Classical electrical engineering was restricted to the area of electromagnetic phenomena and laws and their technical use, such as in telecommunications and high-frequency technology or in electrical power technology. Due to recent developments, especially in the area of computer technology, it has long since become a general systems technology, with applications in nearly all technical areas. When supplemented with mathematical and system-theoretical concepts, it forms a powerful basis for the interdisciplinary collaboration of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology with many other technical disciplines (for example, Computer Science, Biotechnology, Medical Technology, and Nanotechnology).

The scientific education of an engineer at a university is characterized by significant emphasis on theoretical basics and scientific methodology. Education should ensure that the student receives both general technical competence and methodological competence that makes them capable of analyzing the tasks assigned to them in their later activities, solving them independently and with initiative, and even working out new discoveries and methods to extend the level of knowledge in their subject.

Electrical engineering, electronics and information technology have penetrated nearly every part of our lives. Engineers in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology therefore have a wider variety of employment opportunities in many different industries:

• Classical work areas are the electrical industry, information and communications technology, and power systems.
• In many industries, electrical engineering and information technology are considered a key technology: machine design, automation technology, aerospace, the automobile industry, process technology, medical technology, environmental protection systems, and so on.
• In the area of research and development, electrical engineers work at universities and at other public and private research institutions.

The numerous special fields of electrical engineering can be broken down into four main groups:

• Information Technology: Telecommunications; wired and wireless data transmission; audio and video technology; mobile radio; navigation; radar technology; traffic control systems; computer technology
• Microelectronics and micro- and nanosystems technology: Development, manufacturing, assembly, testing and quality control (for example of integrated circuits or sensors); software development for computer-supported development of systems, circuits and components
• Metrology, control and automation systems: Automation and production processes, mathematical modelling of technical processes; robotics; safety systems and engine management in automobiles; telematics
• Electrical power technology: Generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy and its use

 
You can find more detailed information about the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology degree programme on the pages of the University.

You can find more information about electrical engineering at the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (www.vde.de) and The Association of German Engineers (www.vdi.de).