Studying Computer Sciences at the University of Tampere

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Studying Computer Sciences at the University of
Tampere

• Kari-Jouko Räihä

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Two Disciplines

• Computer Sciences
• Computer Science
• Interactive Technology

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Five Major Areas

• Algorithms
• Data Management
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Information Systems
• Software Development

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Student Intake

• 100 new first year students
• Goal 3 years for BSc, 2 more for MSc
• About 40 students accepted as special cases,
  including less than 20 foreign students for
  English MSc programs
• Around 10(?) Erasmus exchange students per year

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Departmental Staff

• 8 full professors
• 6 lecturers, 8 senior assistants (ass. prof.)
• Part-time teaching staff
• Around 50 research staff
• Administration staff (secretaries etc.)
• 2 computing officers
• In total, around 90 people

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BSc degree

• Two degrees, one in Computer Science and one in
  Interactive Technology (HCI)
• Most of the teaching is in Finnish
• Some course modules are available also in English
• If you are willing to replace lectures by
  self-study, then you may discuss possibilities
  with the teacher in charge

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Introductory Courses in English

• Introduction to Interactive Technology (Period 1)
• Introduction to User Interfaces (Period 3)
• Human Factors in Interactive Technology (Period 4)

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MSc Programs

• A MSc program is available in each special area
  plus some mixed ones
• Some MSc programs are available in English. For
  these, we take in separately foreign students,
  but the course modules are open to all (with
  suitable background)
• There is much more teaching available in English
  on the MSc level than on the BSc level

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Contacting the Teachers

• Each teacher has a regular office hour
• It is advisable to contact teachers to agree on
  an individual time for seeing the them
• Electronic mail is often the most convenient way
  to contact the teachers
• firstname.lastname_at_cs.uta.fi should work in most
  cases
• The department generally has an open-doors policy
  (concerning offices)
• NB the doorway to the department closes at about
  4PM!

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Forms of Teaching

• Vary a lot depending on course
• All require individual work reading, proglem
  solving, programming, writing
• Course management systems used a lot

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A Typical Course Module

• Weekly lectures
• Weekly exercises
• Course project
• Exam

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Lectures

• Traditional
• Typically not compulsory to attend but you
  should somehow be aware of what the lectures
  contained
• Some (but few) courses have compulsory lectures

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Weekly Exercises 1/2

• Exercise assignments are given several days ahead
• At the session, the teacher collects a list of
  who has solved what
• Students are to present solutions
• Some percentage of the exercises may be
  compulsory, or give bonus exam points

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Weekly Exercises 2/2

• Sometimes it is possible to hand in written
  solutions and skip the session
• Sometimes you need to have a reason for this
• If this is necessary for your schedule, contact
  the teacher in advance
• Weekly exercises are often the main way of
  learning

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Course Projects

• Separate assignment
• Separate schedules
• Usually much larger than single weekly exercises
• The expected outcome may include program code,
  documents, essays, evaluations,

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Exams

• Typically the following rules hold
• Exam time 4 hours
• You must not leave before 30 mins
• Some exams allow you to have written material and
  some dont (both open book and closed book exams
  are used)
• Typically a make-up exam is given during the
  following period (this is not so handy for
  visiting students)

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More Info 1/2

• By email studies_at_cs.uta.fi
• Visit to the department at 2.30 PM
• Zheying Zhang and Kirsi Tuominen will be here to
  meet you and take you to the department
• All foreign student contact persons at the
  department will be present

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More Info 2/2

• Brochure
• Pink sheetsavailable here
• Also availableon the net athttp//www.cs.uta.fi
  /en/studies/

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Questions?