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Instructor: Prof. Nizar Habash is the lead instructor. Other professors in Computer Science and other programs will be project mentors.
Office: CR-189 (A2-189)
Email: nizar.habash@nyu.edu
Class Hours: Tue 530pm to 830pm (asynchronous)
Class Location: Online (URL: https://nyu.zoom.us/j/96413404433)
Office Hours: By appointment
Description
The research seminar exposes students to a variety of research areas and methods within the field of Computer Science through weekly lectures from different CS and non-CS faculty in an initial learning phase. After this phase, students and mentors are matched taking into account their research preferences. After being assigned a capstone mentor, students start to develop a better sense of the project’s research area through literature reviews and regular one- on-one meetings. They then formulate a clear and coherent research problem and develop a plan, including a budget if needed, on how they intend to solve the problem and evaluate it in the course of the seminar and the following capstone project course.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the research seminar will be able to:
Read, critique and comprehend CS research literature,
Develop the art of asking or identifying well-posed questions or research problems,
Plan suitable approaches for problem solving, and
Develop technical writing and communication skills related to the preparation of a research proposal.
Instructors
Prof. Nizar Habash is the lead instructor. However, each student will select a capstone mentor during the course of the seminar. The mentors are primarily from Computer Science; although faculty from other programs can mentor with secondary graders from Computer Science.
Meeting Times
After week 6 of the seminar, students will meet mentors on a weekly basis at a mutually agreed upon time.
Course Structure
The course consists of three parts.
Part 1: Weeks 1-3 are about the students identifying what projects they will pursue and how the projects fit within their plans post graduation. The students will have access to faculty project descriptions, and will meet the faculty in an open-house panel style conversations about their projects. We will also use a student survey to collect information about the students skills and interests. This information will be shared with faculty to help guide student-faculty matches. The first two meetings will be recorded.
Here is the Capstone Experience Goal Setting Survey Link.
Part 2: Weeks 4-6 will be about faculty and students "interviewing" each other to identify good matches. Students can work individually or as part of a group. Once a match is confirmed, the faculty or student should send Prof. Habash an email ccing each other and confirming the match and the working project title. Students who match early will be able to start working on Part 3 right away. Students who have not matched will continue meeting with Professor Habash at the course time slot or by appointment to help identify solutions for their cases.
Part 3: Weeks 7-14 will be about developing the capstone project proposals with the faculty. By week 9, an extended abstract of the proposal should be sent to Prof. Habash together with identified secondary grader. Part 3 will conclude with a written report and presentation.
NYU Classes
We will use NYU Classes to share grades for the various deliverables.
Deliverables & Grading Policy
Filling the Capstone Experience Goal Setting Survey = 10%
Proposal Extended Abstract (250 words) = 10%
Final Proposal Report (2,500 words) = 40%
Final Proposal Presentation (15 minutes) = 30%
Participation, timeliness and attending weekly meetings = 10%
The details of the content of the extended abstract, final proposal and final presentation are determined by the mentor. Typical expectations include the following:
Proposal Extended Abstract includes a title, a summarized area background and a high level research question, as well as a reference list of 4 to 8 relevant papers. The extended abstract is no more than 250 words.
Final Proposal Report includes a title, an abstract, a related work and/or background section, research question and methodological details, project plan, timeline and budget, a conclusion, and a bibliography. The full report is no more than 2,500 words. Template for capstone report on overleaf. For more details on the grading rubric, see Gradesheet-Research-Seminar-in-CS.pdf under course materials below.
Final Proposal Presentation is a 10-minute slide presentation followed by 5 minutes of questions by the mentor and secondary grader. The presentation should include a title, a related work and/or background section, research question and methodological details, project plan, timeline and budget, and a conclusion. For more details on the grading rubric, see Gradesheet-Research-Seminar-in-CS.pdf under course materials below.
The final proposal and oral presentation will be graded by the capstone mentor and a secondary grader to ensure consistent grading.
Submission time: All deliverables are due at 11:59pm on the due date specified in syllabus Abu Dhabi time. For late submissions, 10% will be deducted per each late day.
Grade conversion: A=95-100; A-=90-94; B+=87-89; B=83-86; B-=80-82; C+=77-79; C=73-76; C-=70-72; D+=67-69; D=63-66; F=below 63
Academic Integrity
At NYU Abu Dhabi, a commitment to excellence, fairness, honesty, and respect within and outside the classroom is essential to maintaining the integrity of our community. By accepting membership in this community, students, faculty, and staff take responsibility for demonstrating these values in their own conduct and for recognizing and supporting these values in others. In turn, these values create a campus climate that encourages the free exchange of ideas, promotes scholarly excellence through active and creative thought, and allows community members to achieve and be recognized for achieving their highest potential.
Students should be aware that engaging in behaviors that violate the standards of academic integrity will be subject to review and may face the imposition of penalties in accordance with the procedures set out in the NYUAD policy:
Wellness
As a University student, you may experience a range of issues that can interfere with your ability to perform academically or impact your daily functioning, such as: heightened stress; anxiety; difficulty concentrating; sleep disturbance; strained relationships; grief and loss; personal struggles. If you have any well-being or mental health concerns please visit the Counseling Center on the ground floor of the campus center from 9am-5pm Sunday - Thursday, or schedule an appointment to meet with a counselor by calling: 02-628-8100, or emailing: nyuad.healthcenter@nyu.edu.
If you require mental health support outside of these hours call NYU's Wellness Exchange hotline at 02-628-5555, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You can also utilize the Wellness Exchange mobile chat feature, details of which you can find on the student portal. If you need help connecting to these supports please contact me directly.
Schedule and Faculty Project Summary Sheet
Course Materials
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