|
The project involves both the application of skills learned in the past and the acquisition of new skills. It allows students to demonstrate their ability to organise and carry out a major piece of work according to sound scientific and engineering principles. The types of activity involved in each project will vary but all will typically share the following features:
Supervisors enable students to carry out MSc projects over the relevant period of study (Summer for one-year students; Semesters 1 and 2 of second year for two-year students).
Over the period, the supervisor gives appropriate technical advice and also assists the student in planning the project and working towards various targets during the period of work. Students should expect approximately weekly meetings with their supervisor at the start of the project but the frequency of these meetings will normally drop as the project progresses and as students become more self-sufficient. Backup supervisors may be allocated to cover periods of absence of the supervisor, if necessary.
Project choice procedures depend on the student's degree:
For two-year students, the default is that they submit their own project proposal. This procedure of self-proposal is intended for students who know at the beginning of Semester 1 of Year 2 (or earlier) what specific project they wish to do. In this case the student must discuss their idea with a member of academic staff and get them agree to act as supervisor for the project. The MSc project coordinator will then record the allocations of students to MSc supervisors.
Students must discuss their ideas with a member of staff or with the MSc project coordinator to seek approval of the project before starting work on it. This will cover aspects such as the suitability of its topic, the methods to be used, any facilities or systems required, the form the results would take, any difficulties that might arise, and so on. It is then up to the student to find a supervisor who is willing to supervise the project. Having done this, they should submit the proposal to the project coordinator by email. The deadline for completing the whole process (discussion with staff and filling in a proforma proposal) is the last day of October.
Students who are sponsored by, or have close contact with an industrial company may wish to undertake a project which relates to that company's activities. This is encouraged. The industrial partner may initially like to submit an informal project description which can be discussed with staff in the School. For those suggestions which are followed up, a more tightly specified proposal is produced in the normal form. A student undertaking the project will have both an industrial supervisor and an academic supervisor. They are still expected to spend a significant portion of their time at the University but may spend periods at the industrial collaborator's premises where this is appropriate.
Students are formed into groups of 4-6 for the purposes of Review Meeings in Semesters 1 and 2. These take place in the middle of Semester 1, and early in Semester 2. The purpose is for students to receive feedback on their proposal and progress. The groupings will put related project topics together as far as possible. At the meeting, each student will give a 5 -- 10 minute talk describing their project and its objectives, outlining progress so far and plans for future work together with a timetable of milestones to be achieved. Students are strongly encouraged to prepare slides to support their presentation as past experience shows that this greatly enhances the effectiveness of the talk, and helps develop transferable skills.
The purpose of the talk is to allow students to take stock of their progress and to elicit constructive feedback and suggestions from the audience of fellow students and supervisors. Problems are aired and possible solutions discussed. If a project is running into trouble for any reason, it is vital to identify this as soon as possible so that remedial action can be taken.
A secondary benefit of the review meeting is that of giving students experience in making presentations of their work. This will be a vital skill in future careers.
After each meeting the supervisors will hold a brief private conclave to discuss the projects presented and to make observations and recommendations for transmission back to the student. This formative feedback will be communicated to the student and supervisor, and copied to the MSc project coordinator who will monitor the progress of all students.
The project is only assessed on the basis of a final written dissertation. Additional material, such as the code you submit, may be taken into account in case of doubt, but you should make sure that all the work you have done is carefully described in the dissertation document. Dissertations will typically conform to the following format:
Students should budget at least four weeks for the final dissertation writing-up phase. The length of the main body of the dissertation should be around 40 to 50 pages. Where appropriate the dissertation may additionally contain appendices in which relevant program listings, experimental data, circuit diagrams, formal proofs, etc. may be included. However, students should keep in mind that they are marked on the quality of the dissertation, not its length.
The dissertation must be word-processed using either LaTeX or a system with similar capabilities. The LaTeX thesis template can be found via the local packages web page. You don't have to use these packages, but your thesis must match the style (i.e., font size, text width etc) shown in the sample output for an Informatics thesis.
The standard computing resource we provide is 24/7 access to communally used DICE machines; we cannot guarantee access to or a specific lab or specific machine, reliable constant remote access, or exclusive use of any machine.
If a project requires anything more, this needs to be requested at the time of writing the proposal, and the supervisor needs to explicitly ask for additional resources if necessary (start by talking to support and/or the ITO); once a project is allocated we are making an explicit commitment to it being properly resourced.
Technical problems during project work are only considered for resources we provide; no technical support, compensation for lost data, extensions for time lost due to technical problems with external hard- and software as provided will be given, except where this is explicitly stated as part of a project specification and adequately resourced at the start of the project.
Students must submit their project by the deadline specified in the relevant timetable; for the advanced degree students, it is this timetable. Students need to submit hard copy, electronic copy and archive software as detailed below.
Two printed copies of the dissertation, bound with the soft covers provided by the School, must be submitted to the ITO before the deadline.
Students must follow the instructions for how to submit their project electronically. Please use the online submission form that is linked from there.
Students are required to preserve any software they have generated, source, object and make files, together with any associated data that has been accumulated. When you submit the electronic copy of your thesis you will also be asked to provide an archive file (tar or zip) containing all the project materials. You should create a directory, for example named PROJECT, in your file space specifically for the purpose. Please follow the accepted practice of creating a README file which documents your files and their function. This directory should be compressed and then submitted, together with the electronic version of the thesis.
Projects are assessed in terms of a number of basic and other criteria. Only the dissertation is used for assessment. Knowledge of these criteria will help you to plan your project and also when writing up. They include:
The marking guidelines can be found here.
As noted elsewhere, demonstrations are not always required. If a demonstration is required by the dissertation's markers, Informatics offers the following general guidance on demos.
|
Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Scotland, UK
Tel: +44 131 651 5661, Fax: +44 131 651 1426, E-mail: school-office@inf.ed.ac.uk Please contact our webadmin with any comments or corrections. Logging and Cookies Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all material is copyright © The University of Edinburgh |
