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Master'sRobotics, Automation & Control Applications open

Master’s in OPC UA, MQTT Sparkplug and Pub Engineering

Online master's programme of 1,900 hours in OPC UA, MQTT Sparkplug and PubSub engineering, structured in 12 modules covering OPC UA architecture, information modelling and security, OPC UA PubSub, MQTT, Sparkplug B, Unified Namespace, edge-cloud integration and industrial cybersecurity, with an assigned technical tutor.

Duration1900 h
ModeOnline
LanguageEnglish
Start datesSet by the faculty
AwardSEIUM Institute diploma
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Learning outcomes

What you will be able to do

01

Understand the architecture and services of OPC UA.

02

Design OPC UA information models.

03

Configure OPC UA security with certificates.

04

Implement PubSub communications over UDP and MQTT.

05

Deploy MQTT solutions with Sparkplug B.

06

Design a Unified Namespace for a plant.

07

Integrate plant data into edge and cloud platforms.

Profile

Who it's for

  • Industrial integration engineers moving into OPC UA and MQTT-based architectures.
  • OT data architects designing plant-wide data flows.
  • OPC UA developers looking to master modelling, security and PubSub.
  • IIoT specialists working with brokers and Sparkplug B.
  • Edge computing engineers bridging plant floor and cloud.
  • Industry 4.0 consultants advising on interoperability strategies.
  • Engineering or science graduates seeking to enter discrete manufacturing.
Standards & tools

What you'll work with

  • IEC 62541-1:2020 (OPC Unified Architecture — overview and concepts)
  • IEC 62541-14:2020 (OPC UA — PubSub)
  • ISO/IEC 20922:2016 (MQTT 3.1.1) (MQTT messaging protocol)
  • OASIS MQTT Version 5.0 (MQTT 5 protocol specification)
  • Eclipse Sparkplug 3.0 (MQTT payload and topic specification for IIoT)
  • IEC 62443-4-2:2019 (security requirements for IACS components)
  • IEC 62264-1:2013 (enterprise-control system integration, ISA-95 models)
  • UaExpert
  • open62541
  • Eclipse Mosquitto
  • HiveMQ
  • Ignition
Syllabus

12 modules · 1900 h

  1. 1.1Data silos and proprietary protocols
  2. 1.2Syntactic and semantic interoperability
  3. 1.3The automation pyramid versus networked architecture
  4. 1.4Industry 4.0 and RAMI 4.0
  5. 1.5Asset Administration Shell
  6. 1.6Standard information models
  7. 1.7Publish-subscribe versus request-response
  8. 1.8Integration use cases
  9. 1.9Ecosystem of foundations and consortia
  10. 1.10Case study: integration analysis of a plant
  1. 2.1The IEC 62541 specification
  2. 2.2Address space and nodes
  3. 2.3References and types
  4. 2.4Read, write and subscription services
  5. 2.5Methods and events
  6. 2.6Alarms and conditions
  7. 2.7History and historical access
  8. 2.8Profiles and facets
  9. 2.9Discovery and LDS
  10. 2.10Lab: OPC UA server with open62541
  1. 3.1Object types and variables
  2. 3.2Model design with UaModeler
  3. 3.3Exporting NodeSet XML models
  4. 3.4Using companion specifications
  5. 3.5Machine tool and robotics models
  6. 3.6PackML in OPC UA
  7. 3.7DI device models
  8. 3.8Model versioning
  9. 3.9Modelling best practice
  10. 3.10Practical exercise: information model of a machine
  1. 4.1The OPC UA security model
  2. 4.2Security policies and modes
  3. 4.3X.509 certificates and PKI
  4. 4.4GDS global certificate management
  5. 4.5User authentication
  6. 4.6Authorisation and roles
  7. 4.7Event auditing
  8. 4.8Known vulnerabilities in implementations
  9. 4.9Secure configuration in production
  10. 4.10Workshop: deploying a PKI for OPC UA
  1. 5.1The PubSub model and its components
  2. 5.2UADP mapping over UDP
  3. 5.3PubSub over MQTT and AMQP
  4. 5.4Writer and reader groups
  5. 5.5Security in PubSub
  6. 5.6PubSub over TSN
  7. 5.7OPC UA FX for the field level
  8. 5.8Performance and determinism
  9. 5.9PubSub configuration
  10. 5.10Practical exercise: UADP PubSub between two nodes
  1. 6.1Broker and client architecture
  2. 6.2Topics and wildcards
  3. 6.3Quality of service levels
  4. 6.4Persistent sessions and retained messages
  5. 6.5Last Will and Testament
  6. 6.6MQTT 5 and what is new
  7. 6.7Mosquitto, HiveMQ and EMQX brokers
  8. 6.8Clustering and high availability
  9. 6.9TLS security and authentication
  10. 6.10Lab: MQTT broker with TLS
  1. 7.1The Eclipse Sparkplug specification
  2. 7.2Namespace and topic structure
  3. 7.3NBIRTH, DBIRTH and DATA messages
  4. 7.4State management and STATE
  5. 7.5Protocol Buffers encoding
  6. 7.6Edge of Network nodes
  7. 7.7Primary host and applications
  8. 7.8Templates and metadata
  9. 7.9Comparison with plain MQTT
  10. 7.10Practical exercise: Sparkplug edge node with Ignition
  1. 8.1The Unified Namespace concept
  2. 8.2ISA-95 hierarchy in topics
  3. 8.3Data contextualisation
  4. 8.4Integrating MES, ERP and SCADA
  5. 8.5Namespace governance
  6. 8.6UNS scalability
  7. 8.7Combining with OPC UA
  8. 8.8HighByte and Node-RED tools
  9. 8.9Common implementation mistakes
  10. 8.10Case study: designing a plant UNS
  1. 9.1Protocol gateways
  2. 9.2OPC UA to MQTT conversion
  3. 9.3Cloud IoT platforms
  4. 9.4Time-series databases
  5. 9.5Event stream processing
  6. 9.6Storage and data lakes
  7. 9.7Cloud analytics
  8. 9.8Latency and bandwidth
  9. 9.9Cloud integration costs
  10. 9.10Workshop: OPC UA to MQTT bridge in the cloud
  1. 10.1DDS and its data model
  2. 10.2DDS in ROS 2 and robotics
  3. 10.3AMQP and enterprise queues
  4. 10.4Apache Kafka in industry
  5. 10.5CoAP and LwM2M
  6. 10.6Latency comparison
  7. 10.7Interoperability between protocols
  8. 10.8Selection for each case
  9. 10.9Standardisation trends
  10. 10.10Practical exercise: latency comparison between protocols
  1. 11.1IEC 62443 applied to OPC UA and MQTT
  2. 11.2Segmentation and DMZ
  3. 11.3Broker monitoring
  4. 11.4Resilience to outages
  5. 11.5Load and stress testing
  6. 11.6Container deployment
  7. 11.7Configuration management
  8. 11.8Updates and patches
  9. 11.9Interface documentation
  10. 11.10Case study: broker security audit
  1. 12.1Analysis of data sources
  2. 12.2Proposed information model
  3. 12.3Namespace design
  4. 12.4OPC UA implementation
  5. 12.5MQTT Sparkplug implementation
  6. 12.6Security and infrastructure
  7. 12.7Performance testing
  8. 12.8Conclusions and scaling
  9. 12.9Master's Thesis report
  10. 12.10Master's Thesis: defence before a panel
Methodology, software & labs

How you'll learn

Training is 100% online on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. There are no fixed timetables: you progress at your own pace within the intake, so it is compatible with full-time work.

Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is UaExpert, open62541, Eclipse Mosquitto, HiveMQ and Ignition, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Exercises are based on real procedures for OPC UA information modelling, secure MQTT broker deployment and Unified Namespace design. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final Master's Thesis.

Standards covered: IEC 62541-1:2020, IEC 62541-14:2020, ISO/IEC 20922:2016 (MQTT 3.1.1), OASIS MQTT Version 5.0, Eclipse Sparkplug 3.0, IEC 62443-4-2:2019, IEC 62264-1:2013.

Assigned technical tutor:every module ends with a deliverable that your tutor marks individually.
Standards-based learning:guided reading of IEC 62541, ISO/IEC 20922 (MQTT) and Eclipse Sparkplug applied to real cases, not as a theoretical annex.
Industry software:UaExpert, open62541, Eclipse Mosquitto, HiveMQ and Ignition, in free, academic or evaluation versions.
Master's Thesis with defence:An integrated OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug data architecture for a plant, defended before a panel.
Flexible format:100% online, no fixed timetables, compatible with full-time work.
Capstone project

Build it end to end

Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.

Analyse plant data sources
Map the data sources and integration needs of an industrial plant.
Build the information model
Design an OPC UA information model for the plant's machines and export it as NodeSet XML.
Design the Unified Namespace
Structure an ISA-95-based namespace combining OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug.
Secure and test the infrastructure
Deploy PKI and TLS-secured brokers and run load and performance tests.
Master's Thesis
An integrated OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug data architecture for a plant, defended before a panel.
Career opportunities

Where this takes you

Industrial integration engineerOT data architectOPC UA developerIIoT specialistEdge computing engineerIndustry 4.0 consultant
Admissions & scholarships

Requirements

  • A university degree in engineering, science or architecture, or equivalent demonstrable professional experience.
  • An internet connection and a computer capable of running the programme software.
  • English sufficient to read technical standards.

Ready to start?

Send your application today. Our admissions team replies within 72 hours with your study plan and funding options.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The programme totals 1,900 hours over 12–14 months. You set your own pace within each intake, and your tutor helps you plan the workload around your job.

You work with UaExpert, open62541, Eclipse Mosquitto, HiveMQ and Ignition, using free, academic or evaluation versions. Your tutor indicates the free alternative wherever one exists.

A SEIUM Institute diploma, awarded on passing the continuous assessment and the Master's Thesis. It is SEIUM's own qualification, not an official state degree; its recognition depends on the programme completed and the regulations of each country.

Yes. Modules passed in a course or postgraduate diploma in the same area are recognised in the higher programme. Ask about the recognition policy when you enrol.

A university degree in engineering, science or architecture (or equivalent professional experience), a computer able to run the programme software, and English sufficient to read technical standards.

Start dates are set by SEIUM's faculty for each intake. Our admissions team will confirm the next available date when you apply.

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