Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enroll in this course?
You cannot enroll in this course without permission. You must instead carefully follow these steps:
Find a Supervisor If you have an idea for a project, you need to convince a faculty member in the department to be your faculty supervisor. If you do not have a project idea, click on “Currently Available Projects” in the sidebar to see the list of projects suggested by prospective faculty supervisors for this term. Select a project that you would like to work on and get in touch with the faculty member listed next to it. Note that faculty members are not obliged to supervise any applicant/project and, hence, may deny your request for a variety of reasons, e.g. they may not have time to supervise, the project may not be appropriate for this course, you may not have certain required qualifications (grades in specific courses or experience in particular software or hardware systems) etc. If you cannot find a faculty member in the department to act as project supervisor, then you will not be able to enrol in this course this semester.
Prepare a Contract about the project, between you and your project supervisor Click on “Contract Template” on the sidebar and discuss its contents with your project supervisor. Make sure all the applicable elements of the contract are fully specified and complete with dates, percentages etc. Send a preliminary version to the *course director* by email. Some changes may be necessary. Once the contract is finalized, sign the contract and ask your supervisor to sign it. Email to the course director and the project supervisor by the date shown under “Important Dates”. If you cannot submit the signed and completed contract by the required date, then you probably won't be able to enroll in this course.
Project Poster and Presentation Part of the course contract will include participation in a group presentation of all projects for the term. This will be conducted one day at the end of the current term or in the first week of the next term. Each student will prepare a poster or a 10 minute talk describing their project, and will be prepared to describe and explain the work they have done.
Enrol in the Course The course director will examine the contract to ensure that the project's level and scope are appropriate for this course and that all elements in the contract's template are fully specified. If this is approved, the course director will sign the contract and inform you (via the email address you specified in the contract) how you can enroll in the course. You must add the course by the date shown below under “Important Dates” (by following the instructions you will receive in the course director's email to you). Enrollment in the course after the date specified in the instructions is not normally allowed by the Registrar's office, and they are strict about this. If you have not completed enrollment in the course by this date, then you probably will not be able to take the course this semester.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have submitted a properly filled-out and signed contract by email as described above, and you haven't received email back from the course director within 3-4 days, then something has gone wrong, so please send the course director a follow-up email immediately.
What about 4081, 4082, 4084, or other project courses?
In general the same procedures are used to set up a project. But these courses are six-unit courses, and require two semesters and approximately double the effort. The project contract will specify this. These courses are normally only offered in Fall semester. The project supervisor must be a faculty member who is active in the area of the course.
Can I take 4080 for credit more than once?
This is not normally permitted. Exceptional cases should be discussed with the course director in advance.
What about the Moodle Site?
The Moodle site will be the primary mechanism for providing information about the course once the course is underway. This wiki is being used primarily prior to the start of the course.