Activities

This page will list down the course activities in addition to the lectures.

Problem Sets : We are aiming at 4 problem sets with equal weightage. They will be posted (at the course emailing list) with the following timeline.

• Problem Set 4 : Mar 12 - Mar 26
• Problem Set 3 : Mar 2 - Mar 12
• Problem Set 2 : Jan 28 - Feb 10
• Problem Set 1 : Jan 16 - Jan 30

Scribing: Each student will need to scribe for approx 5 lectures in the total of 56. This is more of a formative but compulsary assignment and will amount to 20% of the grades. The notes submitted will be edited and made available on the course webpage for reference.

Course Project: The course project will be assigned with a possible research direction and a specific exploratory question and (in many cases) with a specific open question. We have listed a set of topics, and suggested presenters, in the lectures section of the course page. Here are the ground rules.

• Topics : Each of you will select one topic each. The schedule for presentation of the topics is fixed along with the topic. They are chosen based on the pace of the lectures covering the required pre-requisites.
• Groups : You can (although not necessary) form groups or two each. And it may work out easier if you can work together on both the topics. Your group-mate will be the scribe (which will be evaluated for him/her as a part of the report) for your talk. You can help each other to polish the drafts and submit it before the viva date.
• Duration : The project duration is expected to be 30 days for some and about 50 days for some other. This is *not* based on the difficulty level, but simply based on how they sync with the class materials.
• Reading : Here is some advice on reading research papers. Pay attention to the three pass approach. By the time you are done with 1.5 passes, you are ready for the interim meeting.
• Interim Discussion Meeting : There will be an interim individual discussion at about 1/3rd way mark (based on the duration). By that time you are expected to have an overview of the work and the different technical components clarified, although not full technical details. This might also be a good time to seek any help from the instructor if needed. This interaction will also be evaluated although with low weightage.
• Presentations : Each participant will present the project work in a one hour slot. The schedule for project presentations is already out. The whole class is expected to attend all the presentations and the slides and report will be made public as soon as they are available.

Exam + Viva : To help the viva process, we are also planning to conduct a short exam sometime before the viva. The viva will be scheduled on the same/next day of the exam, will be for about 30 minutes for each candidate.
Exam : Apr 21 Saturday morning 9am - 10:30am
Viva : Apr 21 Saturday 10:30am - 6pm (Schedule was sent out to the course groups).