University of Tampere, CS Department Studying Computer Sciences at the University of Tampere Jyrki Nummenmaa

University of Tampere, CS Department History First CS professor (Reino Kurki-Suonio) in Scandinavia – around Kurki-Suonio moved later to the local University of Technology and has now retired, but his influence still shows. Although the department has a long tradition (in computer science scale), it is a quite modern department.

University of Tampere, CS Department Present major areas Algorithms Data management Human-Computer Interaction Information Systems Software Development

University of Tampere, CS Department Algorithms General data structure algorithms, esp. binary trees. Graph layouts Data mining Computational methods for medical research (data mining, decision trees, neural networks, etc.) Virtual reality methods Lots of theoretical and applied research.

University of Tampere, CS Department Data management Query systems and languages Conceptual modeling Database design (relational and OLAP) Data-driven software development Distributed transaction management Search structures Lots of theoretical and also some practical research.

University of Tampere, CS Department Human-Computer Interaction New interaction methods Speech interfaces Gaze-based interfaces Touch-based interfaces Two-hand devices Computer-supported learning General usability study Emphasis on applied research.

University of Tampere, CS Department Information systems Building large systems Expert systems, esp. in medicine Medical information systems Security, viruses eBusiness Information systems and society Emphasis on practice.

University of Tampere, CS Department Software development Data-driven software development Software development tools Simulation Distributed and mobile systems Software agents Reverse engineering Earlier: Object- technologies, frameworks Current emphasis more on practice.

University of Tampere, CS Department Departmental Staff 8 full professors 6 lectures, 8 senior assistants (ass. prof.) Part-time teaching staff Around 50 research staff Administrational staff (secreteries etc.) 2 computing officers In total, around 90 people.

University of Tampere, CS Department Student intake Roughly 100 new first year students – half selected with an entrance test alone and the other half with the test and the last year secondary school national test. Roughly 40 special cases, including less than 20 foreign students for English MSc programs. Around 10(?) Erasmus exchange students per year visit the department.

University of Tampere, CS Department Degrees We have now moved (with all other departments) to the presumably general European system: - 3-year BSc - 2-year MSc

University of Tampere, CS Department 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 go and discuss possibilities with the teacher in charge.

University of Tampere, CS Department MSc programs An MSc program is available on 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 enough previous studies). Because of the above, there is much more teaching available in English on the MSc level.

University of Tampere, CS Department Seeing the teachers Each teacher has a regular ”surgery hour” (which, of course, may be cancelled due to a trip, illness,...) It is usually a better idea to settle an individual time for seeing the teacher. Electronic mail is often the most convenient way to contact the teachers. The department generally has an open-doors policy.

University of Tampere, CS Department ”Official” forms of study work Lectures (Weekly) exercises Demonstrations Coursework Essays Seminar works Group supervision Individual supervision Exams –an oral examination may also somtimes be possible MSc thesis work All this requires indivdual work: reading, proglem solving, programming, writing,...

University of Tampere, CS Department 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.

University of Tampere, CS Department Weekly exercises Exercises are given several days ahead At the session, the teacher collects a list of who has solved what Students are to present solutions When all the exercises are dealt with, the session is usually over Some percentage of the exercises may be compulsory, or give bonus exam points

University of Tampere, CS Department Weekly exercises / 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.

University of Tampere, CS Department Coursework(s) Separate assignment Separate schedules Usually much larger than single weekly exercises The expected outcome may include program code, documents, essays, evaluations,…

University of Tampere, CS Department Exams (cs, maths, statistics) Typically the following rules hold: Exam time 4 hours. You may leave after 30 mins. Some exams allow you to have written material and some don’t (both open book and closed book exams are used). Typically a re-sit possibility at the start of the following term (this is not so handy for visiting students).

University of Tampere, CS Department A typical course module Weekly lectures Weekly exercises Courswork Exam

University of Tampere, CS Department Thank you!