Welcome To Software Technology 2003

Master
<h1>Welcome to Software Technology</h1>

Dear Master Students,

Welcome to a new year of the Master Program Software Technology. 

At least 16 students enroll in the program this year and several (foreign) students
are still expected to arrive. In the second year 19 students are now taking seminars
preparing for their thesis projects.

This is the the start of the second year after changing from the old 'doctoraal' system to
the new bachelor/master system. 
After a year it has been necessary to make changes to the curriculum again.
This was mainly prompted by the change from 5 periods to 4 periods.
The main consequence is that courses get more weight since only 8 instead of
10 courses are taken in a year. 
Thus courses are now 7.5 ECTS instead of 6 ECTS.

Because of the many changes in the Computer Science curriculum in the last years,
the rules are not clear to everyone.
In this message I give an overview of the situation and, especially for the new students,
a few pointers to places where more information can be found.

-----------------------++ Communications

There are several ways for finding out information about the master program.

-----+++ Wiki

The [[Main.WebHome][ST Wiki]] at

   * http://www.cs.uu.nl/groups/ST

is the website of the [[Center.WebHome][Center for Software Technology]].
A Wiki is an _collaborative_ website which allows anyone (with appropriate permissions)
to add and edit pages using just a webbrowser.
On the website you find information about

   * [[Curriculum Software Technology]]
   * Individual [[Master Courses]]
   * The research of the [[Center.WebHome][Center for Software Technology]]
   * Thesis projects
   * etc.

As a student you are also expected to [[TWiki.TWikiRegistration][register]] as a 
wiki user yourself so that you can maintain your own page in the [[Students.WebHome][Students]]
web and participate in projects using the wiki.

-----+++ Mailinglists

There are several maillinglists that are used for announcements about issues of 
interest to students of the master program.

   * The [[https://mail.cs.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/stc][stc@cs.uu.nl]] mailing list is a moderated list which is used for announcements of the [[Stc.WebHome][Software Technology Colloquium]].

   * The [[https://mail.cs.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/st-students][st-students@cs.uu.nl]] list is intended for general announcements to students of the program. As a student of the master program you should subscribe to the st-students list, which subscribes you automatically to the stc list. You can also use this list for organizing social events with fellow students. You can subscribe at 
https://mail.cs.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/st-students

There are further mailinglists specific to a course; see the course website for information
about these.

-----+++ [[Stc.WebHome][Software Technology Colloquium]]

The colloquium is a weekly meeting held on Thursdays from 11 to 12.
It hosts talks by researchers from the Center, external speakers, and master students.
The colloquium provides a broad overview of ongoing research in software technology.
All ST students are required to attend the colloquium as preparation for their thesis project.

-----+++ ST Lunch

Every Thursday after the colloquium there is a joint lunch of faculty
and students in the canteen of the Minaert building.
This is an excellent opportunity to informally meet fellow students and lecturers.

-----+++ Mentor

Each student officially enrolled in the master program is assigned a mentor with whom
you can discuss your planning and your progress. 

-----+++ Student Advisor

If the website and your mentor cannot help, you can direct questions about planning your study to the [[student advisor]] of the master program. Please use email first.

-----------------------++ Curriculum

The organization of the master program follows the rules of the '[[http://www.cs.uu.nl/education/regels/index.html][Onderwijs- en Examenregeling (OER)]]'. 
The instantiation of those rules for the Master Program Software Technology can be
found at the website under the heading '[[Curriculum Software Technology]]'. 

All students who started their computer science study in 1999 or later are expected to follow
a master program. For students who insist it is still possible to follow the 'doctoraal' 
curriculum. The interpretation of the OER for Software Technology can be found at the website under the heading '[[Doctoraal Software Technology]]'. As will become clear, the differences
with the master program are minimal.

-----+++ Colloquium

It is mandatory for all ST students to attend the Software Technology Colloquium, whether
taking the master or the doctoraal program.
The colloquium is intended as preparation for the thesis project, 
which is thus not complete without a grade for the colloquium.
You are expected to attend at least 30 meetings during the two years of the program
and give one talk about a subject of your choice.
Attendance is registered.

-----+++ Thesis Project

The thesis project is divided in three parts. 
The first is the colloquium, which together with the courses should give you an idea for the direction of your project. 
After choosing a topic for your thesis project, you should first write a _thesis proposal_
in which the problem statement for the research is defined and positioned within the 
broader field of software engineering based on a literature study.
This proposal has to be formally approved by your thesis committee before you can proceed
with the project. The final part consists of conducting the research according to the
plan in the proposal and writing a thesis.

-----+++ Planning

To finalize your enrollment in the master program you are expected to submit your study
plan by editing the wiki page with your name in the students web of the ST wiki:

   * http://www.cs.uu.nl/groups/ST/twiki/bin/view/Students/WebHome

Before you can do this you should register as a wiki user. If your name is not yet
on the list of students, please send an email to the [[student advisor]].




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