In 1991, M. Breiling started his studies in electrical engineering at the Universität Karlsruhe, Germany, where he specialized in digital communications. In 1994/95, he spent a year at Norges Tekniske Høgskole (NTH, the Norwegian Institute of Technology) Trondheim, Norway. From 1995 to 1997, he participated in the European Tripartite Exchange Programme including a year of studies at the École Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique (ESIEE) Paris, and a year at the University of Southampton, England, for conducting the Diplomarbeit (equivalent to Master thesis). He received the Dipl.-Ing. (equivalent to Master's) degree in electrical engineering from the Universität Karlsruhe in 1997.
From 1997 to 2001, M. Breiling worked as a research and teaching assistant at the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, where he was sponsored from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Institute for Integrated Circuits, Erlangen.