Site Tools

Trace:
project_proposals

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
project_proposals [2022/10/07 18:33] – [Writing a Proposal] scmfclproject_proposals [2024/01/22 15:20] (current) – [Writing a Proposal] scmfcl
Line 1: Line 1:
 ====== Project Proposals ====== ====== Project Proposals ======
  
-You can take on a **project proposed by a member of staff** or **propose your own project**. The latter gives you the opportunity to work on something you are specifically interested in, but there is no need to propose your own project, and there is otherwise no difference in the requirements or assessment of the project.+You can take on a **project proposed by a supervisor** or **propose your own project**. The latter gives you the opportunity to work on something you are specifically interested in, but there is no need to propose your own project, and there is otherwise no difference in the requirements or assessment of the project. Note, supervisors must be a member of staff at the School Computer Science and Informatics, and supervisors available for a module are pre-assigned and visible to you when project selection starts. It is sometimes possible to add another member of staff, if they voltuneer.
  
-As soon as you are set up on PATS, you can **write your own proposals**. They will be **visible** if they are marked as available and project selection has started (see **[[Project Supervision]]** for how to select a project). Student proposals are only visible to staff members; staff proposals are visible to students on the degree programmes the proposal is intended for. Here we discuss how to write and submit your own project proposal. The process is the same for students and staff members, and both kinds of proposals should provide the information outlined here.+As soon as you are set up on PATS, you can **write your own proposals**. They will be **visible** if they are marked as available and project selection has started (see **[[Project Supervision]]** for how to select a project). Student proposals are only visible to supervisors; staff proposals are visible to students on the degree programmes the proposal is intended for. Here we discuss how to write and submit your own project proposal. The process is the same for students and supervisors, and both kinds of proposals should provide the information outlined here.
  
-You can submit **more than one proposal**, but please keep the number of proposals reasonable and rather make sure you write **one or two excellent proposals**. This will make it much more likely that you find a supervisor for your project. You can **still choose a staff project** later, even if you propose your own project. If you propose your own project, there is **no guarantee** that there will be a member of staff who will supervise it. This will depend on the quality of your proposal, its feasibility to be executed, and the member of staff's interest, availability and expertise.+You can submit **more than one proposal**, but please keep the number of proposals reasonable and rather make sure you write **one or two excellent proposals**. This will make it much more likely that you find a supervisor for your project. You can **still choose a staff project** later, even if you propose your own project. If you propose your own project, there is **no guarantee** that there will be a supervisors for it. This will depend on the quality of your proposal, its feasibility to be executed, and the supervisors' interests, availability and expertise.
  
-To a lesser degree, this equally applies to **staff proposals**: there is no guarantee to find a student who can or wants to do a particular staff project, nor do members of staff have to supervise all their own proposals. However, members of staff are expected to supervise a certain number of projects (PATS indicates this in the supervisor list if the project coordinator uses that feature), and a student who does not select a proposal will be assigned a random member of staff as a supervisor who has project slots left. In this case, the student and supervisor should discuss what the project should be, but it is likely to be taken from the supervisor's or student's (if feasible) proposals.+To a lesser degree, this equally applies to **staff proposals**: there is no guarantee to find a student who can or wants to do a particular staff project, nor do members of staff have to supervise all their own proposals. However, members of staff are expected to supervise a certain number of projects (PATS indicates this in the supervisor list if the project coordinator uses that feature), and a student who does not select a proposal will be assigned a random supervisor who has project slots left. In this case, the student and supervisor should discuss what the project should be, but it is likely to be taken from the supervisor's or student's (if feasible) proposals.
  
 **Deadlines** for proposal submission (and selection) are announced via e-mail and visible in the PATS Tasks section. **Deadlines** for proposal submission (and selection) are announced via e-mail and visible in the PATS Tasks section.
Line 15: Line 15:
 The **purpose of the project** is, in the context of the degree you are studying, to integrate various aspects of the taught material and to demonstrate your (academic) research skills and your (professional) analysis, design and implementation skills. It allows you to conduct in-depth work on a substantial problem to show individual creativity and originality; to apply, where appropriate, knowledge, skills and techniques taught throughout the degree programme; to further oral and written communication skills; and to practise investigative, problem-solving, management and other transferable skills. The management and execution of the project are the student's responsibility, but they should seek and take advantage of advice from their supervisor. The **purpose of the project** is, in the context of the degree you are studying, to integrate various aspects of the taught material and to demonstrate your (academic) research skills and your (professional) analysis, design and implementation skills. It allows you to conduct in-depth work on a substantial problem to show individual creativity and originality; to apply, where appropriate, knowledge, skills and techniques taught throughout the degree programme; to further oral and written communication skills; and to practise investigative, problem-solving, management and other transferable skills. The management and execution of the project are the student's responsibility, but they should seek and take advantage of advice from their supervisor.
  
-As a general guideline, **a good project aims to solve a problem related to your field of study**. You can pick a general area you are interested in and try to find a specific problem you could be working on. Instead of solving a complete problem, you can also work on a partial solution or some particular aspect of a larger problem, possibly simplified to make it feasible for the duration of your project and the level of the degree. If you are unsure of the specifics, you can also discuss a rough initial idea for a project with a staff member to find something suitable that can be executed in the module context. Out of such discussions, often exciting project ideas arise.+As a general guideline, **a good project aims to solve a problem related to your field of study**. You can pick a general area you are interested in and try to find a specific problem you could be working on. Instead of solving a complete problem, you can also work on a partial solution or some particular aspect of a larger problem, possibly simplified to make it feasible for the duration of your project and the level of the degree. If you are unsure of the specifics, you can also discuss a rough initial idea for a project with a supervisor to find something suitable that can be executed in the module context. Out of such discussions, often exciting project ideas arise.
  
 When you **choose a project**, you should do so carefully to reflect the focus of the degree programme you are enrolled in, your interests (the project needs to keep you interested for its duration) and the ability of the academic staff to support you throughout your project. Projects vary widely in the problem they address and the products they deliver at the end. While the main product of some projects is a piece of software or hardware, others produce a systems model or design, and yet others may address some research hypothesis using a theoretical, computational or experimental approach. This means not every project produces a piece of software. If you are addressing a research hypothesis, your main product may be the evaluation of some experiments or a theoretical result. In brief, the better the problem you are addressing is defined, the further through the systems lifecycle you should expect to progress. When you **choose a project**, you should do so carefully to reflect the focus of the degree programme you are enrolled in, your interests (the project needs to keep you interested for its duration) and the ability of the academic staff to support you throughout your project. Projects vary widely in the problem they address and the products they deliver at the end. While the main product of some projects is a piece of software or hardware, others produce a systems model or design, and yet others may address some research hypothesis using a theoretical, computational or experimental approach. This means not every project produces a piece of software. If you are addressing a research hypothesis, your main product may be the evaluation of some experiments or a theoretical result. In brief, the better the problem you are addressing is defined, the further through the systems lifecycle you should expect to progress.
Line 40: Line 40:
 In addition, the following project-specific issues may have to be addressed: In addition, the following project-specific issues may have to be addressed:
   * Describe any **special resources** needed, e.g. non-standard hardware, special software, etc., that are either available via university, some other source or the student may own already. If they are not available, then the project may not be feasible.   * Describe any **special resources** needed, e.g. non-standard hardware, special software, etc., that are either available via university, some other source or the student may own already. If they are not available, then the project may not be feasible.
-  * Indicate if the project requires **ethical approval**. This affects any project involving human participants, human material or human data (Human Research). For details see [[https://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/ethics|https://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/ethics]].+  * Indicate if the project requires **ethical approval**. This affects any project involving human participants, human material or human data (Human Research)
   * Any **legal issues**, especially **intellectual property** and **licensing**, that may apply. Note that the foreground work on the project belongs to the student, but background and sideground or industry involvement can create additional requirements. Cardiff University's research support may have to be involved for further advice, but they cannot legally represent the student.   * Any **legal issues**, especially **intellectual property** and **licensing**, that may apply. Note that the foreground work on the project belongs to the student, but background and sideground or industry involvement can create additional requirements. Cardiff University's research support may have to be involved for further advice, but they cannot legally represent the student.
 **Student and supervisor are responsible for ensuring that the project can be executed in principle**. Make sure you check this with suitable risk management before you agree to do a project. **Student and supervisor are responsible for ensuring that the project can be executed in principle**. Make sure you check this with suitable risk management before you agree to do a project.
Line 48: Line 48:
 PATS' project **[[https://pats.cs.cf.ac.uk/archive|archive]]** contains some example projects that may help you write your proposal. Note that you can do similar projects to those there, but not //exactly// the same. PATS' project **[[https://pats.cs.cf.ac.uk/archive|archive]]** contains some example projects that may help you write your proposal. Note that you can do similar projects to those there, but not //exactly// the same.
  
-Obviously, **the project proposal must be your own**, in your own words, even if there may be overlaps between problems and topics; this includes project proposals from other students and supervisors. Sometimes it is possible that you can work on someone's proposal with a different supervisor. Still, you must ask the proposer for permission (and acknowledge them suitably in the documents as the source of the proposal). Generally, if there is a source for the proposal, parts of it or maybe just a useful related resource, you should cite it (author/location or URL in a compact citation format is sufficient).+Obviously, **the project proposal must be your own**, in your own words, even if there may be overlaps between problems and topics with other work; this includes project proposals from other students and supervisors. Sometimes it is possible that you can work on someone's proposal with a different supervisor. Still, you must ask the proposer for permission (and acknowledge them suitably in the documents as the source of the proposal). Generally, if there is a source for the proposal, parts of it or maybe just a useful related resource, you should cite it (author/location or URL in a compact citation format is sufficient).
project_proposals.1665164000.txt.gz · Last modified: 2022/10/07 18:33 by scmfcl

Page Tools

Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International