Welcome ���to the ���

School of Computer Science

Norman Paton PGT (Postgraduate Taught) Director

Who am I? •  Career:

–  Professor of Computer Science. –  At Manchester since 1995. –  Research: Distributed information management,

bioinformatics. –  Teaching: none at Masters!

•  PGT Director: – Overall responsibility for masters programmes. – On the escalation route for problems or issues.

•  Contacts: – Office: 2.20. –  Email: npaton@manchester.ac.uk

•  Please call me: – Norman.

Welcome •  I hope you are

– well – excited – eager to embark on your MSc or MRes programme���

•  ...but you might also be a bit – lost – confused – bursting with questions

Welcome to our Welcome Week •  … prepare you for the next year in Manchester •  we explain

– the school – the programme – the course units, etc.

•  ...so that you are ready to start on your programme next week

–  there is no ‘warming up’ period!

Welcome to our ���School of Computer Science •  One of the major research institutes in Computer

Science in the world •  Possibly the oldest Computer Science university

department in the world •  The home of the earliest stored-program electronic

computer (1948) •  One of the largest departments in the UK •  This is your opportunity to make use of the staff and

facilities for education and research!

Welcome to the ���University of Manchester •  One of the largest student campuses in Europe ���

...and all that goes with that

•  Good university facilities - sports, support, etc: ���see Student Union for a range of activities: ������ http://manchesterstudentsunion.com/

•  Great ‘student life’

•  Student Charter

Welcome to Manchester •  Large, lively, and active city: ���

events, sports, nightlife, shopping... •  Long history - centre of the industrial revolution •  Football, Cricket, Cycling Centres •  Great location with ���

beautiful surroundings: – Lake District – Peak District – Wales, Snowdonia – Coastal areas...

Who does what? •  Organisation:

– PGT Director: • organisation and planning

– Programme Directors: • advice and guidance on academic and related matters

– Student Support Office • help with most organisational matters

• first point of contact for questions that are not specific to a taught activity

•  Teaching: – (Senior) Lecturers, Readers, Professors • teach courses, set exams, …

• supervise projects • check how to address them: often by their first name

– Teaching Assistants • help with labs, coursework, example classes

Programme Directors The following are our programmes and their Programme Directors: •  MSc in Advanced Computer Science:

•  Sandra Sampaio •  MSc in ACS and IT Management:

•  Goran Nenadic •  MRes in ACS:

•  Konstantin Korovin •  Part-time & Modular:

•  Renate Schmidt •  Distance Learning:

•  Andy Brass "

Student Support Office Relevant people include: Chris Susie Richard Calland Hymas Ward "

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Your MSc Year

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Project

Assessment: •  50% Taught Course Units: •  Coursework + Exams (end of semesters)

•  50% Project: •  COMP60990 Research Methods & Professional Skills: Progress Report •  Dissertation.

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COMP60990/Project

Period 1 Period 3 Period 2 Period 4

Terminology: Ti Cj = Theme i, Course Unit j

By Friday you must have •  Chosen which themes you wish to follow:

– Taking a theme involves taking two course units in the same semester.

– You need to choose two themes in the first semester, and one theme in the second semester (the latter taking account of dependencies).

•  Chosen which pathway you wish to follow: – Taking a pathway involves taking certain themes.

•  You may well have applied for a pathway, but in general you can change pathways at any time: – … but the security pathway is almost full. – … and the MSc in ACS and ITM is close to capacity.

Your MSc Project •  Half of your MSc •  Normally involves both research and system

development. •  Preparation through COMP60990

–  Technical Reading and Writing –  Carrying out experiments, collecting evidence, ...

•  Project allocation: – at the end of the first semester: December –  Choose from a list of many suggested projects or talk to

staff about your ideas or areas of interest. –  Supervisor to help and guide you through the project.

Your MSc Project •  Assessment:

–  Project Progress Report: May, 30 credits •  must be passed to continue with project •  background, first steps towards project, project plan •  plus COMP60990 coursework

–  Dissertation: September, 60 credits

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Taster

Your MRes Year

Assessment: •  1/3 Taught Course Units: •  Coursework (ongoing) •  Exams (end of semesters)

•  2/3 Project: •  Progress Report (April) •  Dissertation (September)

Terminology: SM = scientific methods

Your Project

Your MRes Project •  2/3 of your MRes •  Normally involves both ���

research and system development. •  Preparation through Scientific Methods (SM) units

COMP80131, 80122, 80142: –  Carrying out experiments, collecting evidence, ... –  Technical Reading and Writing

•  Project allocation: –  Taster Project: around reading week – MRes Project: at the end of the first semester: December –  Choose from a list of many suggested projects or talk to

staff about your ideas or areas of interest. –  Supervisor to help and guide you through the project.

Your MRes Project •  Assessment:

–  Taster Project: 10 credits, presentation –  Project Progress Report: April, 30 credits

•  must be passed to continue with project •  background, first steps towards project, project plan

–  Dissertation: September, 80 credits

This Week •  See timetable in your pack •  Content:

– Meeting your Programme Director – Introductory talks for themes & course units – Student Representatives Self-Organisation – Introductory Laboratory Session:

•  getting to know the MSc Labs, tools, eLearning tools, ... – Welcome Fair in Student Union & Events for Overseas Students – Uni Sport & Library – eLearning/Blackboard intro:

• Plagiarism On-Line course • English Language testing • Health & Safety

even if –  English is your mothertongue –  you are fluent –  you have an English degree –  ...

English Language Classes •  Free. •  Dates: – Semester 1: weeks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8. – Semester 2: weeks 1 to 5. •  In the School, targeted at CS students. •  Times: – Mondays 17:00 – 18:30. – Wednesdays 16:30 - 18:00. •  It would be foolish not to:

• time spent here will likely be saved later.

Attendance at lectures, labs, project... •  is compulsory

– slide hand-outs won’t give you the same insight – full picture, details, important points, etc. only in lecture

•  is monitored, through – clickers, electronic coursework submission or – signatures on roster

•  if you have to miss classes, let lecturers know •  during your main project phase, June - September

– you are here in Manchester and – work full time on your project and dissertation

Documents Online •  Masters Handbook

– general information about all MSc & MRes – project, course units, rules, regulations, responsible people – must be read!

•  Timetable – some last minute changes sometimes have to be made

•  Per course unit: – syllabus: what is learned? – web-site: what is happening? – eLearning (Blackboard):

•  coursework, assignments, hand-in, deadlines,... •  discussion, questions, announcements,… • material, pointers,…

Some warnings… •  the year will be long & you will need to work hard

– some will struggle with technical depth, work culture, … •  success is not guaranteed

– even if you work hard … but success correlates well with engagement

•  academic malpractice (collusion, plagiarism, …) – is taken very seriously in this university – … any offence

• will be prosecuted, normally by a jury in the school or at Faculty •  leads to loss of marks, resubmission of work, and sometimes worse

•  … make sure you understand academic malpractice – complete Plagiarism On-Line course – ignorance is no excuse

Computer Science Facilities •  Lower First Student Area:

– Byte Café, with hot and cold food, a good place to meet & work informally

•  Your (just refurbished) Master Labs / Breakout Area: – Room 2.25 a,b / 2.11

•  Resource Centre: – Room LF21 - all course textbooks and other resources.

•  Student Support Office: – Room LF21 - For administrative and general support – Ask Here First - after having looked in the MSc Handbook

Computer Accounts and Intro Labs •  See the Welcome Sheet & Intro Labs •  If you experience any computer problems:

– submit details of problem via www.manchester.ac.uk/itservices – visit the Helpdesks in the John Rylands Library or the Joule

Library in person •  Read your university email regularly

– especially regular “Masters News” – sometimes used for formal communicatons – use email forwarding for your convenience

•  Access the School’s website for documents & information

•  Make sure that you are ready to start next Monday

Java •  It is essential for several units that you know Java

and can program confidently in it – for coursework and perhaps for your project

•  If you don’t know it, are rusty, or need further help, – there is an on-line course for you to take. – Go to

•  http://moodle.cs.man.ac.uk/course/ • Self-Study Courses •  Introduction to Software Development in Java •  and follow that class

School Seminars •  The School runs regular research seminars on

Wednesday, 2.15pm •  These are given by eminent speakers from around

the world •  A great opportunity to learn about many new topics

and the latest stage of research in an area.

Student Representatives •  Several per programme (say)

– ACS - 4, – ACS&ITM – 2 – MRes – 1 – Part timers – 1

•  Important for ensuring the school knows about issues and requests, on – social events – taught course units – facilities, general infrastructure, – etc.

•  You self-organise in Masters Break-Out Area: – tomorrow (Tuesday) during Lunch Break 13:00-14:00 – a representative from the student’s union will attend

Help •  Related to taught part or project

– you haven’t understood some stuff in lecture/meeting – you miss some knowledge/skills that

•  lecturer assumes •  project requires

– you don’t understand what you are supposed to be doing ➡  check course material ➡  ask

- your co-students who probably have similar problems - either directly or through Blackboard

- your teaching assistants or lecturer - your lecturer

Help •  Related to organisation of MSc programme

- when or where lectures/labs/… take place -  how course units are assessed -  how projects are allocated -  ... ➡  check out school’s PGT web site ➡  look at Masters Handbook ➡  ask the Student Support Office ➡  ask your Programme Director

Help •  Related to your personal & family life, health, etc.:

– finding your way in a new city/country/Uni/continent can be stressful & difficult

– you might need help to find your way around – you’ll probably have to work hard -- but that should be an

enjoyable experience •  Help is available from numerous sources:

– Your Programme Director – Student Support Office – http://www.sos.eps.manchester.ac.uk – http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide – many many more, e.g., see MSc Handbook

Help: if •  your circumstances

– health, – family, – personal, ...

•  prevent you from concentrating on your studies •  we need to know in time to help

➡  mitigating circumstances process and ➡  mitigating circumstances form ➡  ask SSO ➡  talk to your Programme Director

•  ...the process is confidential and there for you!

Friday Excursion •  A great opportunity to

– make friends & meet people – learn about Manchester United: ���

the team���the multi-national organization & ���its information processing needs

•  Meet Friday, 13:00 – Booth St East – for coach to Old Trafford

•  Return (approximately) 17:00 •  We will organise other social events through the

year.

Masters Student Representatives��� ���

Self-Organisation: ��� Masters Break-Out Area (2.11)���

Tuesday (tomorrow) 13:00-14:00������A Student’s Union Representative will attend.������Please email your names to ���sso@cs.man.ac.uk