Voice Technology at the University of Groningen

Contribute to one of the fastest growing sectors!
 

Speech technologies have permeated modern life so much that we hardly even notice their presence, much less understand how they work. Whenever you dictate a message on your smartphone, ask Alexa the weather, use instant translation software, or learn a language using an app, you are using voice technologies. And with new Internet-of-Things applications on the horizon, smart spaces and the presence of Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Bixby and Google Home are poised to grow even further. Voice technologies are a multibillion dollar industry with potential for unparalleled social and scientific impact.

Innovate, explore, create!

This programme is very hands-on. You will get your hands dirty working in teams making synthetic voices, speech recognizers, and more. You’ll even make your own voice-tech demo. People with scientific expertise in the domain of voice technology are in short supply. We aim to fix that. Starting with you! In this one-year programme, you will join cutting-edge scholars, professionals, and technologists working at the forefront of voice technology innovation.

If you are interested in challenges relating to

•     synthetic voices and speech recognition
•     the interplay between voice, language, speech and technology
•     tools to support lesser-resourced, minoritized languages
•     radical innovation around voice forensics, including topics like accent recognition, intoxication detection, real-time speech pathology analysis, etc.
•     ethical issues relating to voice technology

… then join us at the University of Groningen (Campus Fryslân) MSc Voice Technology.

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weiter: Studieninhalte »

Voice Technology at the University of Groningen

The curriculum is aligned across four blocks.

The courses in block 1 lay the foundations with essential content needed for the rest of the programme. This includes an introductory course into voice technology (in which you will develop your first application). Students also learn Python programming for voice technology and become familiar with the scientific study of speech sounds.

Block 2 provides subject-specific courses on voice technology. The knowledge and skills learned in the 1st block are used together with Machine Learning within the courses Speech Recognition I and Speech Synthesis I, both of which start from the humble beginnings of voice technology, and give students an inside, hands-on view on some of the first attempts to automatically recognize and synthesize voice up to current systems.

Block 3: Speech recognition and synthesis are taken to a higher level in Speech Recognition II and Speech Synthesis II as students learn about state-of-the art systems and real-world challenges, augmented with guest lectures given by industrial partners. The Thesis Design course educates students on experimental protocol and research ethics and guides them through the development of a pilot study and prototype demonstrator.

Block 4: Students combine knowledge and skills from the previous blocks and use them in their Thesis Project. Building on the pilot study and prototype developed in the last block, students write their thesis and polish their prototype to create a demonstrator suitable for their thesis defense. They also prepare to present results at the end of the year.

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weiter: Karriere »

Voice Technology at the University of Groningen

Considering the numbers for the sectors ICT and linguistics, estimations are that people working in ICT and specifically application developers have remarkably positive career perspectives. These estimates are also reflected in the rapidly growing international market for voice assistants, smart speakers, and countless other IoT-connected devices enabled with voice technology.

Throughout the programme we invite several guest speakers from industry. That way students will get a good impression of the various possibilities ranging from developing speech recognizer, synthetic voices, automatic detection of pathologies from speech, the use of voice technology in robotica and/or dialogue systems, etc. The voice technology industry is a fast-growing market which provides lots of opportunities for graduates.

Job examples:

• Speech Scientist
• Speech Analyst
• Research Engineer
• Language Data Specialist
• Voice Forensic Specialist
• Entrepreneur

Various research and academic careers as a PhD student at several universities or academic speech technology labs in Europe and beyond!  

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« zurück: Studieninhalte

weiter: Zulassung »

Voice Technology at the University of Groningen

The application deadline for starting on 1 September is 1 May.

Previous education: Bachelor's Degree and either have or are willing to acquire basic knowledge in linguistics, Python programming, and scientific research.

To assess whether your educational/academic background meets the specific programme requirements, the Voice Technology Admissions Board will consider the level and curriculum of your previous studies. Students who are completing or have completed a Bachelor's programme in Linguistics, Artifical Intelligence or Computer Science are likely admissible. Other programmes need a more thorough assessment by the Admissions Board.

It is possible (but not required) to also upload a substantial academic paper, e.g. your Bachelor's thesis or an essay, to demonstrate your research skills.

English proficiency can be proven via:

• TOEFL: a minimum score of 90 with a minimum of 18 on reading and listening, 20 on speaking and 21 on writing
• IELTS: a minimum score of 6.5 with a minimum score of 6.0 on all items
• Cambridge: C1 advanced or C2 Proficiency with a minimum score of 180
• fully English-taught bachelors from the following countries: The Netherlands, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

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weiter: Masterstudiengänge »

Übersicht der Masterstudiengänge - University of Groningen

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Voice Technology at the University of Groningen

A totally unique Master's programme!

This Master's programme is one-of-its-kind. No other Master's programme in continental Europe is dedicated exclusively to Voice Technology. No matter if your Bachelor's degree is in linguistics, computer science, engineering, digital humanities, or something else altogether, if you are interested in voice technology and aren't afraid of exploring new terrain, then this is the programme for you.

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weiter: Leeuwarden »

Voice Technology at the University of Groningen

Leeuwarden is a city of innovation, home to many start-ups and established companies, including serious game and tech businesses which could collaborate on voice technology applications. Additionally, there are several other universities, colleges, research institutes, and language-related NGOs. Voice technology is even recognized by the province as a crucial domain of regional interest, indicating strong political support for this master's programme.

Leeuwarden is a medium-sized vibrant student city and the capital of the province of Fryslân. It is a highly cultural city, recently named the European Capital of Culture. It offers many festivals, bars, cinemas, museums, theatres, and parks. Leeuwarden, like all of Fryslân, is multilingual with many locals speaking the Frisian language alongside Dutch, English and others. It is, then, an interesting test-bed for voice technology developments involving less-resourced languages, multilingualism and code switching.

Affordable housing and accommodation are easily found. The inter-city high-speed trains provide easy connection to the nearby city of Groningen and many other cities, from The Hague to Amsterdam.

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