After completing this course the student will have the ability to:
- Recall the basic constituents of computer programming (data structures and algorithms)
- Design, implement, test and debug computer programs for solving mathematical/computational problems
- Perform matrix computations, solve systems of linear and non-linear equations, and optimize functions of one or several variables.
Apart from that, the course will contribute to the students' ability to:
- demonstrate effective team skills resulting in an appropriate contribution to the production of a group output
- work and communicate effectively in a team situation and to function as a valuable and cooperative team member
- participate in group discussions/team work
Moreover, the student will have the ability to:
- structure given mathematical/computational tasks and develop algorithms for solving them
- adequately communicate algorithms and computer programs implementing these
- "turn ideas into software"
In addition, the student will be able to
- Use R for programming and numerical computations
- Use LaTeX for creating reports and presentations
- Use BibTeX for managing bibliographic information
For this lecture participation is obligatory. Students are allowed to miss a maximum of 20% (no matter if excused or not excused).
This course is taught as a lecture combined with homework assignments and a course project. In combination with the lecture, homework assignments will help students to consolidate and expand their knowledge and understanding by developing solutions to theoretical and applied problems, and have to be submitted every week via email to the lecturer. Solutions will be discussed in class based on individual students' presentations at the beginning of each unit. For the course project, teams with up to three members will use LaTeX to create a report or presentation of an R-based solution to a given mathematical/computational task.
- 40% home assignments and group discussions
The assessment of the homework assignments and course project will be based on the correctness of results, the clarity and persuasiveness of each bit of work and the recognizable effort made. This implies an ability to work in teams. For the final exam, the assessment will be based on the ability to describe and apply the key concepts discussed throughout the course and to choose the appropriate analytical techniques to obtain the relevant data. To avoid the potential free-rider problem related to group work, the final exam will strongly be related to the problems already discussed in homework assignments and course projects.