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New IT-related Master Programs at the Faculty of Automation and Computers in Timișoara

New IT-related Master Programs at the Faculty of Automation and Computers in Timișoara Ioan Jurca „Politehnica” University of Timișoara. Agenda. Legal Framework Role of ARACIS – Quality Assurance Agency

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New IT-related Master Programs at the Faculty of Automation and Computers in Timișoara

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  1. New IT-related Master Programs at the Faculty of Automation and Computers in Timișoara Ioan Jurca „Politehnica” University of Timișoara 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009

  2. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Agenda • Legal Framework • Role of ARACIS – Quality Assurance Agency • Master programs at „Politehnica” University of Timișoara • Past experience with IT-related master programs • 3 new IT-related master programs in the Computers Department • Conclusions

  3. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Legal framework • Act (Law) 288/2004 on organizing university-level studies • Government Decision 404/2006 on organizing university master studies • New proposal of a law on higher education • Proposal of a presidential commision on education regarding higher education

  4. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Act 288/2004 (1) • Refers to higher education in 3 levels/cycles (Bologna) • Master studies of 1-2 years, with a number of credits between 90 and 120 (exceptionally can also be only 60 credits), with a total of at least 300 credits for bachelor+master • Master studies are organized in the same domains as bachelor studies or in closely related domains and must ensure the development of research capabilities of the students, in preparation for doctoral studies • Can be full-time (the preferred form), part-time or distance education • Duration of part-time and distance education will be decided by government • A master diploma attests „general and special knowledge and competence, as well as specific cognitive abilities” • Higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for the design, application, and development of specializations and appropriate study programs • Number of subsidized places in master studies: at least 50 % of graduates of bachelor studies • Public institutions or other factors can finance specific master programs

  5. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Act 288/2004 (2) • General knowledge: • Most recent and advanced developments in the field • Superior abilities of independent research • Capacity to apply theory in new and unforseen situations • Special knowledge: • Accumulation of a substantial quantity of new information(knowledge) • Identification, approach and solution of new cognitive and professional problems • Ability to compare the new knowledge with the traditional one and capacity to establish relations between them, in view of sensing new directions for increasing the knowledge and further develop the profession

  6. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Act 288/2004 (3) • General competencies: • Creative application of research and problem solving techniques • Writing studies and reports which can either be published or applied professionally • Capacity to lead working groups and communicate in different contexts • Capacity to act independently and creatively in approaching and solving problems, to objectively and constructively evaluate critical situations, to creatively solve problems and communicate results • Leadership abilities and clear engagement on the path of personal professional development • Cognitive abilities: • Critical evaluation of results of new research • Capacity to formulate alternative interpretations andto demonstrate their relevance • Creative application of research methods • Development and management of domain-specific processes

  7. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Government decision 404/2006 • Higher education institutions (HEI) should promote interdisciplinarity of master studies • Master studies can only be organized by accredited HEIs, in faculties and departments established by government decision • To organize master studies HEIs must obtain the approval of Ministry of Education, at the proposal of the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) • HEIs can associate with other HEIs from Romania or from abroad to implement cooperative master programs • These other HEIs must have the legal right to organize master studies, apply a trasferrable credits system and implement a quality assurance system • Partner institutions from different countries must have an agreement for reciprocal recognition of diplomas • Courses in master programs can be taught in Romanian, in the language of a national minority, or in an international language • Only staff members with a doctoral degree can teach in MSc programs

  8. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 New legislative proposals • Curricula design must be in agreement with the European and national framework of qualifications • Master programs must emphasize scientific or professional specialization and development of research abilities • Full-time, part-time and distance education programs must have the same number of credits and lead to equivalent diplomas • The academic year starts on September 15, and ends on September 14 of next year • Four different profiles for Master studies: a) master in sciences (mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences), identified by the acronym MSc; b) master in engineering, identified by the acronym MIng; c) master in arts (humanistic, artistic and sports disciplines), identified by the acronym MA and d) professional (vocational) master, identified by the acronym MV.

  9. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Role of ARACIS • For accreditation: • Periodical development of accreditation methodology and standards for different types of programs and suppliers of higher education. Standards are advised by the Ministry of Education and approved by the government • Evaluates the suppliers of higher eduction and proposes their authorization or accreditation • For quality assurance: • Creates and periodically revises, based on „best practice”, national reference standards and performance indicators • Organizes annual consultations with HEIs to establish priorities of quality assurance • Cooperates with similar agencies in other countries • Reports every 3 years on the quality of its own activity, in view of external evaluation by similar foreign agencies

  10. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Master programs at „Politehnica” University of Timișoara • Started in 1996, as „etudes approfondies” (1 year after the 5-year engineering programs) • At that time there were 2-8 such programs in each faculty, with approx. 10 students in each program • Emphasized development of practical abilities, with a reduced number of hours for lectures • Flexibility of curricula varied between faculties and programs • There was always an admission examination, with 1 or 2 tests, one „test” was that the candidate describe the plan for his/her dissertation • Recently (2006) the duration of studies was increased to 2 years and the number of subsidized places increased by almost an order of magnitude

  11. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Past experience with IT-related master programs • Department of Computers organized only 1 master program, under various names (now called „Advanced Computing Systems”) • Curricula was a mixture of hardware- and software- oriented courses, and courses offered each year were established by student vote • We cooperated with 2 other departments in organizing a master program for Siemens Automotive • In the last 2 years we did not have enough applicants for the number of subsidized places (45-50 places, for 150 bachelor graduates) • Since 2006 English is used in all activities of the master program, but we only have Romanian students • Attendance of lectures is very low (most students have jobs), but practical activities (labs, projects) have compulsory attendance (in theory!) • This year we had two generations of bachelor graduates: last with 5-year program, and first with 4-year program

  12. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 General characteristics of new IT master programs • The 3 programs are „Computer Engineering”, „Software Engineering”, and „Information Technology” • 2-year programs (120 credits), with 3 semesters of courses and the last semester dedicated for elaborating the dissertation • Courses are taught in English, all teaching staff must have a certificate of profficiency in English • Curricula of all programs include courses on „Introduction to research”, „Research topics in ...”, and „Directed thesis research” • All other 9 courses ( a total of 4 courses per semester) are electives, divided into 3 groups: Breadth coverage (BC), Depth coverage (DC), and Advanced Electives (AE) (only 2 categories for „Information technology”) • A student must choose at least 3 BC and at least 3 DC courses (at least 2 C1 and 5 C2 for IT) • In particular, courses in 1st and 3rd semester can be interchanged • Number of subsidized places/program: 50 for the academic year 2009/2010 (due to 2 series of bachelor graduates – approx. 300 ) • All 3 programs were recently accredited by ARACIS • Curricula proposed by a board, advised by the department and approved by the university

  13. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Depth coverage (contd.) Optic fiber transmission Cellular data networks Emergent and collective intelligence systems Evolvable hardware Advanced electives Emerging systems High-end interfaces and equipment Automatic design and optimization of VLSI circuits Virtual measurement systems Advanced artificial intelligence Courses for „Computer Engineering” • Breadth coverage • Testing of computer systems • Image processing and recognition • Embedded systems • Robotic systems • Advanced digital signal processing • Integrated information systems • Depth coverage • Smart sensors and sensor networks • Data transmission, coding and compresssion

  14. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Depth coverage -contd. Real-time systems design Advanced software technologies Advanced Web programming Advanced electives Machine learning and cognitive models Heuristic methods Information technology project management Neural networks Parallel algorithms Graphics processing systems Courses for „Software Engineering” • Breadth coverage • Advanced Algorithms • Programming language design and analysis • Distributed systems • Advanced databases • Depth coverage • Component-based software engineering • Compiler design • Development of complex distributed applications • Formal verification and program analysis

  15. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 C2 – contd. Development of complex distributed applications Real-time system design Advanced software technologies Advanced digital signal processing Integrated information systems Courses for „Information technology” • C1 • Distributed systems • Component-based software engineering • Information technology project management • Advanced databases • Advanced Web programming • C2 • Testing of computer systems • Smart sensors and sensor networks • Data transmission, coding and compression

  16. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Data about 2009 admission examination

  17. 9th DAAD SEERE Workshop - Neum, 31.08-5.09.2009 Conclusions • Master studies – pre-condition for doctoral studies in Bologna programs • Design of the 3 new programs was an interesting cooperation exercise • Opportunities: • Professional growth possibilities for younger staff • Increased emphasis on research, more „manpower” for participating in national and international contract-based work • Use of English opens up new cooperation possibilities • Concerns: • Too much workload on teaching staff • Motivation of bachelor graduates to continue studies not very high • Large number of students in a program might lead to lower quality

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