13 posts tagged with "thoughts"

Thoughts​

For a variety of reasons, I decided to do a partial local exchange from the NUS school of computing (Computer Science) to NTU. Overall, I think the experience was good and refreshing to study in a (slightly) different environment. I ended up taking 1 module at NUS, and 5 modules at NTU. I will be writing a review of the modules below, and more importantly, I want to note down some of the gotchas that I encountered during the process of applying for the exchange. I hope that this will be useful to anyone who is considering doing a partial local exchange. Note that some of the information might be outdated, so please still do your own research.

Application​

Singapore Universities Student Exchange Programme (SUSEP) is a program that allows students to take modules at another local university. The exchange is usually for a semester, and it is possible to do a partial exchange(meaning you can still do some modules at your home university). If you are interested, you should look out for the announcement email that will be sent out by the school nearer to the application period, which should be in the semester before the exchange. E.g. for my semester starting in August, the application period was in February. As they mentioned in the email, the quota is limited for NUS SOC so the application could be selective.

Application materials​

Things required:

• submit an application form
• might require transcript
• will need a personal statement stating why you want to do the exchange
• an exchange plan indicating module mappings and the modules you want to take at the other university

I think a good personal statement could be important for the selection as there are only a few slots.

Module mapping​

I would say that module mapping is a really troublesome part of the process. You need to do your own research to find out the modules offered and whether they could possibly be mapped back.

Some things to do include:

• going into Edurec and checking the past module mapping records, which could be found under academics -> global education -> search module mapping
• search online to see if the modules are still available and offered in the coming semester

Below is a list of approved modules that I requested, so you can use it as a reference. (open the image in a new tab if blurry)

Gotchas​

Here's what I painfully learned during the process of module mapping:

• some modules might not be offered to exchange students.
  • some modules may claim that they don't offer to exchange students but somehow you can bid and get the module ...
• some modules may be phased out.
• some modules have separate module codes for a particular faculty, e.g. CZ XXXX for computer science students.
• module code and content could change from year to year, which means the module mapping may become invalid if it differs from what you requested
• when filling up the individual module request, you will need to provide module information as well as your pre-requisite module grades. Sometimes it's impossible to find a URL for module details, in those cases you can try to print out the NTU official module search webpage and upload it to dropbox, and then link it. If you can't find the module details e.g the module components, you can just leave it blank (which was what I did).
• if you are doing a partial exchange, do take note that you may need to submit appeals to NUS to adjust your min workload. This is to prevent the system from disallowing you to drop the extra modules you applied to at your home university. I applied for additional modules at NUS just in case I could not secure the modules that I wanted at NTU, and I had a hard time dropping them after I got the modules I wanted at NTU.
• Some modules will be preallocated to you before the exchange period, and for the rest, you will have to go through the module bidding process.
• If you are doing a partial exchange, you will need to be careful about schedule conflicts. Even if the modules don't directly conflict, you may need to take into account the time you need to travel between the two universities. I would say for some of the modules in NTU, it was fine that I did not attend the tutorials and lectures as I could just watch the recordings or read the slides. However, for some modules, there are compulsory labs or you need to be careful with the quiz timings that happen during lecture time.

Below is a sample module mapping request that you will need to fill up. (open the image in a new tab if blurry)

CS3219 Software Engineering Principles and Patterns (NUS)​

This is an over-subscribed software engineering module that many students want to do. It was worth doing because I got to try and understand not just some of the software principles, but also technologies that support them. A large part of what I learned came from working on individual assignments, which got me into Docker, Kubernetes, Redis, AWS hosting and deployment, kafka, and more. Those experiences were really valuable as I wanted to learn about these technologies for a long time and finally had the chance to do so. The group assignment was also a good way to practice building an application powered by micro-services. Overall, I would say that the practical aspects of the module were really good. Of course, what you learn out of it depends on how much effort you put in, but I would say that the assignments were well structured for you to learn.

One thing that I remembered: my first time implementing a complete authentication system via JWT......pretty cool experience as I discovered some intricacies of JWT and how to use it properly. (I will probably write about it in the future)

SC2005 Operating Systems (NTU)​

I took this module to map it back to our NUS core OS module, and surprisingly the quality of this module in NTU was pretty decent. I think that the two profs delivered the course well (lectures were great) and the tutorial was conducted in a way that was very helpful for students to understand the concepts (again, the prof for my tutorial was great). The labs were a little less challenging and the workload overall was very manageable.

CZ4003 Computer Vision (NTU)​

This module is an overview of the computer vision space, talking about how digital images can be enhanced, and how computers "see" them (so edge detection, object detection, 3D reconstruction etc). I think it gave me some ideas about what computer vision means and the mechanisms behind things like object detection. My personal opinion is that the module materials were not very easy to understand and perhaps some background knowledge was required in order to understand the concepts better. When going into the technical details such as deriving Fourier transforms, some mathematical maturity certainly helps for topics on linear algebra, calculus, trigonometry, and matrix manipulation. Overall, I think I would not recommend this module.

IE4483 Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining (NTU)​

This module is split into 3 parts:

• traditional AI methods(e.g. search, logic, planning, etc)
• Machine learning (convolutional neural networks, decision trees, etc)
• Data mining and more ML (clustering, optimization, PCA etc)

The last two parts were well taught and the topics covered gave me a good introduction to machine learning. The first part was a little less interesting, probably because I already learned those in the introduction to AI in NUS. The assignments were doable. Overall I would say that this module is worth doing if you want to learn more about machine learning.

IE4758 Information Security (NTU)​

I think this module is super light and the workload is almost non-existent. The module is about the basics of information security, and the topics covered are pretty much common sense. It's like a general knowledge class where you just come in and listen to the prof talk about the topics. The only technical parts are some calculations that you need to do for cryptography(e.g RSA and Diffie-Hellman key exchange), which is not difficult. Overall this module is pretty simple and recommended if you want to do a near-zero workload module.

CX4153 Blockchain Technology (NTU)​

The lectures in this module are all recorded and every week you will need to watch a series of videos. After doing this module, I finally understood some of the concepts in the blockchain world. I think the topics are interesting and I got the fundamental ideas of blockchain after doing this module. And I appreciate why blockchain is so popular because it solves some of the existing problems with such an elegant computational and distributed solution. The assignment also gave me a good idea of how to write a smart contract and connect it to a frontend. Overall, I would say that this module is highly recommended if you are interested in blockchain.

Thoughts​

This is a retrospective of the second semester of my second year at NUS. It was a relatively relaxed semester, with me taking 5 modules that resulted in a very manageable workload. In some sense, I would also say that perhaps I got used to what needed to be done.

Module Review​

CS3281 Thematic Systems Project I (aka Open Source Mod)​

This was my highlight-of-the-semester module, and I truly enjoyed it 😄 (Kudos to Prof Damith for keeping the module alive by volunteering his time to deliver this module!) It taught me a lot about open-source development. Even though the project that I worked on is by no means a large-scale, well-established one, in some way that provided autonomy and a whole range of tasks to tackle. As someone who has taken CS3216 (aka Go build software projects mod), I would say the learning outcome is different, but this module is equally worth doing. Summarizing some of my thoughts on the module:

• You get to work on an open-source project!
• You get to participate in the routine tasks of an open-source project, such as raising (and triaging) issues, fixing bugs, reviewing PRs, improving documentation, proposing new features, and discussing implementation details etc.
• The projects are generally well documented; or have rich context from the git history and public discussion in issues and PRs.
• The project mentors will be very helpful and you will get to learn from them through PR reviews and discussions.
• When you spot the not-so-good parts of the projects, you have the chance to improve them.
• Working on school-based projects also lends you the opportunity to work with other students, as well as external contributors and even on external projects (especially upstream dependencies).

I spent a fairly consistent amount of time working on MarkBind, as you can see in the contribution graph:

You can find out about what I have done (my progress and knowledge-learned log) here.

One thing I learned about OSS: if you want to be a contributor, first become a user. That leads to so many opportunities to contribute, and new perspectives to look at the project.

CS3230 Design and Analysis of Algorithms​

This module is what you would expect in an advanced data structure and algorithms class. While the concepts may be difficult, they turned out to be pretty interesting to know. I enjoyed learning and analyzing the algorithms, which were all quite fundamental. There's some stress from the weekly graded assignments, but in general, it was manageable.

CS3240 Interaction Design​

This module provides a good introduction to the field of interaction design. It covers topics such as user-centered design, usability, and accessibility. It's a good survey of the field, and it was a more design-oriented module than the other CS modules I have taken. Workload wise if you don't like working on wireframes, and prototypes on tools like Figma, it can be a bit of a drag. I personally had many occasions where I opened Figma and just can't get myself to work on the assignment. But I did enjoy the module and my output, which you can find in the write-up here.

ES2660 Communicating In The Information Age​

This required module focuses on the theories, techniques, and skills related to effective communication in the context of Information Technology. It covers topics such as critical thinking, public speaking, and writing, and provides opportunities to practice these skills through tutorial activities and assignments. The workload is manageable, and the classroom atmosphere is relaxed.

One thing that I remember most about this module: the challenge of speaking impromptu on a given topic (Not that easy if you want to do it well).

(bonus: here's the guideline I used for impromptu speaking)

• Essence of the prompt (Context, audience, purpose)
• Stand (Agree, Disagree)
• Key terms
• Reasons for my stand
• Evidence/Examples/Implications/applications/ramifications
• Delve deeper(Consider alternative, consequences)
• Conclusion

LSM1303 Animal Behaviour​

Pretty chill and fun module with an awesome prof (The Otterman!). It was a great gateway to learning more about animals, and even got to observe them out in the wild.

Thoughts​

This semester has been intense. Much of the stress I attribute to the heavy workload of CS3216. It has indeed lived up to its reputation and I am just glad that it's over. Other than that, I am happy with my selection of modules this semester. Many of them turned out to be modules that I would recommend or won't mind doing. Note that my reviews below are not meant to be comprehensive but just my random thoughts.

Module Review​

CS2102: Database Systems​

Before taking this class, I had a surface understanding of SQL and databases based on my previous experiences doing web development work. There was a time when I first started working with MySQL and had to create database schemas, I was lost and so wanted to take a proper introductory module about databases. Now that I have taken this introductory-level database module, I do appreciate database systems more and have a better idea of the syntax and the power of SQL. In this module, I learned about the design and analysis of relational databases. We started with learning about ER diagrams to capture the requirements of a database application. With that, we explored SQL statements to define the table structures and query from the database. Advanced features such as triggers and functions were also covered. For the second half of the semester, we looked into analyzing the redundancy and dependency preserving properties of database schemas. Functional dependencies, BCNF, and 3NF were also highlighted. I went through the first half of the semester barely wrote a single line of SQL. That was a poor decision and I only came to appreciate SQL better when I started to work out the lecture examples and tutorial exercises. Overall, I would recommend this module as a great source of general knowledge about databases.

CS2105: Introduction to Computer Networks​

The computer network is something that I often treat as a black box. In rare times when I had to fix my internet connection or try to configure my router, I realized that I hardly know what went on in these much-needed devices. This module does a quick overview of the five layers of the internet protocol stack. The content is not math-intensive nor difficult to understand. The assignments could take a while to figure out how to handle the input/output as we had to create programs that somewhat simulated how UDP/TCP server operates. But, they are at a reasonable difficulty and could be solved before the deadline. An important concept that I learned from it is about the reliable transfer of data. Given the unreliable channels of communication, how can we create a protocol that delivers data efficiently, securely, and without errors? It is amazing to me that mechanisms such as sequence number, ACK/NAK, a timer can provide a simple solution to these hard problems. Of course, the details are more complicated in real-world systems. I feel that this module provided me with a rough idea of how certain difficult problems have been solved in practice. For example, how IP addresses can be used to identify the hosts in the network across the globe. Overall, I would say this module's workload is reasonable and not extreme. While content can be technical and plain at times, I do think that it's good to know about them even if you don't remember all the details afterward.

CS3216: Software Product Engineering in Digital Markets​

I have posted my reflection about this module here. To say the least, I think different people will experience this module differently. It was a good challenge that I decided to take on and I was fortunate enough to participate. Even though this is a 3K CS module, I learned more non-technical knowledge from the prof, the TAs, my peers, and the various invited speakers. Overall it was a good run and apply if you want a challenge too.

CS3243: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence​

I borrowed the textbook for this module and indeed CS3243 only covers a selection of topics in Artificial Intelligence. I find this module interesting as I am sure many will agree, simply because it's just cool to learn how we are going to build intelligent agents with code (and also the hardware). Starting from searching with heuristics to Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP), I learned about how solutions can be discovered by representing them well. Later topics such as MDP and Q learning showed me a way that we can build programs to explore and learn. The projects were fun to work on and the course was well-organized. Overall I will recommend this module!

CP3108A: Independent Work​

I took this module as a way to consistently contribute to Open-Source projects. In my case, I worked on MarkBind, a tool for generating content-heavy websites from source files in Markdown format. It is also the tool behind the course website for CS2103T. I have my progress report available here. I am happy that I took this module and was given an excuse to properly learn an unfamiliar repository and help to resolve pending issues. It could be somewhat boring if you just want to build features. I spent most of my time trying to understand the code and experimenting with solutions to solve an existing bug. It was also a good practice for me to write my PR descriptions properly and document my code well. Some fun that I had doing this module includes finding out how absurd the idea of Open-Source can be. While we all know the collective effort can bring us to greater heights, relying on someone's passion to contribute without any potential reward is almost against human selfish nature. There were a few times that I ran into old issues in OSS repositories where the author had moved on and the rest of the world still keep on asking questions and wanting help with certain packages. It is not uncommon to see abandoned packages lying around. The workload for this module is reasonable as Prof Damith who is in charge of monitoring your progress provides a frequent update to let you know how much work is needed to fulfill the requirements. Overall, I will recommend taking this module if you want to explore OSS.

GEQ1000: Asking Questions​

It is a required university-level module so I took it to clear my graduation requirements. While I admittedly did not spend much time going through the materials, I would say that the module is well structured and conducted professionally. Topics from different disciplines are covered to promote learning about all aspects of questioning. There are many pre-recorded video series to watch as part of the weekly lecture (it seems fine to skip them). The bi-weekly in-person tutorial is very manageable. The tutor for my group was able to facilitate the lesson well. Overall I think this module is low maintenance and well organized, suitable to take it in a semester of high workload (this module is pass-fail-based).