CSC405 Computer Science Seminars

The course requires students to attend at least 10 seminars hosted by the Department of Computer Science. Due to the pandemic we will substitute the in-person lectures with online lectures. The topics of the lectures vary, depending on the speakers. By attending these lectures students are exposed to, and learn about (at least the existence of) a broad range of topics in Computer Science research and application. Each student needs to write a minimum of 4,000 words to earn a writing credit. You either can write five reports with at least 800 words or eight reports with at least 500 words. You need to explain what you learnt from the lecture, and commenting on the presentation and content of the lecture.

I will handout a link to an online lecture on Wednesdays and you will have one week to watch that video. We will then meet the next Wednesday between 6pm and 7pm on zoom to discuss the current lecture. You will then write your report.

Seminar Reports
Each report must have:

An introduction, providing: information about the speaker; the title of the seminar; the place, date, and time of the seminar; and the general topic of the seminar.
A body of one or more paragraphs, explaining the content of the seminar. This cannot be simple regurgitation of the seminar content - it must demonstrate understanding of the seminar.
A conclusion, summarizing the seminar in terms of the overall message, possible future work, and how the material fits into the world of Computer Science.

Instructor
Dr. Ubbo Visser
Office: Ungar Building, Room 330A
Web: http://www.cs.miami.edu/~visser
Phone: 305-284-2254
Email: visser@cs.miami.edu
Office Hours: by appointment

Contact Hours

Each week there is one meeting:
Wednesday, 6:00-7:00pm, online

Seminar reports must be submitted within 48 hours of the Wednesday discussion, i.e., for the regular Wednesday lecture reports must be submitted by 7pm Friday evening. The report will be reviewed and returned the following Monday, and the final report is due 6pm the following Wednesday (just before the next lecture starts). You can send me your report by email.

Assessment

50% attendance
50% reports

Late submissions will not be accepted. Extensions of the due date will be granted if supporting documentary evidence is supplied (e.g., a doctor's certificate). Application for an extension must be made to the instructor before the due date (if possible).

Assessment items must be completed individually. While general interaction between students is encouraged, plagiarism is a breach of the Honor code. It is ok to talk to other students about general solution techniques for assignments, but it is not ok to copy solutions in part or as a whole. Plagiarism will result in a loss of marks for all guilty students involved.