ENEL422-26S1 (C) Semester One 2026

Communications Engineering

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 16 February 2026
End Date: Sunday, 21 June 2026
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 1 March 2026
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 10 May 2026

Description

Topics covered: baseband transmission, signal space, digital modulation and reception, equalization, communications systems, error control coding and networking.

This course provides a basic understanding of modern digital communications systems (with an emphasis on wireless communications) and an introduction to the analytical tools to design systems and analyse their performance.  The key topics covered are baseband transmission, signal space, digital modulation and reception, equalization, communications systems, error control coding and networking. The course will focus on the technical aspects of communication systems engineering and at times will be mathematical. It requires a good grasp of probability theory and random processes for both performance analysis and design.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course you should be able to:

LO1: Appraise and analyse the application of key wireless communications and networking technologies (WA2, WA3, WA4).

LO2: Apply analytical mathematical techniques to design and appraise communication systems (WA1, WA2, WA3, WA4).

LO3: Communicate the design of communication systems in a variety of ways (WA9)

LO4: Identify and reflect on socio-technical and environmental outcomes associated with communication systems (WA6, WA11).

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Employable, innovative and enterprising

Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.

Prerequisites

Timetable 2026

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 10:00 - 11:00 E14 Lecture Theatre
16 Feb - 29 Mar
20 Apr - 31 May
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 09:00 - 10:00 Rehua 002 Lectorial
16 Feb - 29 Mar
20 Apr - 31 May
Lecture C
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 09:00 - 10:00 Jack Erskine 031 Lecture Theatre (19/2-19/3, 7/5-28/5)
Link 309 Lecture Theatre (26/3, 23/4-30/4)
16 Feb - 29 Mar
20 Apr - 31 May

Course Coordinator

Philippa Martin

Lecturer

Graeme Woodward

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Test 30%
Assignment 20%
Final Exam 50%

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Philippa Martin; ENEL422 Learn Page ; (There is no specific text for this course. However, you should do considerable reading outside of the lectures. The major recommended references are listed below. Copies of the lecture notes and recommended reading material will be posted on Learn).

Recommended Reading

Haykin, S; Communication Systems ; 4th; Wiley, 2001.

Lathi, B. P. , Ding, Zhi; Modern digital and analog communication systems ; 4th ed; Oxford University Press, 2009.

Leon-Garcia, Alberto. , Widjaja, Indra; Communication networks : fundamental concepts and key architectures ; 2nd ed; McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Sklar, B. and Harris, F.J; Digital Communications: Fundamentals and Applications ; 3rd Edition; Pearson, 2020.

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

Scaling of marks
In order to maintain consistency across courses and fairness for students, scaling of raw marks occurs. In the Faculty of Engineering, target course GPAs are calculated based on the performance of the cohort of students in their courses in the previous year. Scaling of the raw total course marks is normally performed so that when converted   to   grades   (using   UC   Grade   Scale)  the   outgoing   GPA   is   in   line   with   the   target   GPA   for   a course. Scaling up or
down can occur. The Grading Scale for the University:https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/study-support-info/study-related-topics/grading-scale


Artificial Intelligence Tools
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for each of the assessments in ENEL422 is summarised below. No AI use is allowed in the tests and exam because these are closed-book invigilated assessments.  Students are always responsible for the accuracy of the submitted works, regardless of which tools are used.

Assessment Item                                        Permitted use of AI
Assignment                                                Generative AI Tools Are Permitted for certain Parts of This Assessment
Test                                                           Generative AI tools cannot be used for this assessment.
Exam                                                         Generative AI tools cannot be used for this assessment.

Generative AI Tools Are Permitted for Certain Parts of This Assessment
In  this  assessment,  you  are  permitted  to  use  generative  artificial  intelligence  (AI)  solely  as  outlined  in  the assignment  brief  provided  by  Dr.  Woodward.  No  other  use  of  generative  AI  is  permitted.  To  assist  with maintaining academic integrity, you must appropriately acknowledge any use of generative AI in your work. Please include a Statement of AI use (if no AI tool has been used, then this must also be stated) and a listing of all prompts provided to the AI tool, clearly indicating which AI tools were used and how they contributed to your assessment.

Assessment and grading system

The examiners will award a failing grade to students who score less than 40% for the Test and Exam combined. More formally, (TestPercent * 0.3 + ExamPercent * 0.5) / 0.8 must be greater than or equal to 40 for a pass mark to be awarded. This note is put in place to ensure that each student has adequately shown to the examiners they have gained some mastery of the topic.

Late submission of work

Lateness Penalties

For the Lab Report and Assignment, a lateness penalty of 10% (in absolute terms) per day or part day late will be deducted from the original mark. For example, an assignment with a nominal mark of 83% submitted 0-24 hours late will receive a mark of 73%, and submitted 24-48 hours late will receive 63%.

Mahi ā-Ākonga | Workload (expected distribution of student hours, note 15 points = 150 hours):

Contact Hours

Lectures: 35 hours
Tutorials: 0 hours
Workshops: 0 hours
Laboratories: 0 hours

Independent study

Review of lectures: 35 hours
Test and exam preparation: 40 hours
Assignments: 40 hours
Tutorial preparation: 0 hours
Laboratory calculations: 0 hours

Total 150

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,344.00

International fee $6,488.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Electrical and Computer Engineering .

All ENEL422 Occurrences

  • ENEL422-26S1 (C) Semester One 2026