BSc Computer Science and Mathematics / Course details

This course unit is all about teamwork, communication, and active learning: in your team and with your tutor, you work on various tasks, thereby gaining valuable experience in teamwork and developing useful skills around communication, reflection, self-organisation, time management, independently acquiring new knowledge and skills, professional behaviour, project organisation, etc. The tasks teams work on include understanding ethical frameworks for computer science professionals, intellectual property issues, and the development of a web-based information system.  

Students who are not from the Department of Computer Science must have permission from both Computer Science and their home Department to enrol.

The main aim of this course-unit is to develop various non-technical skills, within a context that students will find relevant and engaging: a project to create a web-based application. These skills will help students to succeed both during their time at University and, more importantly, in their future working life.

Although there are lectures, they do not directly cover topics such as how to build a web-based application. Instead, students are encouraged to assess their own knowledge and decide what extra information they need and how they will obtain it (Inquiry Based Learning).

The various events and deliverables within the project are chosen to widen the student's range of experiences and capabilities - for example, group working, self- and peer- learning, setting goals and managing progress towards them, innovation and design - whilst being carefully phased and managed so that students can cope with each new step. In particular, each group of 6 to 9 students has a tutor/facilitator who they meet each week, and who carefully guides them at the beginning, but gives them as much freedom and control as they need later on, tailoring the course-unit to individual needs.

• reflect on their experience in independently acquiring new knowledge and skills particularly in programming, debugging and web development, ethical and professional issues and intellectual property rights relevant for the field of computer science, and different frameworks that have been developed for these.

• reflect on their group working and project-management skills.

• act as a responsible member of a team, communicate with team members, and contribute to the project.

• analyse and compare different frameworks that have been developed for ethical and professional issues and intellectual property rights relevant for the field of computer science.

• plan and develop a functioning, substantial, web-based information system as a member of a team.

• give technical presentations and prepare suitable material, as a member of a team.

• write technical reports and reflect on their learning and professional development.

 

• Phase 0: Introduction [registration week]
• Phase 1: Professional Issues - Software Patents [2 weeks]
• Phase 2: Professional Issues - Ethics [3 weeks + reading week]
• Phase 3: World-Wide What? [6 weeks]
• Phase 4: Building a Web Application [11 weeks]

Lectures

1 hour per week (in most weeks), including guest lecturers

Laboratories

2 hours per week in semester 1, 1 hour per week in semester 2

The course emphasises group work, guided by weekly face to face meetings with your tutor. There are several individual and group presentations, which are assessed by your tutor and at least one other member of staff, and an opportunity for peer review within your tutorial group.

COMP10120 reading list can be found on the Department of Computer Science website for current students.

Course unit materials

Links to course unit teaching materials can be found on the School of Computer Science website for current students.

Links related to COMP10120

• Video of first years talking about their group project experience