Activities

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

Problem Sets : They will be posted (at the course emailing list) with the following timeline.
  • Problem Set 1 : Jan 27, 2015 - Feb 09, 2015 (submit here)
  • Problem Set 2 : Feb 15, 2015 - Feb 22, 2015 (submit here)
  • Problem Set 3 : Feb 23, 2015 - Mar 02, 2015 (submit here)
  • Problem Set 4 : Mar 23, 2015 - Apr 01, 2015 (submit here)
  • Problem Set 5 : Apr 01, 2015 - Apr 10, 2015
  • Problem Set 6 : Apr 10, 2015 - Apr 20, 2015


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 per-requisites.
  • Duration : The project topics and assignments will be announced by Mar 29, 2015. The interim meetings will be scheduled during Apr 13-17, 2015. The final presentations and evaluations will be scheduled by the end of April.
  • 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/Evaluated 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 may not be to the 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 whole class is expected to attend all the presentations and the slides(if any) and report will be made public.

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 day of the exam, will be for about 45 minutes for each candidate.
Exam : May 2, 2015 - Tuesday 9am - 10:30am
Viva : May 2, 2015 - Tuesday 11:00am - 6pm.