In recent years, the development of small-size satellites by companies, research institutions and universities have become common practice. This terend is based on the need for providing an easy and low-cost access to space for those institutions and companies that cannot afford the use of the usual big industrial platforms. In this context, the IDR/UPM Institute (Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad ‘Ignacio Da Riva’) of Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, has been developing the UPMSat-2 microsatellite along the past years. This is one of the most relevant projects in the current space engineering activities at IDR/UPM, which integrates university professors, research staff of IDR/UPM, and students of the Master in Space Systems (MUSE). Going back to the UPMSat-2 mission, it should be underlined that this type of small-size satellite requires reliable communication systems able to ensure the quality of the communication link between the satellite and ground control, but they must also be optimized in terms of costs. Therefore, the use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components, which are normally developed for terrestrial applications, has become a usual practice in such kind of small-size satellite missions. Thus, these communication subsystems require deep tests campaigns to ensure their proper operation and to increase the reliability. From this point of view, a suitable balance between the limited resources available in this kind of university-satellite missions and the complexity of the testing techniques is needed. IDR/UPM professors and MUSE students have performed the full design, manufacture and testing of the UPMSat-2 communications systems (flight and ground). This paper summarizes the development of the whole UPMSat-2 communication system, describing the tasks required for its implementation, and focusing on how they were harmonized and integrated within the academic plan of the Master in Space Systems (MUSE).