Students

COMP7900 – Research Frontiers in Computing 1

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer
Mehmet Orgun
mehmet.orgun@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
4RPD, 282
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit is designed to engage students with current research in computing. It will introduce students to a number of the current open research questions across the breadth of the discipline.

Activities may include such things as seminar attendance, directed reading of research papers, the discussion and critiquing of research topics and introduction to new practical techniques with preparatory reading, hands-on experience and a final report. Presentation of a seminar and a written report based on the topics examined are required for completion of this unit.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate an understanding of research being done in the School of Computing
  • ULO2: Summarize the state of art in selected disciplines of Computing
  • ULO3: Interpret and apply the principles of ethical conduct in selected disciplines of Computing
  • ULO4: Write a critical overview of a research topic
  • ULO5: Present a research topic orally

General Assessment Information

Requirement to Pass this Unit 

To pass this unit, you must achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.   

Late Assessment Submission

Late assessments are not accepted in this unit unless a Special Consideration has been submitted and approved

Special Consideration 

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Discussion sessions 30% No Week 3-4,5-6,11-12
Final Report 1 25% No Week 8
Presentation 1 10% No Week 8
Final report 2 25% No Week 13
Presentation 2 10% No Week 13

Discussion sessions

Assessment Type 1: Summary
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 3-4,5-6,11-12
Weighting: 30%

After each staff seminar and in the following week there is going to be a discussion session in the class. The discussion will be based on summary reports, written by the students, of very recent papers on a topic relevant to each seminar. So, the students will submit three summary reports in total. Each summary report will be 1-2 pages long, and will be worth 5% with the remaining 5% coming from active participation in each discussion session.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of research being done in the School of Computing
  • Summarize the state of art in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Interpret and apply the principles of ethical conduct in selected disciplines of Computing

Final Report 1

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 25%

For a chosen topic, a student is required to submit a report of approximately 1500-2000 words
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of research being done in the School of Computing
  • Summarize the state of art in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Interpret and apply the principles of ethical conduct in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Write a critical overview of a research topic

Presentation 1

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 10%

The presentation of the first report in the class. The presentation should be around 10 minutes long plus 5 minutes for question time.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of research being done in the School of Computing
  • Summarize the state of art in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Interpret and apply the principles of ethical conduct in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Present a research topic orally

Final report 2

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 25%

For a chosen topic, a student is required to submit a report of approximately 1500-2000 words
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of research being done in the School of Computing
  • Summarize the state of art in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Interpret and apply the principles of ethical conduct in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Write a critical overview of a research topic

Presentation 2

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 10%

The presentation of the second report in the class. The presentation should be around 10 minutes long plus 5 minutes for question time.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of research being done in the School of Computing
  • Summarize the state of art in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Interpret and apply the principles of ethical conduct in selected disciplines of Computing
  • Present a research topic orally

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Classes

A 2 hour Lecture would be delivered each week on campus. There are no other activities on campus besides the lectures.

Week 1 Classes

Note that lectures will start in week 1. 

Required and Recommended Texts 

All required and recommended readings will be provided as part of the lecture material. 

Assignments

Assignments would be made available on iLearn and would submitted online via Turnitin.

Methods of Communication

We will communicate with you via your Macquarie University's Email or through Announcements on iLearn. 

Students are highly encouraged to ask questions from the Lecturer(s) in a bid to clarify anything they might not be sure of. Students are also encouraged to engage in active discussion via the General Discussion Forum on iLearn.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie University's website, https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during the Semester. If there are any changes to this Unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

Unit Schedule

The following schedule is tentative. Please consult iLearn for any possible updates.

Week Topic Lecturer
Week 1 Welcome and Introduction Mehmet Orgun
Week 2 Doing Postgraduate Research Mehmet Orgun
Week 3 Seminar 1 TBA
Week 4 Discussion Session 1 TBA
Week 5 Seminar 2 TBA
Week 6 Discussion Session 2 TBA
Week 7 How to give presentations Mehmet Orgun
Week 8 Presentations of the first final reports Mehmet Orgun
  2-Week Recess   
Week 9 Independent reading Mehmet Orgun
Week 10 Seminar 3 TBA
Week 11 Discussion Session 3 TBA
Week 12 Open discussion & catchup session Mehmet Orgun
Week 13 Presentations of the second final reports Mehmet Orgun

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

Student feedback from the previous offerings of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.

Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook