Diploma in Redundant and Reliable Architectures
Online postgraduate diploma of 800 hours in redundant and reliable architectures. 8 modules covering fault-tolerant design principles, voting and replication architectures, redundant power, redundant communications and buses, reliability and availability modelling, diagnostics and fault management and high-availability applications, with an assigned technical tutor.
Diploma in Redundant and Reliable Architectures — studying from Australia
Electronics and embedded systems underpin a wide range of Australian industries, including defence, mining automation, medical devices and consumer technology. The telecommunications sector is significant, with ongoing investment in fibre, mobile networks and satellite communications for remote regions. Research organisations such as CSIRO and university groups contribute to advances in sensing, communications and signal processing. Engineers typically work on hardware design, firmware development, testing and certification. Employers include telecommunications carriers, defence contractors, instrumentation companies and product manufacturers.
Fees for Australia: A$2,850 (AUD), with instalments and employer sponsorship available.
Relevant bodies in Australia
Typical roles
Questions from Australia
Is this qualification recognised for electronics engineering in Australia?
SEIUM's qualifications are private and not official state degrees, and they are not accredited by Engineers Australia or the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Recognition for electronics and telecom roles generally depends on accredited degrees, licences and experience. Employers or the relevant body make the final decision.
Which Australian employers hire embedded and telecom engineers?
Australia has telecommunications carriers, defence electronics firms, medical device makers, mining technology companies and IoT developers. Employers mostly assess your hands-on skills, project record and certifications. Ask prospective employers whether they would consider a private online qualification.
Can I study this part-time while working, and how is it supported?
The courses are 100% online and taught in English, so you can study from anywhere in Australia without needing a student visa. Specialist courses take 300 hours, diplomas 800 and master's 1,900. Each student has an assigned technical tutor, fees are payable in instalments, and employer sponsorship may be possible.
Take the controls.
Run a real engineering trade-off from this field. Move the sliders, watch the model react in real time and beat the challenge.
What you will be able to do
Identify single points of failure in electronic systems.
Design voting and replication architectures such as TMR and 2oo3.
Implement redundant power with current sharing and hot-swapping.
Select redundant communication protocols such as PRP and HSR.
Model reliability and availability with block diagrams and Markov chains.
Design diagnostic, isolation and reconfiguration strategies.
Assess the cost and benefit of redundancy in critical applications.
Who it's for
- Critical systems engineers.
- Reliability engineers.
- Embedded systems architects.
- Functional safety engineers.
- RAMS engineers in rail, aerospace and energy.
- High-availability hardware engineers.
- Engineering or science graduates aiming to enter the railway sector.
What you'll work with
- IEC 61508-2 (functional safety — requirements for E/E/PE safety-related systems)
- IEC 61078 (reliability block diagrams)
- IEC 61165 (application of Markov techniques)
- IEC 62439-3 (Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) and High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR))
- IEC 61025 (fault tree analysis)
- EN 50126-1 (railway applications — RAMS process)
- ISO 26262-5 (road vehicles functional safety — product development at the hardware level)
- IEC 60300-3-1 (dependability management — analysis techniques)
- Isograph Reliability Workbench
- ReliaSoft BlockSim
- PRISM model checker
- MATLAB
- Python with NetworkX
8 modules
1.1Fault, error and failure in electronic systems1.2Permanent, transient and intermittent faults1.3Hardware, software, time and information redundancy1.4Active, passive and hybrid redundancy1.5Single points of failure and their elimination1.6Availability versus safety1.7Fault containment and isolation regions1.8Graceful degradation of service1.9Cost and complexity of redundancy1.10Case study: single points of failure of a controller
2.1Triple modular redundancy (TMR)2.2Majority voters and their reliability2.31oo2, 2oo2 and 2oo3 architectures2.4Dual-core lockstep2.5Duplex pairs and cross-comparison2.6Diverse hardware redundancy2.7Hot and cold standby switching2.8Synchronisation between redundant channels2.9Detecting discrepancies between channels2.10Practical exercise: reliability calculation of a 2oo3 architecture
3.1N+1 and 2N power supply configurations3.2OR-ing diodes and ideal-diode controllers3.3Current sharing between supplies3.4Hot-swapping of modules3.5Rail supervision and sequencing3.6Backup batteries and supercapacitors3.7Power distribution with fault isolation3.8Selective protection and electronic fuses3.9Switchover testing between supplies3.10Lab: redundant supply with active OR-ing
4.1Networks with PRP and HSR redundancy4.2Ring topologies and the MRP protocol4.3Redundant CAN bus and dual-channel FlexRay4.4TSN Ethernet with frame replication4.5Data protection with CRC and ECC4.6Watchdogs and message supervision4.7Redundancy in wireless links4.8State management between controllers4.9Link failure testing4.10Workshop: PRP network for a control system
5.1Reliability block diagrams5.2Markov chains for repairable systems5.3Fault trees with dynamic gates5.4Stochastic Petri nets5.5Diagnostic coverage and its impact5.6Common cause failures with the beta model5.7Mean time to repair and maintenance5.8Steady-state availability5.9Monte Carlo simulation of systems5.10Practical exercise: Markov model of a duplex system
6.1Power-on and run-time self-test6.2Monitoring of memories and clocks6.3Detection of latent faults6.4Isolation and reconfiguration6.5Event logging and remote diagnostics6.6Data-driven predictive maintenance6.7Fault injection testing6.8Safe state management6.9Related functional safety requirements6.10Lab: fault injection in a duplex system
7.1Railway control systems7.2Avionics and IMA architectures7.3Data centres and servers7.4Substations and electrical protection7.5Electric vehicle charging stations7.6Autonomous vehicles and automated driving7.7Critical medical devices7.8Satellites and radiation environments7.9Lessons from real incidents7.10Case study: architecture of an on-board railway system
8.1Availability and safety requirements8.2Single point of failure analysis8.3Selection of the redundant architecture8.4Power and communications design8.5Reliability and availability model8.6Diagnostics and fault injection plan8.7Cost-benefit assessment8.8Conclusions and recommendations8.9Report and presentation8.10Final project: final review with your tutor
How you'll learn
100% online training on the SEIUM campus, with downloadable material, recorded classes and an assigned technical tutor. No fixed timetables: you progress at your own pace within each intake, so you can combine it with your job.
Each module combines theory, guided reading of the original standard and applied exercises. The working software is Isograph Reliability Workbench, ReliaSoft BlockSim, PRISM model checker, MATLAB and Python with NetworkX, in free, academic or evaluation versions. Testing is studied through real procedures for availability modelling of repairable systems, fault injection testing on redundant controllers and verification of switchover between redundant supplies. Assessment is continuous by module, plus the final project.
Standards covered: IEC 61508-2, IEC 61078, IEC 61165, IEC 62439-3, IEC 61025, EN 50126-1, ISO 26262-5, IEC 60300-3-1.
Build it end to end
Your final project follows the real engineering workflow, step by step, reviewed by your tutor.
Where this takes you
Requirements
- Prior technical training or professional experience in the sector. No university degree is required.
- 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.
Frequently asked questions
The programme totals 800 hours over 6–8 months. You set your own pace within each intake, and your tutor helps you plan the workload around your job.
You work with Isograph Reliability Workbench, ReliaSoft BlockSim, PRISM model checker, MATLAB and Python with NetworkX, 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 final project. 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 are recognised in a higher programme in the same area (postgraduate diploma or master's). Ask about the recognition policy when you enrol.
Prior technical training or professional experience in the sector (no university degree required), 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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