preventing the scaling of Internet
8/20/2013
Comnet
42
Spectrum regulation phase diagram
Contextual patterns in mobile service usage

43. Publications
8/20/2013
Comnet
43
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
90
141 143
170
186
All publications
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
0
20
40
60
27
32 33
53
60
Journal articles
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

44. Advanced Radio Communications
Research Group
• ~ 6 D.Sc. level researchers
• 20-25 Doctoral students
• Variable number of M.Sc. thesis workers
Jyri
Riku
Olav
Profs:

45. Some research partners (with whom we have
joint publications and/or research projects)
• Colleagues in Aalto
• University of Oulu
• Tampere University of
Technology
• VTT
• Nokia Siemens Networks
(Germany, Finland, Denmark, C
hina)
• Nokia Research Center
• Renesas Mobile
• Ericsson Research
• Huawei Technologies
• Royal Institute of Technology
KTH (Sweden)
• University of California at Davis
(USA)
• Yonsei University (Korea)
• Beijing University of Posts and
Telecommunications (China)
• Peking University (China)
• Worchester Polytechnic Institute
(USA)
• UPC, Barcelona
• Texas A&M (USA)
• National University of Cordoba
(Argentina)
• Aalborg University

46. Questions?