The Feabhas FastTrack Graduate Programme

A nine week accelerated programme, enabling graduates to rapidly gain the practical and theoretical skills needed for productivity in the modern embedded environment.

Feabhas has created a specialist embedded systems graduate training programme to equip graduates with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to plan and structure embedded systems code correctly, identify quality issues early and work efficiently - within nine weeks.

Currently there are few opportunities for graduates to gain the well rounded foundation knowledge required to deliver high quality embedded systems software, either at university or via vendor training providers. As a result most graduates learn this information gradually and piecemeal through trial and improvement.

Feabhas FastTrack is designed to rapidly and thoroughly embed this crucial knowledge from the outset and deliver highly competent graduates back to the workplace in less than 90 days. The programme provides a viable and cost effective alternative to hiring experienced embedded systems engineers.

The graduate programme comprises seven progressive courses, with a week on/week off format to allow graduates to hone their newly learnt skills on real projects back in the workplace.

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Course content in detail

It can take several years for a graduate to gain the practical experience and theoretical knowledge to plan and create high quality embedded systems software. Feabhas FastTrack dramatically speeds up this development so that new graduates start adding significant value to the organisation within their first 90 days.

Foundation Skills
The Software Engineering for Real-Time Systems course provides basic level information on all topics of software development e.g. programming, design, testing and documentation in the context of real-time embedded software development. The aim is to provide a common baseline of knowledge for all students upon which we can build more detailed skills.

Programming
The C programming language is used to teach the most important aspects of programming an embedded system. This course emphasises the issues of developing software for a real-time, embedded environment combining lectures and hands-on exercises.

Platform Technologies
Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) are a key technology in the embedded world. The RTOS course provides an introduction to the theory, structure and practice of real-time operating systems. Particular emphasis is placed on issues related to embedded applications.
Across the spectrum of embedded systems there is a universal need for reliability and robustness, beyond that required for desktop computer software. Failure detection and recovery is vital and the software must be designed so that it can run continuously without the need for a reboot. The Robust Software course explores the accepted industry best practices for achieving that extra level of quality in embedded software.

Design
Good design is the key to high-quality, performant and maintainable software systems. The design course focuses on the principles behind designing Real-Time Embedded Systems (RTES), using UML 2.0 notation to document the proposed design. This makes the course significantly different from most UML courses which focus on UML notation. Real-world examples are used throughout the course to demonstrate key concepts. The course material is backed up by a comprehensive case-study demonstrating how to apply UML to a RTES.

Software Quality
Testing is a vital aspect of verifying the design of a software system. This is especially true in a real-time embedded environment, where the system may be subject to strict safety or reliability requirements. Engineers require a good knowledge of how to test their code but, beyond that, they must understand other techniques to find and eliminate errors earlier in the design lifecycle.

Supporting testing are the concepts of configuration and change management, vital skills required for managing industrial software.

The quality segment is rounded off with a one-day intensive course that introduces coding guidelines developed specifically for use on embedded projects using the C language. The course covers the set of rules in detail and examines the commercial support for the guidelines.

Assessment: calculating return on investment

Feabhas FastTrack is specifically designed to deliver a strong return on investment through:

Feabhas FastTrack is anchored in a 3-stage assessment process to provide a clear measure of progress and competence for both the graduate and the organisation.

Dates, locations and booking information

Feabhas FastTrack starts in October 2008 for 9 weeks. The course locations are all in the South East.

If you would like to register your interest and receive a full course brochure, please contact us.