COMP-604 Graduate School Fundamentals

Fall 2023, Course co-coordinators: Oana Balmau, and David Rolnick

Welcome to COMP-604!

The goal of the course is to introduce students to fundamental skills every graduate student in computer science requires. This includes skills in research and communication with a focus on the culture and research in computer science, including graduate student orientation, research integrity and ethics, equity, diversity and inclusion, science communication for a general audience, elevator pitches, science writing for a general audience, finding/reading the literature, and peer review. The course will also introduce to the different career paths graduate students in computer science pursue and how to structure one’s graduate studies according to these paths.

When: Tuesdays, 2:35 PM - 3:25 PM

Where: McConnell Engineering Building, ENGMC 103. The class is in-person only, and the sessions/panels will not be recorded.

Credits: 1 credit.

Prerequisites: None.

Discussion forum: EdStem (to participate in the forum, you need to first sign up using this link, with your McGill email) Please ask all course-related questions on Ed, so everyone can benefit. 

MyCourses page: https://mycourses2.mcgill.ca/d2l/home/656963 

For personal issues, you can reach out to one of the course co-coordinators at comp604@cs.mcgill.ca.  

Tentative Schedule

Week 1, no class. The semester starts on Wednesday.

Week 2, Sep 5

• • Lecture: Introduction and logistics. Prof. Oana Balmau.

Week 3, Sep 12

• • Panel discussion: Working in a research group

  • Panelists: Prof. Martin Robillard, and Prof. Siva Reddy. Moderator: Prof. Oana Balmau.

Week 4, Sep 19

• • Panel discussion: Work-life integration

  • Panelists: Prof. Robert Robere, and Prof. Jacob Errington. Moderator: Prof. David Rolnick.

Week 5, Sep 26

• • Updated: Lecture: Writing tips for computer science. Prof. David Rolnick.

Week 6, Oct 3

• • Updated: Lecture: Oral presentation tips. Prof. Paul Kry.

Week 7

• • No Class: Reading week.

Week 8, Oct 17

• • Panel discussion: Results reproducibility

  • Panelists: Prof. Jérôme Waldispühl, and Prof. Clark Verbrugge. Moderator: Prof. David Rolnick.

Week 9, Oct 24

• • Panel discussion: Ethics and sustainability in CS

  • Panelists: Prof. Golnoosh Farnadi, and Prof. Bettina Kemme. Moderator: Prof. David Rolnick.

Week 10, Oct 31

• • Online lecture: Equity, diversity, and inclusion. Lecturer: Sara McAllister

  • Zoom link: https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/6796939400

Week 11, Nov 7

• • Panel discussion: Effective networking

  • Panelists: Prof. Jackie Cheung, and Prof. Derek Ruths. Moderator: Prof. David Rolnick.

Week 12, Nov 14

• • Presentation week: 

    • Jiaxuan Chen 

    • Maxime Darrin 

    • Ruoyu Deng 

    • Zachary Doucet 

    • Shwetali Shimangaud

Week 13, Nov 21

• • Presentation week: 

    • Chaitanya Santosh Tekane

    • Shubham Vashisth

    • Suraj Verma

    • Fatemeh Yaghoubpour

Week 14, Nov 28

• • Panel discussion: Effective teaching

  • Panelists: Prof. David Becerra, and Prof. Mona ElSaadawy. Moderator: Prof. Oana Balmau.

Week 15, Dec 5

• • Panel discussion: Career directions after the PhD

  • Panelists: Prof. Joelle Pineau, and Prof. Mathieu Blanchette. Moderator: Prof. Oana Balmau.

Grading Scheme

• Participation: 10%

Students are required to attend lectures for a minimum of 9 weeks and engage in the panels and lectures by responding to questions raised by the instructor, by asking questions, or by participating in discussion points highlighted by the instructor.

• Oral presentation: 30%. Presentation days Nov 14th & Nov 21st.

• Short written report: 30%. Due Nov 28th. 

• Peer review: 30%. Due Dec 5th.