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Masters News 2023-2024

(see previous years' issues here)

Sent to all postgraduate students in the School of Computer Science at The University of Manchester,
from Norman Paton, Director of Postgraduate Studies.

Masters News • Tuesday 12 March 2024


It is now Week 7, and we finish on Friday for a three-week Easter break, with teaching resuming on Monday 8th April 2024.  Masters News will also take a break, and will return on w/c 8th April.

While you should try to take some time off, this is also a good chance to make sure you are on top of lab work and making progress with your project.  It's also not that long until the 2nd Semester exams, so it may be useful to make a start on some revision.  

Norman Paton, PGT Director

EASTER OPENING HOURS.

The Kilburn Building will be open as normal during the Easter vacation, 09:00 - 18:00 Monday to Friday, apart from the period Friday 29th March (Good Friday) and Monday 1st April (Easter Monday), when the Kilburn building will be closed and there will be no access for students. For students holding an extended working hours pass, access is still available when the Kilburn building is open.

SPRING CAREERS FAIR 2024.

We are delighted to be welcoming over 50 recruiters to campus with graduate jobs, placements, and internships. For students of all years, the careers fair offers an ideal opportunity for you to speak directly, and in-person, with local and national organisations from a range of business and industry sectors and find out more about their opportunities. The careers takes place:


• Tuesday 12th March, 11am – 4pm.


• The Academy - Building 78 on Campus Map.


• More information available via CareerConnect and the Careers Service website.

CLOCKS MOVE FORWARD.

Please note that on Sunday 31st March (during the Easter break) the clocks go forward by 1 hour at 2 am, when we move into British Summer Time (Greenwich Mean Time +1 hour).

UNICS STUDENT HACK.

UniCS is organising one of our flagship events for the April 13th weekend: StudentHack 2024. A 24 hour hackathon for Manchester's brightest and most creative students to combine their ideas and make an awesome project! We have a prominent history of running hackathons over the last decade, with GreatUniHack last October. We received approval to use the Engineering Building (MECD), marking the first time our hackathons have run on familiar territory :) Follow us on our Instagram, @unics_hackathons, for more information on how to take part! (free food, prizes, fun activities and more!)

MAY BALL.

UniCS is excited to announce that we are running our annual May Ball on the 3rd of May 2024 at Midland Hotel! Come along dressed to impress for our James Bond themed ball. Join us for music, dancing and an amazing three-course meal that you wouldn’t want to miss out on! If you missed the early bird tickets, do not worry because general tickets will be releasing on the 6th of March at 4pm on our product page so look out for those.

FORTHCOMING ONLINE PROGRAMMING COMPETITION.

This from Ian Pratt-Hartmann: We would like to announce the “UKIEPC 2024: Spring Practice” programming contest which will be held online at 12:00-14:30 pm, 23 March. Our main goal is to promote programming for everyone in the UK and Ireland. This contest is targeted at novices and amateurs - we expect the problems to be of Div. 3 - Div.2 level in the terms of the site codeforces.com. Programmers with a rating higher than 1900 are encouraged to join our team of problem setters (look at the bottom). The date is 23rd of March. The start time is 12:00. The duration is 2:30. The contest is in teams of two people and each team can use two computers. The contest will be held on codeforces.com, so, everyone should be registered there to participate. The link to our group is here. 

INAUGURAL SEMINAR. 

Dr. Mingfei Sun will present an inaugural lecture titled “Deep Reinforcement Learning for Complex Decision Making” on Wednesday 13th March, 13:00 - 14:00 in Kilburn Lecture Theatre 1.3. Abstract: Deep reinforcement learning proves to be an effective optimization method for resolving numerous complex decision-making problems. In this seminar talk, I will begin by providing a brief overview of deep reinforcement learning and the underlying model, Markov Decision Processes (MDP). Subsequently, I will delve into the challenges that make MDP hard to solve, addressing key issues such as the extremely vast state/action space, the reward alignment problem, and the policy generalization challenge. Furthermore, I will showcase examples of employing deep reinforcement learning to tackle challenging problems in video games, multiagent systems, and simulated robot controls. Towards the conclusion of the talk, I will introduce the ongoing challenges we are currently addressing, with a specific emphasis on combinatorial decision-making on graphs and efficient optimization methods for large models.

CENTRE FOR DIGITAL TRUST AND SOCIETY SEED CORN SHOWCASE.

Join us to celebrate the groundbreaking achievements of the four research projects funded in our 2022-2023 Seed Corn Funding on 16th May, 14:30 - 17:00. Find out how the Seed Corn program helps nurture promising ideas, fostering the next generation of digital trust research, and learn ways you can get involved! What to expect at the Showcase:


• Dive into the learnings and successes of the four funded projects.


• Discover the exciting advancements made by these innovative researchers.


• Learn how you can get involved in shaping the future of digital trust research.

Projects:


• Demanding justice in the Cloud: An analysis of punitive attitudes in social media for traditional and cyber-enabled crime | Dr Nicholas Trajtenberg Pareja (PI) and Mr Pablo Ezquerra Silva.


• Rebuilding Democratic Discourse: Online Harms and Trust | Dr Mihaela Popa-Wyatt (PI), Dr Justina Berskyte, Prof Graham Stevens


• Defining the acceptability of ‘safe’ data linkage to identify women at risk of postnatal complication in Greater Manchester | Dr Victoria Palin (PI), Prof Niels Peek, Prof Jenny Myers, Dr Anthony Wilson, Mr Bradley Quinn


• Modern slavery and digitisation in ‘fast-fashion’ supply networks | Dr Jonathan Davies (PI), Prof Rose Broad, Dr Amy Benstead 

CENTRE FOR DIGITAL TRUST AND SECURITY EVENT.

Feeling lost in the maze of privacy discussions? Then join us for a thought-provoking discussion led by Kieron O'Hara, author of the acclaimed "The Seven Veils of Privacy". Date & time: 20th March | 12:30 - 14:30. Location: Engineering Building A - Room 3A.071. Kieron O'Hara will unveil a clear and comprehensive framework to navigate the seemingly endless arguments around privacy and your rights. Discover why the clashing perspectives on social norms, human rights, personal preferences, and data processing often lead to frustration and confusion. Gain clarity and engage in meaningful dialogue as we dissect the different facets of privacy and work towards a path forward. Don't miss this chance to break through the ambiguity and shape your own understanding of privacy in today's complex world! There are limited seats available, so register now! The Centre for Digital Trust and Society leads and delivers activity for the Digital Trust and Security theme within The University’s Digital FuturesResearch Platform, including the Digital Trust and Security Seminar Series. These events are designed to highlight key insights into developments, challenges and identify areas for growth within Digital Trust & Security. Digital Futures is a highly interdisciplinary network that operates across the whole range of The University’s digital research.

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH DAY EVENT.

The Social Prescribing team are holding a free event to celebrate Student Mental Health and Social Prescribing day! Join us for an afternoon of wellbeing activities in the University's beautiful botanical garden. You can take some time to do some mindful gardening, enjoy some arts and crafts or simply relax in nature.


• When: Thursday 14th March, 1-3pm


• Where: The Firs Botanical Ground, Fallowfield Campus

Pop in at any time during the event, everyone is welcome.

PRIMARY ROBOTICS WORKSHOPS.

IntoUniversity are looking for volunteers for Y5/6 (primary school age group) coding workshops. They will pay you £35 to develop a session, plus £35 for each one you deliver (and they will arrange transport for you to get to their centre). You can find further information here. Please contact abbie.mountford@manchester.ac.uk for further information. The University will be able to provide kit to support these activities.

 

Masters News • Monday 4 March 2024


Semester 1 exam results should be released this week. If you have any questions / concerns relating to your results, please speak with your Academic Advisor.

Semester 1 exam results should be released this week.  If you have any questions / concerns relating to your results, please speak with your Academic Advisor.  Please note that the PGT Handbook (available in CS-PGT-COMMUNITY in Blackboard) provides details on pass marks, how to meet the requirements for a degree, etc.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

UNICS MAY BALL.

UniCS is excited to announce that we are running our annual May Ball on the 3rd of May 2024 at Midland Hotel! Come along dressed to impress for our James Bond themed ball. Join us for music, dancing and an amazing three-course meal that you wouldn’t want to miss out on! If you missed the early bird tickets, do not worry because general tickets will be releasing on the 6th of March at 4pm on our product page so look out for those.

UNICS GENERAL MEETING.

UniCS will be holding a General Meeting on Wednesday 6th March at 3:30pm in Kilburn Collab 1+2 to discuss amendments to the constitution:


• First Amendment: All sponsors should be voted on by the UniCS committee


• Second Amendment: All hackathons sponsors should be voted on by the executive committee


• Third Amendment: Companies that manufacture or distribute weapons cannot sponsor UniCS

We hope you come along for this society wide vote, as we believe UniCS should be taking a step towards good ethicality in light of recent events.

UNICS QRT EVENT.

UniCS has invited QRT for a talk on Wednesday 6th of March from 3-4pm in Kilburn_TH 1.4. This is the perfect chance for you to learn more about what opportunities they have there and speak to their recruiters if you haven’t already found a placement so make sure to come if that is you!

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY.

Applied Data Science: Build Your Own Churn Model,  Wednesday 6th March 2-4pm, Simon 2.60. MUDS host global AI company Peak with a special edition data science workshop! Suitable for all interested, this workshop will use Python and Google Colab. We will learn:

* An overview of the Data Science project life cycle

* Setting up a working environment and loading a dataset

* Working with Git

* EDA and data transformation

* Technical overview of the Churn Model

* Hyperparameter tuning

This is an excellent opportunity for hands-on data science experience and a chance to network with established professionals from the Peak offices. See you all there!

WOMEN+ IN COMPUTER SCIENCE SOCIAL.

Are you a woman or member of an under-represented group in computer science? Do you want to meet more people like you? Come join us as we celebrate International Women’s Day with cake, snacks and friendly chat. All students and staff are welcome at the Turing Lounge, 11 am on Wednesday 6th March.

VOLUNTEER FOR BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK 2024.

Manchester Museum are looking for volunteers to help more than 1000 high school students navigate their British Science Week event on 11th and 12th March. Contact mattie.davies@manchester.ac.uk directly to apply. If you are not available on the 11th and 12th but would still like to volunteer to help with museum work you can find out more information on their website.

REPORT AND SUPPORT.

The University’s Report and Support Service is available to students. If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender-based violence, hate or micro-aggressions, or have a safeguarding concern, you can report it anonymously or get support from a trained advisor through Report and Support. To report an incident and speak to a caseworker, you can either fill out the online form or someone can do it on your behalf. The team will seek to understand your situation and aim to give you information, advice and support tailored to your individual circumstances. You can access this service here. Please be mindful that whilst you can send anonymous reports, the team is unable to contact you to offer support unless you provide your name and contact details.

 

Masters News • Monday 26 February 2024


UNICS LASER TAG EVENT.Join us for the ultimate Leap Day event at the Trafford Centre for a round of laser tag with lots of pizza and ice cream.

UNICS LASER TAG EVENT.

Join us for the ultimate Leap Day event at the Trafford Centre for a round of laser tag with lots of pizza and ice cream. We'll meet at the Byte Cafe in Kilburn at 5:45pm on 29th February and head to Trafford Centre together for an evening filled with lots of action and fun. Don't miss out on our limited tickets for only £5.99! Tickets will be available here [University of Manchester Students' Union (manchesterstudentsunion.com)]! 

UNICS GENERAL MEETING.

UniCS will be holding a General Meeting on Wednesday 6th March at 3:30pm in Kilburn Collab 1+2 to discuss amendments to the constitution:


• First Amendment: All sponsors should be voted on by the UniCS committee


• Second Amendment: All hackathons sponsors should be voted on by the executive committee


• Third Amendment: Companies that manufacture or distribute weapons cannot sponsor UniCS

We hope you come along for this society wide vote, as we believe UniCS should be taking a step towards good ethicality in light of recent events.

GITLAB DOWNTIME WARNING.

On Wednesday 28th February the Department of Computer Science GitLab system will be taken offline to perform essential maintenance and upgrades. Work on the system will start at 14:00 and may take until 17:00, although we will attempt to minimise the time that GitLab is unavailable. A notice banner is currently shown on GitLab pages as a reminder for this work, and it will be removed when the work on the server is completed and tests indicate GitLab is operating normally. While GitLab is offline you will be able to continue to work locally in any currently cloned git repositories, including adding commits. However, attempts to interact with the GitLab server (via `git push`, `git pull`, `git fetch` and so on) will fail.

GOOGLE DEVELOPER STUDENT CLUBS.

Navigating the nebula of cloud technology just got easier! Join us for an enlightening session on cloud deployment. From the ABCs of VPS to the latest in serverless, we've got you covered! Save the date: 28th Feb '24m 16:00-17:00, Kilburn 1.1.

HCRI PUBLIC TALK.

The Humanitarian & Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) is holding a public talk - Humanitarian Extractivism: The Digital Transformation of Aid, in the Samuel Alexander Building, Room SG.16 + Zoom. Our guest speaker is Prof Kristin Bergtora Sandvik of the Peace Research Institute, Oslo. 


• Info & Register via: https://digital-humanitarianism.eventbrite.co.uk/


• 7th March 2024, 4:00- 5:30 pm.

Join us to discuss how ‘data extraction' shifts power towards states, the private sector, and humanitarians. The talk will explore new practices and spaces, such as 'humanitarian drones', wearable innovation challenges, and ethics in global disaster innovation labs.

DIGITAL TRUST AND SECURITY SEMINAR SERIES. 

Kieron O’Hara - The Seven Veils of Privacy


• Date & time: 20th March | 12:30 - 14:30


• Location: Christabel Pankhurst Building, Manchester

Kieron O’Hara, from the University of Southampton, will unveil a rigorous and comprehensive framework from his groundbreaking book "The Seven Veils of Privacy" to navigate the seemingly endless arguments around privacy and your rights. Join to discover why the clashing perspectives on social norms, human rights, personal preferences, and data processing often lead to frustration and confusion. Places are limited so we advise you to secure your spot now to avoid disappointment.

CS SEMINAR. 

Matthew Bradbury, Lecturer in Cyber Security at Lancaster University, will present a talk titled:  Quantifying and Mitigating Adversary Information Gain via Actions Taken in Cyber Physical Systems on Monday 26th February at 12pm in Kilburn Lecture Theatre 1.3 (Zoom link). Matthew Bradbury is a Lecturer in Cyber Security at Lancaster University. His research focuses on the security and privacy of resource-constrained and distributed systems, especially how to take into account the limited resources when designing security mechanisms. This has covered a wide variety of domains from wireless sensor networks, connected vehicles to space systems. His current interests are focused on how arbitrary cyber physical systems reveal information via the actions they take to an observing adversary. Funding for this work has been received from various sources including the PETRAS National Centre of Excellence for IoT Systems Cybersecurity and EPSRC. Abstract: Over the last few decades there has been significant work protecting the privacy of data. For cyber physical systems, protecting data privacy is important, however, their physicality means that they are also vulnerable to observations directly by an adversary. This means that the actions a system takes and the context in which those actions are taken can reveal information to an observing adversary. So, in addition to protecting content privacy (e.g., data in transit) it is important to use techniques to provide context privacy. Many domains have independently had context privacy preserving techniques developed for threats they face (e.g., onion routing, change in identity for vehicles, location privacy in sensor networks). Developing context privacy preserving techniques is a lengthy process and does not allow for rapid responses to novel context privacy threats. The aim therefore, is to be able to translate an arbitrary system to reduce the information revealed by the actions it takes. This talk will give some early results on modelling adversary belief, quantifying the information revealed via directed information, and attempted approaches in system transformation.

 

Masters News • Tuesday 20 February 2024


AI CENTRE FOR DOCTORAL TRAINING. ...

AI CENTRE FOR DOCTORAL TRAINING. 

Mauricio Alvarez writes: The UKRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Decision Making for Complex Systems is a joint CDT between the University of Manchester and the University of Cambridge. At Manchester, the CDT is led by the Department of Computer Science. The CDT provides funding for four years of advanced studies towards a PhD. The first year is a taught program that will cover the fundamentals of Machine Learning with courses on AI for uncertainty modelling. This taught year is followed by three years of research at Manchester and/or Cambridge. Admissions to the PhD programme will be handled on a project-by-project basis. We would like to invite prospective applicants to contact supervisors who are proposing projects for the first cohort starting September 2024. You can find the list of supervisors and projects here.

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY.

Datern presents: Data analytics with Power BI, Simon 2.60, Wednesday 21st February, 2-4pm. MUDS are hosting a special workshop presented by Datern! Datern help companies meet their data challenges by finding, recruiting and training undergraduate students from top universities, ensuring they start their internship with them ‘workplace ready’.

1. Introduction to Datern and their internship/spring week opportunities

2. How companies use Power BI professionally and why they care

3. Importing datasets and making visualisations in your own Power BI report

4. Designing your report to be interactive and accessible

In terms of preparation, please download Power BI Desktop. Just a reminder that Power BI is a Windows only software. Here is a guide on how to download it.

DIGITAL TRUST AND SECURITY SEMINAR SERIES.

Uncover the secrets of online drug markets - How is the digitalisation of social interaction changing illegal markets? Join us for a captivating exploration of the hidden world of illegal drug markets on social media on 29th February, from 13:45 – 15:40. Led by expert Silje Anderdal Bakken from Oslo University, we'll delve into how online interactions are reshaping the underworld, from coded messages to the interplay between virtual and offline dynamics. Gain valuable insights and spark discussion on this timely and complex issue.

Register today to secure your place and avoid disappointment. This is a Digital Trust and Security Seminar, presented by The Centre for Digital Trust and Society, which leads and delivers activity for the Digital Trust and Security theme within UoM Digital Futures Research Platform.

DIGITAL TRUST AND SECURITY SEMINAR SERIES. 

Kieron O’Hara - The Seven Veils of Privacy 


• Date & time: 20th March | 12:30 - 14:30


• Location: Christabel Pankhurst Building, Manchester

Kieron O’Hara, from the University of Southampton, will unveil a rigorous and comprehensive framework from his groundbreaking book "The Seven Veils of Privacy" to navigate the seemingly endless arguments around privacy and your rights. Join to discover why the clashing perspectives on social norms, human rights, personal preferences, and data processing often lead to frustration and confusion. Places are limited so we advise you to secure your spot now to avoid disappointment.

INAUGURAL SEMINAR. 

Professor Bijan Parsia will present an inaugural seminar titled “Prosthetic Autonomy” on Wednesday 28th February, 2-3pm in Lecture Theatre 1.3. Abstract: Physical prosthetics generally enhance a person’s autonomy. By replacing a missing body part, they restore capabilities inhibited by that loss. They may even allow their wearer to exceed most human performance at some tasks. This seems straightforward. But, we have increasing capable systems for enhancing or replacing various mental functions including general decision making. Here things are not so straightforward as many concepts of autonomy require independence of thought. In this talk I work through part of the conceptual landscape of prosthetic autonomy covering human-technical systems that either are pervasive (e.g., turn-by-turn navigation) or are easily made so with current technology and involve “prostheses” that are outside the head and not at human level. These sorts of prostheses are likely to be ever larger parts of our everyday lives for a considerable part of the near future. Thinking about how such systems enhance, alter, or inhibit our autonomy should be central to our design processes. If you are planning on attending the seminar, please complete this form.

SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT:

My Learning Essentials. My Learning Essentials is the Library’s award winning programme of skills support, including both online resources and face-to-face workshops which will aid you in your personal and professional development. The workshops offer a relaxed group environment where you can try out new strategies for yourself while learning from and with peers whilst the online resources help you develop skills and interests which are relevant to you, at times and using the methods that suit you best. My Learning Essentials is a great way to get the most out of your time at Manchester; helping you to make the best use of all of the specialist resources and support the University has to offer.

DASS SUPPORT DEADLINE.

There is a deadline coming up for exam support through DASS (Disability Advice Support Service). DASS offers support to all students who have a condition which has an adverse and long-term effect on their ability to carry-out normal day-to-day activities. This includes Cognitive Developmental Delay, Physical Health and Mental Health issues. A DASS advisor is always happy to talk with you if you are unsure if you can register with them. You can find out more information about DASS and how to contact them here: who-do-we-support. The University has a deadline for putting exam support in place for each of the main exam periods. The next deadline is Thursday 14th March 2024 at 4pm, you’ll need to register and have met with an adviser to agree your exam support by then. For more details, see the exam support page.

HOW DO I CHECK IF I’VE SUBMITTED MY WORK IN BLACKBOARD? We often get asked by students how to check that they have submitted work successfully, and it’s quite easy to do.

In Blackboard, you can check under the “My Grades” link on the left on each course unit Blackboard page (under “Submitted” or “Marked”).

PRAYER ROOMS.

Whatever your faith, there are several prayer rooms in university buildings, or around the university campus. The closest to the Kilburn Building is in Engineering Building A. You can find all university prayer spaces by searching for “prayer space” in the University interactive map, or see the list at multifaithchaplaincy.org. 

HARDWARE LIBRARY.

Did you know we have a hardware library in the Department that contains a wide range of hardware components that are completely free to borrow? You can use these to support your 3rd year project, generally just to have a play with, or support a Hackathon. There are all sorts of items available, from Raspberry Pi components to drones, a wide range of microcontroller boards to gesture devices, basic electronic components to robots … even VR headsets. We also have computer items, such as keyboards, mice, and tablets - there’s a wide range of items available. To see what is available for you to borrow (for free!) have a look at the library catalogue. If you want to borrow an item then all you have to do is reserve it online. You will then be contacted by Steve Rhodes who will tell you when you can pick the item up from Tootill 0 on the lower first floor of Kilburn. Please note that items should not be taken away from Manchester and it is your responsibility to replace any damaged/lost items you borrow. You can also propose new items for the library, which we will consider. However, please note, we do have a limited budget to purchase new items, so we can’t fund all requests.

 

Masters News • Tuesday 6 February 2024


Hopefully you are now settling in to your 2nd semester theme, and starting on your project, at least in terms of background reading. You should be meeting your supervisor this week or next, so please take the initiative to contact your supervisor if you are not already in touch.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

 

DIGITAL SKILLS FESTIVAL 2024 - TALENT DAY.

Talent Day is the largest digital and tech careers fair in the North and a must-attend event for those looking to start work in the industry and takes place this Wednesday, 7th Feb, at the Bridgewater Hall, 10am to 4pm. 

Talent Day is back and bigger than ever! This year, we’re taking over Manchester’s iconic Bridgewater Hall for a day packed with opportunities to connect with tech employers across the region. Talent Day is the largest and longest-running specialist careers fair in the North. Each year over 1,800 graduates and job seekers attend to find out more about the latest tech and digital careers on offer at some of Greater Manchester’s most exciting and innovative tech companies. There are up to 60 different businesses to talk to, with a huge amount of jobs and other opportunities on offer. This event is great for students and graduates looking for exciting roles (summer internships, placements and graduate roles) in the digital and tech industry. To help us manage capacity and ensure that everybody has a good experience, tickets will be allocated across three 2 hour time slots. Please book the time slot that suits you, and ensure you stick to that time on the day. If you would prefer to visit when the event is less busy, we would advise booking for the final time slot of the day (2pm - 4pm). Exhibitors this year include: AJ Bell, Autotrader, Awaze, BAE Systems, Basecamp skills, Co-op, CDL Software, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), GlobalLogic, Interact software, IMS insurance and mobility solutions, Manchester Airports Group, Naimuri, Nexer Digital, North West Cyber Resilience Centre, Robiquity, Starling Bank, Tracsis, West Yorkshire Pension Fund.

Talent day is partnered with all three Manchester Universities: the University of Salford, the Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester. Find out more and register here.

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY.

Setting Up Your Python Project, Wednesday 7th February 2:00-3:30pm, Simon Building 2.60. We present the first MUDS workshop of the year! This is a practical session on how to set up your Python project like a professional. We'll be covering the effective use of GitHub, Docker containers, Python debugging and linting among other tips and tactics to start your project off smoothly and write great, publication quality code.

GOOGLE DEVELOPER STUDENT CLUBS.

Ready to connect with the future? Join us on February 7th at 4pm in Kilburn 1.1 as we decode the magic behind the Internet of Things (IoT) at the University of Manchester. Unleash the power of smart technology and witness a live demo that will change the way you see your world, along with some free swag and snacks!

UNICS PUB CRAWL.

After the success of our first pub crawl in our first semester, we are getting ready for another pub crawl. This time, we are starting at the Turing Tap at 7pm and heading towards the city centre. Fill out this form if you're interested in joining! Can't wait to see you all there!

DASS SUPPORT DEADLINE.

There is a deadline coming up for exam support through DASS (Disability Advice Support Service). DASS offers support to all students who have a condition which has an adverse and long-term effect on their ability to carry-out normal day-to-day activities. This includes Cognitive Developmental Delay, Physical Health and Mental Health issues. A DASS advisor is always happy to talk with you if you are unsure if you can register with them. You can find out more information about DASS and how to contact them here: who-do-we-support. The University has a deadline for putting exam support in place for each of the main exam periods. The next deadline is Thursday 14th March 2024 at 4pm, you’ll need to register and have met with an adviser to agree your exam support by then. For more details, see the exam support page.

LEARNING TIPS - SUBMITTING YOUR OWN WORK.

Computer Science is a practical subject and, as such, it is natural to work together. In fact, in the outside world you will invariably be working as part of a team, whether it is developing software, or designing hardware. This is why a number of our course units offer you the opportunity to work as a member of a team. However, when it comes to individual assessments, this changes. What you submit as assessments reflect your learning and are a key part of measuring your academic progress. To ensure that work you submit is your own, we often look out for signs of academic malpractice, where someone is looking to gain an unfair advantage by submitting work that is not (entirely) their own.

There are generally two forms of academic malpractice: plagiarism, which is the copying of someone else’s work, including output from AI tools such as ChatGPT, without acknowledgement; and collusion: working closely with someone else to produce the same, or very similar, piece of work. In Computer Science, we find that collusion is the most common form of academic malpractice, and we use powerful software tools to identify similarities in code, even when changes such as renaming variables or restructuring code have been made to try and make code look different.

If you are found guilty of academic malpractice then this can have a dramatic impact on your progress/marks. Penalties range from the zeroing of marks for the assessment where academic malpractice has been identified as taking place, through to failing and having to resit a course unit. In the past, we have had students being excluded from their studies as a result of engaging with academic malpractice. It’s natural for you to work with fellow students to understand problems and the taught material, however, make sure the work you submit is your own. Overall, it’s just not worth the risk. For more information, see the University student guidance on plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice. You can also view the full Academic Malpractice Procedure. 

 

Masters News • Monday 29 January 2024


I hope you have recovered from the exams, and are all set for your second semester units and project. We expect to release the semester 1 results in the week commencing 4th March 2024.

I hope you have recovered from the exams, and are all set for your second semester units and project.  We expect to release the semester 1 results in the week commencing 4th March 2024.

In relation to teaching, if you want to change second semester units / theme, please decide this week, as the short format makes it difficult to catch up if more than one week is missed.

In relation to your projects, you should be meeting with your supervisor in weeks 2/3 and weeks 4/5; thus please email your supervisor early in week 2 to ask for a meeting time if your supervisor has not got in touch by then.  If there is any difficulty establishing contact with your supervisor, please email Tom Thomson <thomas.thomson@manchester.ac.uk>.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

 

INAUGURAL SEMINAR: 

Prof. Davide Bertozzi will present an inaugural lecture titled “Systems Innovation By Leveraging the Enabling Properties of Communication Architectures and Technologies” on Wednesday 31st January, 14:00 - 15:00, in Kilburn lecture theatre 1.3. Abstract: Computing, as used in practice, is hierarchical, heterogenous, and distributed. This emerging paradigm is underpinned by computing architecture innovations encompassing biological inspiration, domain customization, multi-tenancy and data-intensive processing. In all cases, there is a converging trend toward shifting the fundamental bottleneck from computation to communication. By leveraging a strong drive toward cross-layer design and optimization, this talk will propose novel chip-scale communication architectures (for event-driven communication and/or for time-space partitioning) and technologies (silicon nanophotonic networks) playing a pivotal role in fulfilling the functional and non-functional requirements of macroscopic system-level design, especially tight power budgets and secure-grade isolation.

INAUGURAL SEMINAR: 

Dr. Jiaoyan Chen and Dr. Ramon Fraga Pereira will present inaugural lectures on Wednesday, 7 February 2024, 13:00 – 14:00 in Kilburn lecture theatre 1.3. The titles and abstract for the presentations are: Dr. Jiaoyan Chen, “Neural-symbolic Knowledge Representation with Ontology and Knowledge Graph Embeddings”. Abstract: Ontologies and Knowledge Graphs are becoming increasingly popular for knowledge representation and reasoning, with a fundamental role in AI and Information Systems. Their embeddings are to represent entities in a vector space with their formal and informal semantics (such as logical relationships and textual meta information) concerned. In this talk, I will first briefly introduce the definitions of ontology, knowledge graph and their embeddings, then introduce some embedding methods, including those using geometric modelling and (large) language models, and finally discuss the role of Knowledge Graph, Ontology and their embeddings in semantic reasoning such as knowledge completion, and in addressing Machine Learning challenges such as sample shortage and augmenting large language models. Dr. Ramon Fraga Pereira, “Goal Recognition and Deceptive Planning: Two (Different) Sides of the Same Coin”. Abstract: Goal Recognition is the task of discerning the intended goal that an observed agent aims to achieve by observing a sequence of its actions in an environment. In contrast, Deceptive Planning can be described as an inversion of the Goal Recognition task, where the aim is to generate a sequence of actions (i.e., a plan) such that an observer is unable to determine the intended final goal. Goal Recognition has various applications across different domains due to its ability to infer and understand the goals of observed agents, such as Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Assistive Technologies (e.g., Alexa, Siri, etc.), Security and Surveillance, Education and Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Healthcare, Fraud Detection, etc. Deceptive Planning also has several applications in several domains, such as Security and Real-Time Strategies (e.g., misdirection and decoys), Competitive e-Sports (deceptive moves and feints), Security and Anti-fraud Measures (e.g., deceptive signage and camouflage), etc. In this talk, I will present my research on Symbolic AI (Artificial Intelligence) techniques for the tasks of Goal Recognition and Deceptive Planning and their applications in real-world problems, as well as possible future directions in these fields of study.

VENTURE FURTHER AWARDS 2024.

Do you have the next best technology startup business? Turn your ideas into reality and win up to £15,000 in the 2024 Venture Further Awards, the annual start-up competition for all current students and recent graduates at The University of Manchester. Applications for the Venture Further Awards 2024 Competition are now open! Turn your ideas into reality and win significant early-stage funding to start your own business. The competition will introduce you to a world of support programmes, workshops, mentors and networks to grow your ideas. If you have a viable business proposal then get involved. Your entry needs to be a viable and credible business proposal that has the potential to succeed. If your entry is successful, you will be asked to pitch your business proposal to a panel of expert judges for a chance to win one of the cash prizes. Deadline for applications: MIDDAY on 22nd February 2024. On Thursday 1st February, competition organiser Tillie Page and Jess Lewis will be offering a VFA24 Drop in service in AMBS Reception Area, where you can ask any questions about the competition, or go through your application for this years’ competition. Bootcamps will be running on Saturday 3rd and Monday 5th February to help you create your Venture Further application. You can find further information here. 

NEW SUPPORT ZONE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY.

The Library has a new Support Zone for students on the Blue Ground Floor of the Main Library. The Support Zone is a space where our friendly Library staff can help you with a range of digital services and teaching and learning queries, including: 

* Accessing WiFi 

* Printing  

* Using MS365 

* Developing skills in academic writing 

* Accessing business data 

Consultations are on a one-to-one basis, so you get personalised support as you need it. Using the Support Zone is currently on a 'drop-in' basis. All you need to do is approach the Customer Services desk in Main Library and let them know what kind of support you need, then they’ll refer you to a member of staff who can chat with you in the Support Zone.

 

Masters News • Monday 22 January 2024


I hope your exams are going well .... only one more week to go!Teaching resumes next week with the start of semester 2, so your personal timetable will change to show learning activities for your semester 2 course units.

I hope your exams are going well .... only one more week to go! Teaching resumes next week with the start of semester 2, so your personal timetable will change to show learning activities for your semester 2 course units. If you have yet to finalise your course units, then it’s important you do so by the deadline (see below) as changes cannot be made after this date. The deadline to submit mitigating circumstances for semester 1 is this coming Sunday, so please make sure you submit any by then.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

COURSE UNIT CHOICES.

Course unit selection for semester 2 is now open. The deadline for choosing/changing your Semester 2 course units on the University system is 3pm Friday 9th February. Please do this urgently because the size of a course unit cohort has implications on room bookings and we need to finalise the timetable ASAP. This year we have a new course unit selection system. See our student support website for further information and guidance on using the system, along with contact information if you have any questions or issues.

BLACKBOARD DOWNTIME.

As part of a planned upgrade of the Blackboard interface, there will be some disruption to this service. Blackboard may be unavailable for a 30-minute period at some point between 8am and 2pm on Saturday, 27th January 2024. During this time, anyone using Blackboard may see some graphical changes as the upgrade takes effect. The upgrade will provide improvements to the Blackboard homepage design and several new features.

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE.

The deadline for submitting mitigating circumstances for semester 1 is 4pm, Sunday 28th January 2024. University regulations do not allow us to accept applications after this date. You can submit mitigating circumstances by filling out this form.

INAUGURAL SEMINAR.

Prof. Davide Bertozzi will present an inaugural lecture titled “Systems Innovation By Leveraging the Enabling Properties of Communication Architectures and Technologies” on Wednesday 31st January, 14:00 - 15:00, in Kilburn lecture theatre 1.3. Abstract: Computing, as used in practice, is hierarchical, heterogenous, and distributed. This emerging paradigm is underpinned by computing architecture innovations encompassing biological inspiration, domain customization, multi-tenancy and data-intensive processing. In all cases, there is a converging trend toward shifting the fundamental bottleneck from computation to communication. By leveraging a strong drive toward cross-layer design and optimization, this talk will propose novel chip-scale communication architectures (for event-driven communication and/or for time-space partitioning) and technologies (silicon nanophotonic networks) playing a pivotal role in fulfilling the functional and non-functional requirements of macroscopic system-level design, especially tight power budgets and secure-grade isolation.

FREE BREAKFASTS.

Weekly free breakfasts are available each Wednesday, excluding the Easter break (18th March - 5th April). The Library Team will be handing out vouchers in Alan Gilbert Learning Commons which can be exchanged for breakfast goodies, including a hot drink and pastry, at the Learning Commons Café. The giveaways run from 9am to 11am every Wednesday. Get your breakfast fix before stocks run out! Check out the University Cost of Living page for more initiatives, including information on our Cosy Campus spaces with hot water and microwaves, and free fresh food available in the community fridges.

KEEPING SAFE ON CAMPUS.

Darker mornings and evenings are here for a bit longer, hence it’s important you keep safe when on campus and travelling to/from the campus. Keep in mind the following:


• Stay alert: Keep your belongings safe and out of view when travelling to or from campus and whilst you’re on it. Avoid wearing noise cancelling headphones so you know what’s going on around you, and stick to well-lit roads and pavements as you travel around the city, avoiding underpasses where possible. Keep your phone out of sight!


• Download SafeZone: Our mobile app SafeZone can be used to quickly connect you with Campus Support and Security team if you feel unsafe, need immediate help or require first aid or wellbeing assistance. The app is free to download, easy to use, and operates across the Manchester campuses. You can find out more about SafeZone here.


• Report unacceptable behaviour: Manchester has a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender-based violence, hate or micro-aggressions. If you have witnessed any forms of this behaviour, or have a safeguarding concern, you can report it anonymously or get support from a trained advisor.  Find out more about Report + Support.

 

Masters News • Tuesday 16 January 2024


Happy new year. I hope that you have managed some rest and relaxation over the festive season, and that the exams are not coming as too nasty a shock.Norman Paton, PGT Director MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE.

Happy new year.  I hope that you have managed some rest and relaxation over the festive season, and that the exams are not coming as too nasty a shock.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE.

The deadline for submitting mitigating circumstances for semester 1 is 4pm, Sunday 28th January 2024. University regulations do not allow us to accept applications after this date. You can submit mitigating circumstances by filling out this form. If you are unsure about how to fill in the form, whether what you have experienced qualifies for mitigation, or if you are experiencing problems with obtaining evidence, please speak to a member of the Wellbeing Team or your Academic Advisor.

EXAM BREAKFASTS.

Weekly free breakfasts are again available each Wednesday from the 17th January 2024, excluding the Easter break (18th March - 5th April). The Library Team will be handing out vouchers in Alan Gilbert Learning Commons which can be exchanged for breakfast goodies, including a hot drink and pastry, at the Learning Commons Café. The giveaways run from 9am to 11am every Wednesday. Get your breakfast fix before stocks run out! Check out the University Cost of Living page for more initiatives, including information on our Cosy Campus spaces with hot water and microwaves, and free fresh food available in the community fridges.

LEARNING TIPS: THE EXAM - ON THE DAY.

You’ve done all your preparation for the exam and you are (almost) confident you know all the material, then the day of the exam arrives. What do you do? Well, attend the exam of course, but what should you expect on the day? First, make sure you go to bed early the night before. It is important that you’ve had a good night's sleep before the exam, there’s nothing worse than sitting an exam feeling tired and being unable to concentrate. Whilst doing some revision the night before the exam is natural, resist the temptation to spend all night cramming for the exam - this is often counterproductive. It is usually beneficial to do something completely separate from revision before you go to bed: listen to music, play a game, watch a movie. That way your brain will get a chance to switch off, and doesn't keep you awake trying to solve more sample problems.

On the morning of the exam make sure you get up early and enjoy a good breakfast. You don’t want to be going into the exam on an empty stomach, with it growling and letting you know how hungry you are throughout. Avoid the temptation to cram for the exam beforehand. It’s okay to have a brief look at some material you feel unfamiliar with, but avoid cramming a load of revision in that morning as it won’t help. You should have already scoped out where the exam is taking place, so make sure you arrive plenty of time before the exam starts; at least 15 minutes before. Make sure you prepare your journey beforehand and are prepared for every eventuality, such as the bus not turning up, or the dog eating your bus pass etc. If you turn up late for an exam, you may not be allowed to enter. If you are late, you certainly won't be given any additional time. If you miss an exam, it’s important you contact the Student Hub immediately.

You will be allowed to enter the exam room just before it starts. The only items you can take into the exam are a pen/pencil/ruler etc and a calculator (if allowed), you will be told where to leave anything else you bring with you, such as your bag. You will need your University ID, so make sure you bring it along with you! If it’s an online exam, you will also need to know your university username and password. Take your assigned seat. Whatever the format of the exam, paper-based or online, the exam invigilators will instruct you what you need to do.

At the start of the exam, read the exam rubric (the instructions) so you are clear what is required for the exam, i.e. how many questions you should answer, how long the exam will last etc. Look through all the questions and identify any you feel confident answering and attempt these first. There’s no need to answer the questions in the order they are in the exam. Once you have answered the questions you are confident with, then attempt those that you find more difficult. Don’t spend too long answering a question - think about the number of marks available and the time for the exam. For example, if a question is only worth a few marks, then you shouldn’t be producing an essay for an answer! Whether your exam is online or paper based, make sure your answers are readable. You don’t want to be losing marks because the marker cannot read and understand your answers. Underline your answers to make them clear to the marker.

If you finish answering the questions early, resist the temptation to leave early. Make use of any remaining time to check your answers and make sure you’ve completed everything required for the exam. At the end , if it's a paper-based exam, the invigilators will collect your papers and they will instruct you on when and how to leave. If it’s an online exam you will need to log out of the computer before you leave. After the exam, resist the temptation to discuss with your friends how you answered the questions - this only leads to anxiety if you find people have answered questions differently. Take some time to relax, have a brief nap, watch a film, or have a nice cup of tea. Do not jump straight into revising for your next exam.

VISUALISING THE CITY: DIGITAL TWINS AND BEYOND.

Uncover the secrets of city visualisation at the upcoming free event organised by the Manchester Digital Strategy Research Network and Digital Futures. Engage with leading academics and public sector professionals as we delve into the latest advancements transforming city planning, design, resident engagement, and management through digital technologies. Date & time: 17 January | 12:30 – 14:30 pm. Register here.

SECURITY ON CAMPUS - BE CAREFUL OF THEFTS.

If you are using a University building during the examination period, maybe to find a quiet place to revise, then remember that there are fewer people around the University. As University buildings are publicly accessible during normal working hours, this means that there’s an increased possibility of thefts taking place. It is vitally important that you do not leave your belongings (bag, phone, laptop etc) lying around unattended when working. The LF area of the Kilburn building is a common target for thieves. If you need a bathroom break, or you need to pop out for a coffee, then ask a friend to look after your belongings. If there’s no one you can ask, then take your items with you. Please keep your belongings safe and do not leave them unattended! You can report any instances of theft to University security. You can find their number on the back of your University card.

 

Masters News • Monday 11 December 2023


This is the last Masters News of 2023. I hope the semester has gone well and you?re now looking forward to taking a well-earned break ... while remembering that there are exams before too long. The exam timetable has now been...

This is the last Masters News of 2023. I hope the semester has gone well and you’re now looking forward to taking a well-earned break ... while remembering that there are exams before too long. The exam timetable has now been released (see below), so please check when your exams are taking place and put them in your diary.

In the meantime, I hope you have an enjoyable festive season and a happy New Year.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

SEMESTER 1 EXAMS.

The Semester 1 exams take place over the period Monday 15th to Friday 26th January 2024 (see the University’s key dates webpage). Examinations take place under invigilated conditions and on-campus, so you must be present in Manchester during the examination period.  The timetabling of exams takes place centrally, the Department is not responsible for this. The timetable has now been published and your personal timetable should be updated soon. If you have any queries regarding your exam timetable then please contact the assessment team. Please note that exams for different course units could be timetabled close together, possibly on the same day, and that changes cannot be made to the timetable once it is published. You may find that you are timetabled for an exam in a different location to your friends, or others on the course unit. It’s very important you attend the location stated in your exam timetable. If you have any queries regarding your exam timetable then please contact the assessment team.

EXAMS WELFARE SUPPORT.

This from the Welfare Team: As you are aware, the exams are approaching in January. This can be a challenging time for some of you, so please make use of the Welfare Team. Just contact us by email if you need any help and support. The Counselling and Mental Health Service run regular workshops all year round to help you get ready for exams, manage your current coursework or tasks and they also provide general wellbeing tips. You can find information on workshops you can attend, as well as useful information about workload management, both for exams and throughout the year. We hope these resources help, we will provide further information and drop-ins throughout the year. 

UNIVERSITY CHRISTMAS CLOSURE.

The University will be closed from Friday, 22nd  December and will reopen on Tuesday, 2nd January 2024. During that period the Kilburn building will be closed as well, but it will be open as usual before and after for you to work in.

STUDENT HUB OPENING HOURS.

Email and phone support will be available as usual Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm up to and including Thursday, 21st December, after which our teams will break for Christmas, returning at 9am on Tuesday, 2nd January 2024. The Student Support Hub (Engineering Building A, First Floor, 1A.042) will be open and available for drop-ins and appointments up to and including Thursday, 21st December:


• Currently Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm (except Wednesdays, which are 10am-5pm). Note that the Hub is closed Monday, 11th December as it is the TLSE staff Christmas event that day. Students in crisis will be able to attend the School of Natural Sciences Hub in Alan Turing Building instead.


• Monday, 18th December – Thursday, 21st December 2023, 10am to 4pm


• Friday, 22nd December to Monday 1st January 2024 – closed


• Tuesday, 2nd January to Friday, 12th January, 10am to 4pm


• From Monday, 15th January, 9am – 5pm (except Wednesdays, which are 10am-5pm)

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE.

The deadline for submitting mitigating circumstances for Semester 1 is 4pm, Sunday 28th January 2024. We are unable to accept applications after this date. You can submit mitigating circumstances by filling out this form.

COURSE UNIT SURVEYS.

Every semester the University runs surveys where we ask students to provide feedback on the course units they have taken. The semester one course unit surveys are open and will run until the 31st December. Any feedback provided by you is anonymous. We find feedback, particularly comments, extremely useful to understand what you feel about our teaching and we do listen to it and make changes as a result. Please provide us with written comments to explain why you rated course units as you did. Without these comments it’s difficult to make informed decisions on how to change and improve how we teach. Please be detailed with your feedback - if your comments are general, such as `I would like to see more examples', or `I found some of the material confusing', you're not telling us where exactly we should aim to make improvements.

BCS WOMEN LOVELACE COLLOQUIUM.

The 2024 British Computer Society Women Lovelace Colloquium will take place on April 4th, 2024 at the University of Liverpool. The event is open to all, although if you would like to attend you need to register. The poster contests are open to women and non-binary students studying computing (BSc, BA, BEng, MSc, MComp or MEng) in the UK. Students who want to take part in the poster contests will have to submit a 250 word abstract. We usually accept about 125 posters, based on these submitted abstracts. Our call for abstracts is now open! You can find out more information and register here.

 

Masters News • Monday 4 December 2023


As will have been clear from the recent weather, we are nearing the end of the year, with one more week of classes before the coursework completion week.

As will have been clear from the recent weather, we are nearing the end of the year, with one more week of classes before the coursework completion week. I hope you have been enjoying and learning useful things from your Period 2 units, and are on top of the coursework. If you are struggling, please consult your Academic Advisor or Student Welfare, who have an article below.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

STUDENT WELFARE SUPPORT IN CS.

Issues can impact students at any time, particularly at the end of the semester when there’s pressure to complete assessments and the pressure to prepare for the upcoming examinations kicks in. If you are affected by any issues, then it’s vitally important that you speak to someone and get the help and support you need. You can speak to your Academic Advisor, or you can speak to a member of our Student Wellbeing Team, Maria Sloan and Ben Herbert, or drop into the student hub in Engineering Building A and ask to speak to someone, in confidence, about anything that might be affecting you and your studies. Maria and Ben are also the Disability Coordinators for CS, so you can speak to them if you have any ongoing physical or mental health problems, or conditions such as ASD or ADHD, that affect your studies, even if you are not already registered with the DASS Team at the University. If you are registered with DASS and there are problems with your DASS plan you can speak with them about this too. You can contact Maria and Ben at soe.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk.

ASSESSMENT AND EXAM SUPPORT FROM THE LIBRARY. As we get closer to the exam period, the Library is keen to support your revision and preparation. The University offers a range of workshops and online resources to support you with your productivity and wellbeing. Sessions include revising effectively, revision and preparation, dealing with procrastination, and managing exam stress.


• Drop-in sessions: Join a drop-in session to ask specific questions and get guidance from a library expert. Browse workshops and drop-in sessions


• MLE online resources: There are a wealth of online resources to support all aspects of your study, but the team have put together specific packages to support you at this time. Browse our Library Support for Assessment resource. Browse revision resources.

To find out more about how the Library can help, visit our exams and assessment support page  or chat online to library staff via the website. New additional support is also available from the new Ask Me@ The Library service. Remember you can also find wellbeing support by accessing helpful resources and workshops via the Counselling Service and Student Support website. 

COURSE UNIT SURVEYS.

Every semester the University runs surveys where we ask students to provide feedback on the course units they have taken. The semester one course unit surveys are due to open on the 4th December and to run until 31st December. Any feedback provided by you is anonymous. We find feedback, particularly comments, extremely useful to understand what you feel about our teaching, and we do take note of your suggestions and make changes as a result. You can find out more information on the University Have Your Say webpages. Please provide us with written comments to explain why you rated course units as you did, as without these comments it’s difficult to make informed decisions on how to change and improve how we teach. We are always looking for ways in which to improve what we do, but it can be difficult to judge what that should be. Your feedback helps us make those decisions.

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY. Reinforcement Learning, Wednesday 6th December 2-4pm, Simon 2.39. The agenda is:

* Understand the framework of RL and when to use it

* Simple single-player algorithms

* Tabular Q-learning


• Extension into multi-agent settings!

Reinforcement learning (RL) has exploded in popularity in recent years, thanks to use in DeepMind's AlphaGo and ChatGPT among others. Applications are varied, with RL used to optimise drug discovery, reaching to 'Grandmaster' rank in the online multiplayer game Starcraft. In this workshop, we cover the basics of RL, including implementation of some classic settings. By the end of the session, students will be able to program a player in some simple games (bandit machine, gridworld). Prerequisites: Coding in Python. This workshop requires NO deep learning!

GOOGLE DEVELOPER STUDENT CLUBS CODE JAM SESSION. Dive into our Weekly Code Jams! Collaborate on the Solution Challenge, enhance your skills, and enjoy coding in a vibrant atmosphere. Bring your laptop and ideas to Kilburn Lecture Theatre 1.4! Set your calendar!


• Date: Tuesday, December 5th


• Time: 15:00 – 16:00


• Location: Kilburn Lecture Theatre 1.4

Snacks and refreshments provided. Sharpen your coding prowess and join the quest to build innovative solutions. #CodeTogether #SolutionChallenge. RSVP here.

PROJECT EXPERIMENT - APPLYING NUDGING TECHNIQUES TO FACILITATE CUSTOMISATION IN INTERACTIVE INFORMATION DASHBOARDS. 

Hatim Alsayahani (PhD student) writes: Join our interactive dashboard experiment! Contribute to cutting-edge research in human-computer interaction at the Interaction Analysis and Modelling Lab. Help us design user-friendly and efficient decision-making tools. Share your insights and shape the future of dashboard design. Where? Interaction Analysis and Modelling Lab, Kilburn Building (LF1) How long? Approximately 30 minutes Compensation? As a thank you, receive an Amazon voucher for your valuable input! To participate, simply send me an email.

MICE IN KILBURN.

Mice have been seen on the loose in the Kilburn building. Please can you make sure you put any unused food in a waste bin and do not leave food lying around to tempt them to take a nibble! The mice have been reported and pest control have attended.

 

 

Masters News • Monday 27 November 2023


We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester, when you are likely to have several deadlines and when it is likely necessary to start thinking about the impending examination period in January.

We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester, when you are likely to have several deadlines and when it is likely necessary to start thinking about the impending examination period in January. Please remember to speak to your Advisor if you are having problems keeping up. The semester one exams take place in January during the period from Monday 15th to Friday 26th January 2024, so now may be a good time to start thinking about your revision planning. The University usually releases the exam timetable in early December.  Exams are on campus and invigilated.

STUDENT SUPPORT VIDEO.

The Students’ Union and Campus Life have produce a two-minute video to highlight the extensive support available at the University, normalise seeking support and to help you with navigating student life. You can find the video on the University Student Support webpage, or on YouTube.

KEEPING SAFE ON CAMPUS.

Just like any large city, Manchester can have problems with crime. The University student support webpage offers a variety of resources that you can utilise to help keep safe. SafeZone is a mobile app that can also be used to quickly connect with the University Campus Support and Security team if you have an immediate concern, or require first aid or wellbeing assistance. The app is free to download, easy to use, and operates not just across our campus and accommodation areas, but also MMU and Salford campuses. Find out more about SafeZone here, along with additional Safety Apps that are available. There is also a Safe Taxi scheme, which is an exclusive partnership with Street Cars, to help get you home safely even if you can’t pay at that moment. Our Report and Support team are also available to contact should you experience or witness any safeguarding concern, and you would like to speak to a trained advisor.

UNICS ICE SKATING SOCIAL.

Indulge in the elegance of ice skating at Cathedral Gardens with UniCS! Secure your tickets at a highly favourable rate here, priced at less than half the standard cost! Join us for a fun and affordable ice-skating experience in this picturesque setting. We will be meeting outside the main entrance of Kilburn at 6pm and we hope to see you there!

UNICS CHRISTMAS DINNER.

UniCS cordially invites you to our joyous Christmas Dinner Social! Join us for a festive evening of delectable food, refreshing drinks, and merrymaking as we embrace the spirit of the holiday season. Indulge in an extensive buffet spread, savouring culinary delights while engaging in meaningful conversations with fellow students. This event presents a wonderful opportunity to take a well-deserved break from studies and foster lasting connections with your peers. Tickets will go on sale soon here, so watch out for it!

LIBRARY & STUDY SPACE OPENING HOURS.

After the Christmas break, from 2nd – 26th January 2024, there will be extended opening until 2am in the Main Library. During this period additional study space will also be made available at Prospect House, Booth Street East  (8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday) - which is behind the Kilburn building, next to the IT building. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

DIGITAL TRUST AND SECURITY SEMINAR SERIES.

Join us for a special edition of the Digital Trust and Security Seminar Series where we will host two of the co-founders of CyBlack: Omotolani Olowosule and Iretioluwa Akerele,on Monday 4th December 2023, 14.00-16.00 (UK) at DiSH Manchester, Heron House, 47 Lloyd Street, Manchester M2 5LE. . CyBlack is a black community for Cyber security students in UK, which currently has over 500 students. In this seminar, our speakers will discuss the outcomes of their research. Omotolani's research focuses on Mindfulness in Cloud Security, whereas Iretioluwa's research looks at Information Security Controls Integration and Implementation. Sign up for the event for free via Eventbrite 

DEPARTMENT LINKEDIN PAGE.

Follow us on LinkedIn, where we've recently created a Linked page, where you can follow news and events from the department. You can also follow us on X (formerly know as twitter).

 

 

Masters News • Monday 20 November 2023


It is already the time of year for starting to think about project topics.The open house where staff will be available to discuss their offerings is in Simon 3.44A on 27 Nov from 15:00 - 17:00.

It is already the time of year for starting to think about project topics. The open house where staff will be available to discuss their offerings is in Simon 3.44A on 27 Nov from 15:00 - 17:00. This is a good chance to meet with potential supervisors you may not know, and to help narrow down your list of candidate projects.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

 

UNICS SPONSORED MOCK INTERVIEW EVENT

UniCS is excited to present a unique opportunity for our members: a mock interview event supported by our sponsors: bet365, Roku, Booking.com and BNY Mellon. Taking place on November 22nd from 3pm-5:30pm at the Alan Turing building room G.107, this event aims to enhance your professional skills essential for job and internship interviews. Join us for a valuable chance to practise and refine both your technical and social competencies in a simulated interview setting. It's an ideal platform to prepare for your internship and job applications this academic year. Your participation could be the key to unlocking your potential in the professional world. We encourage all students to seize this invaluable opportunity and come along! Register your interest for this event here!

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY

Generative Adverserial Networks, Wed 22nd Nov 2-4pm; Simon 2.39. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) excel in creating realistic synthetic images, text, videos and sound. GANs are the precursor to popular generative AI such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and more. In this workshop we will:

1. Understand what generative models are

2. Intro to Autoregressive models

3. Autoencoders and Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) for Generative Deep Learning

Join us for your first look at this dynamic and relevant field of research! As always, we're there to support your learning, and all questions are welcome. Prerequisites: Intermediate level, as some mathematics is required to understand GANs.

UNICS CHRISTMAS MARKET EVENT

Come along on Friday 24th November and join us at Manchester’s Christmas Market for a fun night of exploring food stalls, getting toasty cups of hot chocolate, getting to know new people, and enjoying the festive spirit! We will meet at Kilburn Byte Cafe at 5:30pm and walk there together as a group. Register your interest for this event here, we hope to see you there!

CELEBRATING THE CAREER OF PROFESSOR STEVE FURBER.

After 33 years in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, and more than 50 years in computing, we're celebrating the career of our colleague Steve Furber on Friday 12th January 2024, 9am - 4pm, with a Festschrift (“celebration publication”) to mark his retirement earlier this year.

Steve has led the Advance Processor Technologies (APT) research group in the Department since its inception in 1990, and before that designed the BBC Micro, as well as the original Arm processor. His most recent work has focused on the state of the art computation using spiking neural networks in the SpiNNaker powered Human Brain Project.  You can find out more about Steve here or through his University research profile.

Register for this event to join us for a day of talks from Steve’s colleagues and friends, acknowledging his profound influence and contributions over 4 decades in computing, spanning both academia and industry. Speakers include: Ian Phillips, Sophie Wilson, Ivan Sutherland, Marly Roncken, Jamie Urquhart, Doug Edwards, Alex Yakovlev, Andrew Brown, Erik Brunvand, Piotr Dudek, Roger Woods, Ran Ginosar, Peter Cheung, Wayne Luk, Christian Mayr and more.

LIBRARY & STUDY SPACE OPENING HOURS.

After the Christmas break, from 2nd – 26th January 2024, there will be extended opening until 2am in the Main Library. During this period additional study space will also be made available at Prospect House, Booth Street East  (8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday) - which is behind the Kilburn building, next to the IT building. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at the Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

 

 

Masters News • Monday 13 November 2023


If you are enjoying being a postgraduate student, might you consider moving into research to do a PhD? If so, the Faculty of Science and Engineering is running a Postgraduate Research Open Day On Wednesday 15th  November ? 12...

If you are enjoying being a postgraduate student, might you consider moving into research to do a PhD? If so, the Faculty of Science and Engineering is running a Postgraduate Research Open Day On Wednesday 15th November – 12 pm to 4.30 pm, in Engineering Building A, which is a chance to find out whether a PhD at Manchester may be right for you. Find out more and register your place.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

UNICS GAMDEV WORKSHOPS.

Hello everyone! Join us on November 15th from 3 - 4pm and participate in our 3rd Game Dev workshop! This workshop will cover the basics of Monogame Rendering and I/O. We will also explore more complex Object Oriented concepts like interfaces and structs. Follow my GitHub and star the repository below to keep track of and refer to things programmed during our live coding sessions (we will be using this repository for subsequent workshops). As always, these workshops are still beginner-friendly and aim to shed light on underlying concepts which apply to any engine! See you guys there :) Register your interest here! 

UNICS LEETCODE WORKSHOP. 

Join us this Wednesday, November 15th, in Collab 1 from 4 to 6 PM to learn about Competitive Programming, the interview process, and getting started with Leetcode! We'll guide you through the typical steps of a technical interview, share ideal timelines for starting your application process, discuss how to approach problems, and provide resources on essential data structures and problem-solving patterns to learn. Additionally, we'll walk through some example problems, dissecting them to show how to make incremental improvements. Register your interest here! 

UNICS INTERNSHIP NETWORKING EVENT.

Come along to Revolution Manchester (Oxford Road) from 7pm onwards on Friday November 17th for a casual networking event where you get to hear from our students that have gained internship experience from various companies, such as Amazon, ARM, Wise, and BNY Mellon! This is your chance to ask any burning questions you have about application processes and advice, or any general things you are curious about, all in a casual setting! Register your interest here! 

GRAPHENE HACKATHON.

Unleash your inner entrepreneur: Design, Prototype & Pitch a new graphene product idea over a weekend of hacking at the University of Manchester, 9-10th December 2023! Join us in an energetic environment for rapid development, failing & innovating! Work with entrepreneurs, industry experts, and academics. Win cash prizes and startup support! The Graphene Hackathon is open to everyone from all backgrounds. You can enter in ready-made teams (4-6 people) or we can group you together with other applicants.  Visit our website for more information & information on how to apply before the 18th November. Travel and accommodation costs for people outside of the University of Manchester will be covered. Email us with any questions: info@graphenehackathon.com.

STUDENT WELFARE SUPPORT IN CS.

Issues can impact students at any time, usually when you least expect it. If you are affected by any issues, and if they start to impact your studies, then it’s vitally important that you speak to someone and get the help and support you need. You can speak to your year tutor, or you can speak to a member of our Student Wellbeing Team, Maria Sloan and Ben Herbert, or drop into the student hub in Engineering Building A and ask to speak to someone, in confidence, about anything that might be affecting you and your studies. Maria and Ben are also the Disability Coordinators for CS, so you can speak to them if you have any ongoing physical or mental health problems, or conditions such as ASD or ADHD, that affect your studies, even if you are not already registered with the DASS Team at the University. If you are registered with DASS and there are problems with your DASS plan you can speak with them about this too. You can contact Maria and Ben at soe.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk.

EXTENSION REQUESTS.

If you find you are falling behind due to circumstances beyond your control with an assessment then you can apply for a short extension to allow you to complete your work. You must apply for an extension BEFORE the deadline through the Department Mitigating Circumstances page. You should only be applying for an extension if you really need one, we will be monitoring applications to ensure the system is not being abused. 

 

Masters News • Monday 6 November 2023


Today is the start of Period 2, so new units get underway (including mine!).  Hopefully you completed the Period 1 units by submitting final courseworks that you are happy with. If your submissions were impacted by circumstances beyond your control, please submit a Mitigating Circumstances from.

This week we will have our first Staff Student Liaison Committee meeting, where we hope to hear from Class Representatives what is going well or less well in your experience of the programme and the university. The following are the representatives that we know are attending:


• Rahul Vijay Patil: rahulvijay.patil@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk


• Sweta Jaiswal: sweta.jaiswal@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk


• Shivani Bharambe: shivani.bharambe@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk


• Reet Tuteja: reet.tuteja@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk


• Aron Bencsik: aron.bencsik@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Please let them know what issues you would like to have raised.

Norman Paton, PGT Programme Director

 

MY LEARNING ESSENTIALS.

My Learning Essentials is the Library’s award winning programme of skills support, including both online resources and face-to-face workshops which will aid you in your personal and professional development. The workshops offer a relaxed group environment where you can try out new strategies for yourself while learning from and with peers whilst the online resources help you develop skills and interests which are relevant to you, at times and using the methods that suit you best. My Learning Essentials is a great way to get the most out of your time at Manchester; helping you to make the best use of all of the specialist resources and support the University has to offer.

KEEPING SAFE ON CAMPUS.

Just like any large city, Manchester can have problems with crime. The University student support webpage offers a variety of resources that you can utilise to help keep safe. SafeZone is a mobile app that can also be used to quickly connect with the University Campus Support and Security team if you have an immediate concern, or require first aid or wellbeing assistance. The app is free to download, easy to use, and operates not just across our campus and accommodation areas, but also MMU and Salford campuses. Find out more about SafeZone here, along with additional Safety Apps that are available. There is also a Safe Taxi scheme, which is an exclusive partnership with Street Cars, to help get you home safely even if you can’t pay at that moment. Our Report and Support team are also available to contact should you experience or witness any safeguarding concern, and you would like to speak to a trained advisor.

EXAM SUPPORT.

Do you need support for a disability, a long term medical or mental health condition, or a learning disorder for your Exams? If you need extra time, rest breaks etc. due to any of these, please contact the Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) ASAP to register. Alternatively you can contact the Department Wellbeing Team to discuss a referral. Please note that you must have fully registered with DASS and have met with a Disability Adviser to discuss and agree any exam adjustments by 16th November 2023 in order to receive support in the January 2024 examinations.

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY.

Introduction to Computer Vision, Wednesday 8th 2-4pm, Simon 2.39. Get ready for this week's workshop on Medical Image Analysis using Convolutional Neural Networks! Computer Vision tools for Medical Image Analysis are allowing radiologists to become faster, better, and more accurate in diagnosis. Content list:


• Understand how Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) work.


• Learn how to build a Computer Vision pipeline using PyTorch.


• Train a CNN to classify organs from CT scans.

Prerequisites: It would be useful to understand how basic neural networks work. 

NEED A PLACE TO WORK?

You are free to use any of our teaching rooms/labs in the Kilburn building when they are not being used for scheduled teaching activities. If you are interested in knowing when a lab is free to use, then you can find out on the University Timetable pages (you will need to be on campus). To look for a room in Kilburn, select “Location”, then in the form that opens select “Kilburn Building” for the building, select the lab/room you would like to use under “Select Location”, the default view is this week, or you can select a particular week. Selecting “View Timetable” will show what activities are taking place in the selected room for the week. Please note that for the labs 1.8 and 1.10 look at the 1.8+1.10 timetable. If a room is booked for teaching, then you should avoid using it.

UNIVERSITY CYBERHIVE.

Do you want to take part in simulated cyber incidents, make high-stakes decisions to thwart the attackers? Then this competition with a difference is for you! This is not about technology...there are no flags to capture! This is a competition about strategy and policy. We’re looking for students from all Faculties to join our CyberHive team for the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. We want to build a diverse team that brings together students from all academic disciplines and backgrounds (but do not work in cyber security or have held positions that would give them an advantage). The University of Manchester CyberHive team will aim for glory at the finals, set to take place at the BT Tower in London from 20th – 21st February 2024. Critical thinking and communication skills are essential! You can find out more information here, along with details on how to apply.

 

 

Masters News • Tuesday 31 October 2023


As we are broadly half way through the semester, this week is Reading Week, and thus the university seems quite quiet. Alas, it is not really a Reading Week for you, as likely you have lab work to complete.

As we are broadly half way through the semester, this week is Reading Week, and thus the university seems quite quiet.  Alas, it is not really a Reading Week for you, as likely you have lab work to complete.  Please also take the chance this week to see what material is in Blackboard for the units that start next week.

It will not have escaped your attention that Generative AI has the potential to impact on student assessment, and the university has updated its guidance on plagiarism with explicit reference to Generative AI.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

HARDWARE LIBRARY.

Did you know we have a hardware library in the Department that contains a wide range of hardware components that are completely free to borrow? You can use these to support your 3rd year project, generally just to have a play with, or support a Hackathon. There are all sorts of items available, from Raspberry Pi components to drones, a wide range of microcontroller boards to gesture devices, basic electronic components to robots … even VR headsets. We also have computer items, such as keyboards, mice, and tablets - there’s a wide range of items available. To see what is available for you to borrow (for free!) have a look at the library catalogue. If you want to borrow an item then all you have to do is reserve it online. You will then be contacted by Steve Rhodes who will tell you when you can pick the item up from Tootill 0 on the lower first floor of Kilburn. Please note that items should not be taken away from Manchester and it is your responsibility to replace any damaged/lost items you borrow. You can also propose new items for the library, which we will consider. However, please note, we do have a limited budget to purchase new items, so we can’t fund all requests.

3D PRINTER.

The Department has two 3D printers that are free for you to use (Original Prusa i3). The 3D printers can be found in Tootill 0. If you’d like to use one of the printers, then please speak to Steve Rhodes (corner of Tootill 0) first.

FREE BREAKFASTS.

Weekly free breakfasts are now available every Wednesday during term time. The Library Team will hand out vouchers in Alan Gilbert Learning Commons which can be exchanged for breakfast goodies, including a hot drink and pastry, at the Learning Commons Café. The giveaways start at 9am, every Wednesday. Get your breakfast fix before stocks run out! Check out our Cost of Living page for more initiatives, including information on our Cosy Campus spaces with hot water and microwaves, and free fresh food available in the community fridge.

MANCHESTER TECH FESTIVAL. 

Manchester’s biggest tech festival returns this week at the Victoria Baths from 1st to 2nd November. Former Computer Science student Anna Lackey (MEng 2023, now at https://www.roke.co.uk) will be talking about “AI for the completely baffled”, alongside many other talks from tech employers in Manchester. Discounted Student tickets are available. If you’d like to see a “dress rehearsal” of Anna’s talk, she’ll be doing it in Kilburn 2.19 on Wednesday 1st November at 1pm.

 

 

Masters News • Tuesday 24 October 2023


As it is the 5th week of teaching, we are nearing the end of the taught elements of most Period 1 units, ahead of a week for finalising coursework submissions on most units.

As it is the 5th week of teaching, we are nearing the end of the taught elements of most Period 1 units, ahead of a week for finalising coursework submissions on most units.  This means that likely fewer things are scheduled next week than this, but please still note that the clocks change on Sunday 29th October (at 02:00 am), going back by one hour so we move back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). So, 02:00 am becomes 01:00 am giving you an extra hour in bed on Sunday morning!  This may seem nice at the time, but the main effect I feel is that it becomes dark quite early in the evening, which is not so welcome.

Norman Paton, PGT Director

CAREERS FAIR.

A two day careers fair aimed at students from The University of Manchester looking for internships, placements and graduate jobs. We are delighted to be welcoming recruiters across the two days offering opportunities from Consultancy to Marketing, Business to Finance, HR to Project Management and much more. Taking place centrally on campus in the Whitworth Hall, this careers fair is an ideal opportunity to speak directly and in-person with organisations from a range of industry sectors and find out more about their opportunities. You can find out more information here.

EDIA TRAINING.

The Faculty has produced training on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDIA) based on feedback we have received from students directly in the Faculty. The eModule has been updated in consultation with the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union and student societies. This new eModule is more reflective of day-to-day experiences in the Faculty – particularly with our new Engineering A and Engineering B buildings. The training covers a variety of experiences including the challenges men face, misconceptions on disability, the experience of women and gender diverse people in STEM, and others. Please can you complete the test by the end of teaching week 7 (the week after reading week). The training takes roughly 45 minutes and you can access the eModule here. 

UNICS GAMEDEV WORKSHOP. 

Join us for our second Game Development workshop on the 25th of October from 3-4pm in University Place room 4.209. In this workshop, we will delve into Monogame and its inner workings. As a byproduct, we will also discuss the fundamentals of rendering and game architecture, which are essential for building any large-scale game project. This workshop is beginner-friendly, and snacks will be provided :) Register using this link. See you there!

GOOGLE DEVELOPER STUDENT CLUB (GDSC) - INTRO TO ML AND TENSORFLOW.

Join us for an Exciting Workshop: "Intro to ML and TensorFlow!"


• Date: Wednesday, October 25th


• Time: 15:00 - 16:30 BST


• Location: Engineering Building A, Lecture Theatre A

Calling all aspiring data scientists and computer science enthusiasts! Are you eager to dive into the world of Machine Learning and master TensorFlow? 

Here's what you can expect:

1. Understanding the fundamentals of Machine Learning.

2. Hands-on experience with TensorFlow.

3. Practical tips and tricks for building ML models.

4. Insight into how these concepts can elevate your Third Year CS Project!

Whether you're new to ML or looking to sharpen your skills, this workshop is tailored for you. 

HACKCHESTER.

This week at Hackchester, we'll be holding our third workshop of the year on Tuesday at 5pm in Atlas. Come along to play with Kali Linux and nmap this week. We're looking at network vulnerabilities and how to spot them. As always, this is a introductory workshop series, so we welcome anyone with any experience in ethical hacking (including none) and there's no requirement for you to have already attended any of our previous workshops. Additionally, we're looking for people to join our podcast team. Anyone who wants to be involved in PR, Audio Editing/Post Production, or Script and Content development should apply here by Tuesday 31st October.

DATA SCIENCE SOCIETY.

Introduction to Deep Learning, Simon 2.39, Wednesday 25th 2-4pm. Journey into deep learning and neural networks, taught by our very own president Saurav! Neural networks are the basis of many AI/ML models, and the starting point to more advanced topics. Deep neural networks are applied to an almost infinite range of problems, from financial forecasting to protein folding prediction. In this workshop you'll learn about the components of neural networks and will program your own for classifying objects. Prerequisites: This is the second of our introductory ML workshops. To make the most of this session you should understand basic Python concepts (see the first half of MUDS Week 4), and have preferably seen simple uses of NumPy. Join our discord server: 

NEW TABLE FOOTBALL TABLE.

As the old table in the Turing lounge got damaged, we have replaced it with a new table football table for you to enjoy. Have fun, and please try not to lose the balls!

UK IRELAND PROGRAMMING COMPETITION.

This from Ian Pratt-Hartmann: On Saturday, 21st October, the UK Ireland Programming Competition (UKIEPC) took place, in which teams of three attempted a series of programming challenges over a five hour period. Teams from universities across the British Isles competed at a number of sites, one of which was Manchester. Twenty teams from Manchester took part. Of these, the teams Beef Chew Mein, Duduienii, SYS, Solo Bolo, 404, Ctl+Alt+Defeat, MVJ, CoKoMan23 and GTS solved a creditable five problems. The final standings can be found here.  Congratulations to the top three Manchester teams:


• Beef Chew Mein: Yang Hu (Y3, CS4) , Thomas Jones (Y3, CS) and Shani De Silva (Y3, CS).


• Duduienii: Alexandru Stoica (Y3, CSwIE), Mihnea Popeanga (Y3, CSwIE) and Diana Constantin (Y3, CSwIE).


• SYS: Muhammad Hussain (Y2, CMwIE), Shay Boua (Y2, CMwIE), Stanley James (Y2, CM).

Well done to everyone who took part.

 

Masters News • Tuesday 17 October 2023


It is already the 4th week of teaching, so you are more than half way through your Period 1 units. I hope everything is under control!

It is already the 4th week of teaching, so you are more than half way through your Period 1 units.  I hope everything is under control!  You will now have been mixing with lots of people for a while, sharing bugs from all over the place. If you are feeling poorly, please consider staying away to minimise the spread of infection, and remember that we have Extension and Mitigating Circumstances mechanisms to reduce the impact of illness on assessments.

Thanks to those of you who volunteered to serve as Student Representatives.  The names and email addresses of this year's representatives are in CS-PGT-COMMUNITY.  We will be in contact with representatives before long to arrange a first Staff/Student Liaison meeting of the year.

Norman Paton, PGT Director



REPORT AND SUPPORT
==================

The University’s Report and Support Service is available to students. If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender-based violence, hate or micro-aggressions, or have a safeguarding concern, you can report it anonymously or get support from a trained advisor through Report and Support. To report an incident and speak to a caseworker, you can either fill out the online form or someone can do it on your behalf. You, or the person reporting can make special requests for a certain type of advisor. The last page of the form will ask for details of who they should speak to about this report. The team will seek to understand your situation and aim to give you information, advice and support tailored to your individual circumstances. You can access this service here. Please be mindful that whilst you can send anonymous reports, the team are unable to contact you to offer support unless you provide your name and contact details.



Data Science Society.
=====================

Introduction to Python for Data Science, Simon 2.39, Wednesday 18th 2-4pm. Driven by popular demand! Based on your feedback, MUDS is delighted to offer an interactive and introductory Python bootcamp. Expect to learn basic Python with a data science twist! We'll cover basic syntax and popular data science libraries, followed by introductory OOP (essential for our machine learning workshops). Come along and tell your friends - this is an ideal opportunity for all STEM and non-STEM beginners. As usual, all our workshops are absolutely free ;-) Get ready to step into coding! Join our discord server.

 

 

Masters News • Monday 9 October 2023


Masters News provides regular items of potential interest to MSc students in the Department of Computer Science at the University off Manchester.

Welcome to the first Masters News of the academic year. Henceforth, this will be produced on a regular basis with an issue on most Mondays. It will include both masters-specific items when we have them, and other items that relate to the department or discipline. We will try not to overlap much with the content of the School Newsletter.

If there are things that you would like to have included in Masters News, please let me know.

In relation to MSc business, course unit selection is now closed, so you are now committed to the units and themes you have selected. I hope they are going well.

Norman Paton, PGT Director



STUDENT WELFARE SUPPORT IN CS.
==============================

Issues can impact students at any time, usually when you least expect it. If you are affected by any issues, and if they start to impact your studies, then it’s vitally important that you speak to someone and get the help and support you need. You can speak to your Academic Advisor, however, you can also speak to a member of our Student Wellbeing Team, Maria Sloan and Ben Herbert, or drop into the student hub in Engineering Building A and ask to speak to someone, in confidence, about anything that might be affecting you and your studies. Maria and Ben are also the Disability Coordinators for CS, so you can speak to them if you have any ongoing physical or mental health problems, or conditions such as ASD or ADHD, that affect your studies, even if you are not already registered with the DASS Team at the University. If you are registered with DASS and there are problems with your DASS plan you can speak with them about this too. You can contact Maria and Ben at soe.wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk.



HACKCHESTER.
============

This from the Hackchester team: Welcome back to a new year at Hackchester! This week we're holding our first workshop "Introduction to Hackchester" on Tuesday at 5pm in IT 407, Kilburn. We'll be covering an introduction to Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security. There's no experience or prior knowledge needed and it's completely free. Soon we'll be advertising for discord moderators and PR team staff, so if you want more responsibility in the society, look out for our links! As always, more info can be found on our Discord.



UNICS WORKSHOPS.
================

Join us on Wednesday, the 11th of October, for our weekly GameDev workshops! Our first meeting will tackle interpolation methods, the importance of interpolation in games, and a brief overview of the Monogame Framework. Feel free to join in and bring a friend, as anyone can attend these beginner-friendly workshops!! Register your interest now to receive more details soon about the time and location of the workshop.



HOW DO I CHECK IF I’VE SUBMITTED MY WORK?
=========================================

We often get asked by students how to check that they have submitted work successfully, and it’s quite easy to do. Most submissions will use Blackboard, in which you can check under the “My Grades” link on the left on each course unit Blackboard page (under “Submitted” or “Marked”). information.



EXTENSION REQUESTS.
===================

If you find you are falling behind due to circumstances beyond your control with an assessment then you can apply for a short extension to allow you to complete your work. You must apply for an extension BEFORE the deadline through the Department Mitigating Circumstances page. You should only be applying for an extension if you really need one, and applications are monitored to ensure the system is not being abused.



UKIEPC PROGRAMMING CONTEST - GET INVOLVED!
==========================================

This from Ian Pratt-Hartmann: The UK and Ireland Programming Contest (UKIEPC) will take place on Saturday, October 21st, 2023, 11:0016:00. UKIEPC is an annual event in which teams of three participants try to crack a series of programming challenges. This year, as usual, Manchester will be one of the participating sites. Note that participation at Manchester is available ONLY to teams consisting entirely of students in the Department of Computer Science at Manchester. The contest itself will take place in the labs on the Lower First Floor of the Kilburn Building. Refreshments will be provided in the common area on the Lower First Floor for participants.

Details can be found here. You should register using the Competition website. (There is a "Take Part" button in the top right corner, which is surprisingly easy to miss.) Registration is now open. Completing the form should be easy. The best teams from Manchester will be able to compete in the North West Europe Regional Programming Competition (NWERC), which will be held at the Delft University of Technology from 24th to 26th November 2023. Realistically, we can expect to be able to enter two or three teams from Manchester. Note that we will enter a team to NWERC only if all of its members have competed in UKIEPC 2023. The detailed rules on eligibility are explained on the ICPC website. However, in practice, any UG or Master's student at Manchester, as well as some PhD students, are eligible. Have fun and good luck!

 

Masters News • Wednesday 14 June 2023


A newsletter for PGT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/13/28/1328/Kilburn090114.jpg


Masters News - Contents
-

* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
-


PROJECTS FULLY UNDERWAY

Now that the exams are over, the taught component of the programme is complete; hopefully it has prepared you well for your project, and you are now meeting regularly with your supervisor.  If there are any issues with your project that are not able to be addressed with your supervisor, please contact Tom Thomson <thomas.thomson@manchester.ac.uk>.

Feedback on your Project Overview and Plan should be available by the end of next week, however, there might be slight delays. 

The exams are currently being marked; the results should be available on the 13th July. We will be in touch with further information regarding the time. 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MASTERS NEWS

This is the final issue of the weekly Masters News; as we enter the summer period, there will be fewer events around the university, and we will send messages when there is something useful to report.  We hope that it has been useful in keeping you up-to-date with university events and services.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


SSLC MINUTES AND THANK YOU

The last SSLC meeting was held on the 9th of March 2023 and 2pm. The notes to this meeting can be accessed here. 

Furthermore, to check the minutes from previous meetings please follow this link.

And lastly, a big thank you to all the student reps who took the initiative to get involved in the department and collect useful feedback and comments from the cohort. Your efforts are appreciated and we will work to make improvements for future cohorts based on your feedback. Furthermore, thanks to all the students who helped the reps by raising issues and suggesting improvements. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Tuesday 6 June 2023


A newsletter for PGT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/13/28/1328/Kilburn090114.jpg


Masters News - Contents
-

* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
-


MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE

The deadline for reporting any mitigating circumstances that have impacted you in semester 2 (coursework or exams) is Monday 12th June 2023 at 4:00pm. This is a strict deadline and no applications will be considered after this deadline. All applications and supporting evidence must be submitted by this deadline. Supporting evidence can be submitted by e-mail to the Wellbeing Team. You can find information on the mitigating circumstances process in the postgraduate handbook, or on the department intranet. If you are experiencing any problems then you can speak to a member of the Wellbeing Team.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


SAVE THE DATE - SONY HACKATHON

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/55/2355/e7db9717-70ed-4bf8-8e47-ac094c17a07e.jpg

Friday 9th June 2023, Engineering Building A

Limited places so register early! The event should be a fun end to the exam period with judges being drawn from across the Faculty as well as flying in from Sony Japan & Europe. A range of prizes will be offered across three categories. The challenge will be shared at the start of what will be an entertaining and intense few hours where you can equally well show your flair for 

- Creativity & Vision
- Innovation
- Delivering Practical Solutions
- With prizes offered by Sony -

Semiconductors across all categories as well as an overall winning team.

Whether you are interested in a fun day, prizes, free food or a career opportunity the event should be a memorable one to end the year!

Register here

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS SUCCESS

Huge congratulations to Ishikka Ladia (Y3, CSE) and Nora Tuta (Y4, HCI4wIE) for their success at the recent University Volunteer Awards Ceremony. Both Ishikka and Nora were recognised by the judging panel under the same category “Student of the Year (Individual)” with Ishikka being the 2nd place winner and Nora being highly commended. Ishikka established Code Club as part of the Access All Areas volunteering branch of the Student Union at the University of Manchester. Code Club is a group of students who run weekly after-school sessions with year 4 or 5 students, teaching them elementary programming using Scratch. As the Project Leader for three years, Ishikka successfully adapted Code Club to function virtually during the challenging times brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. She also forged a valuable partnership with St. James Primary School, further expanding the club's reach and impact. Code Club has been incredibly successful in sparking children's interest in STEM and encouraging further studies, having a positive impact on their lives. You can find out more information about Code Club and how to volunteer to help out here. Nora was nominated by Irene Lockett the founder of Sovereign House GH, an organisation that runs a computer learning programme for children in Salford who have no access to computers at home. The classes are available to children over a wide age range, helping to develop a range of skills, from the basics of how to use a computer, through to programming in Python. Nora has been volunteering on the project since 2019, taking the lead in teaching many different classes, which she found rewarding, particularly seeing the children grow in confidence and become comfortable using computers. Sovereign House GH is always looking for more volunteers for teaching these classes. They have multiple classes per week, so there is some flexibility to choose a class according to your university schedule.

Well done to both of you! Volunteering your time in such a way is a great achievement and the recognition you have received is well deserved. The photo below shows Nora and Irene at the awards ceremony.

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Siyana Gospodinova


UNIVERSITY NAMED NO 1 FOR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The University has been named top in both the UK and Europe, and second in the world for meaningful contributions towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the 2023 THE University Impact Rankings. Manchester’s top ranking comes from a record assessment of 1,705 universities from 115 countries/regions. As well as ranking first in the UK, The University of Manchester is also the only UK institution in the global top 10 and the only university in the world to rank in the top ten in every year the Impact Rankings have been running. In addition, the University attained the top spot for SDG 15 – Life on Land and was third for SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. The ranking, now in its fifth year, is the world’s only one that measures universities’ contributions to the UN SDGs and assesses their commitment to sustainability across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching. You can find out more information via this article.

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Siyana Gospodinova


ACCESS TO COMPUTER CLUSTERS OVER SUMMER

As some of you will have resits in August then the computer clusters on the lower first floor of the Kilburn building will be made available for student use during normal working hours (8pm to 6pm) over the summer. However, we are planning on upgrading the PCs in Kilburn during this period, which will require clusters to be closed whilst upgrades are undertaken.

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Siyana Gospodinova


MAKE YOUR WELLBEING A PRIORITY IN JUNE

This June, why not commit to giving your body and mind a well-deserved rest by prioritising your wellbeing? You can use the Wellbeing Calendar to help you carry out daily wellbeing activities throughout the month of June.

 You can also click on My Manchester to view lots of free events that you get involved in over the next few weeks.

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Siyana Gospodinova


STUDYING IN THE ENGINEERING BUILDING A & B

We are committed to the wellbeing of our students especially during the exam and assessment period which can often be a very challenging time, and ensuring that you have the facilities you need to help you succeed.

Following feedback on the opening times of Engineering Building A & B, we have made additional provision for Science and Engineering students, by extending our opening hours (from 8pm and 10pm during the week, and 8am to 10pm at weekends). During these periods students in the Faculty have exclusive use of the facilities and access to any required software in the PC clusters.

Out of these hours, some software can be accessed remotely. If you would like more information about how to do this or need additional support you can contact IT Services.

If you have any questions about building access, please get in touch with our Service Delivery Team at TEAM@manchester.ac.uk.

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Siyana Gospodinova


MANCHESTER GRADUATE TALENT - APPLICATIONS OPEN

Graduating soon and unsure what's next? Take a look at the Manchester Graduate Talent (MGT) scheme for paid graduate-level jobs here at Manchester University! Visit the careers service website to find out more.

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Siyana Gospodinova


COMMUNITY FESTIVAL - 10TH JUNE

Saturday, 10 June, 11am to 4pm

The Community Festival returns on Saturday, 10 June with an on-campus free, fun-filled event open to everyone. This free day is jam-packed with fun activities for all the family, including interactive demonstrations, musical and drama performances, and behind the scenes tours.

Visit the Community Festival webpages to find out more.

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Siyana Gospodinova


UPDATE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

Here’s an update on some of the things you can get involved in over at the International Society:

 

Day trips

Saturday, 10 June – North Wales

Sunday, 11 June – The Cotswolds


Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

 

Events

Karaoke Night, Wednesday, 7 June, 6pm

Looking to let your hair down? Fancy yourself as the next big star? Karaoke night is your chance to sing your heart out in a fun environment and make new friends.

 

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

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Siyana Gospodinova


SIX WAYS TO WELLBEING

As the summer begins, it’s important to take some time for ourselves to make sure we’re looking after our wellbeing. When it comes to your wellbeing, a small action can make a big difference. The university’s six ways to wellbeing framework is an evidence-based framework that will help you make positive changes to keep feeling good and living well.

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Connect: Feeling close to and valued by others is key to our happiness. 

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Give: Helping, giving, sharing – doing something for someone else has been proven to make us feel more positive and increase our self-worth.

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Take Notice: Being mindful of the moment – what’s happening, and how it makes us think and feel – can help us better understand ourselves.

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Be Active: Be Active encompasses any physical activity or movement that works for you, your ability, your other commitments and that you find enjoyable!

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Be Healthy: Taking care of yourself by paying attention to nutrition, hydration, getting enough sleep and looking after your personal safety will benefit your wellbeing.

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Learn and Discover: The act of learning itself has been shown to improve our self-esteem and resilience.

You can find out more information in this article.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


RESEARCH STUDY ON WIDENING PARTICIPATION

Volunteers are required for a research project on ‘Widening Participation’ to understand how international students from diverse backgrounds understand this concept, which relates to fair and open access to higher education. The research team is made up of four lecturers at the University of Manchester (Manchester Institute of Education): Dr Sylvie Lomer, Dr Rui He, Thomas Donnai, Dr Sarah MacQuarrie. If you are an international student currently studying at the University of Manchester in any programme, at any level, and in any Faculty, you are suitable to take part. There is no expectation that you have any specific knowledge or expertise about the topic. If you agree to take part, you will first be asked to complete a short demographic questionnaire to help us ensure we have a diverse group of participants. Then, you will be invited to join a focus group interview at the time option you prefer. If you prefer to participate online or in a one-to-one interview, you will have the option to do so. Focus groups will take place in June, with a range of times available for your convenience. Focus groups (or individual interviews if this is your preference) will take place either online via Zoom or on campus (according to your preference). They will take about 1 hour. If you are interested in this research project and want to participate and/or have questions, please get in touch.

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Siyana Gospodinova


RESEARCH STUDY - PARTICIPANTS NEEDED

This from Mohammed Alhamadi: We would like to invite you to take part in a study we are conducting at the Interaction Analysis and Modelling Lab on Interactive Dashboards! We are trying to understand how people use dashboards (a collection of visualisations on a screen). You will be shown two dashboards and be asked to complete four simple information comparison tasks.

Your participation will help us create better dashboards for everyone.

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Where? Interaction Analysis and Modelling Lab (LF1), Kilburn Building.

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How long? Approximately 30 minutes.

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Compensation? Yes! You will receive a gift as a token of appreciation.

For more information or if you have any questions, please get in touch.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Wednesday 31 May 2023


A newsletter for PGT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/13/28/1328/Kilburn090114.jpg


Masters News - Contents
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* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
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MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE

The deadline for reporting any mitigating circumstances that have impacted you in semester 2 (coursework or exams) is Monday 12th June 2023 at 4:00pm. This is a strict deadline and no applications will be considered after this deadline. All applications and supporting evidence must be submitted by this deadline. Supporting evidence can be submitted by e-mail to the Wellbeing Team. You can find information on the mitigating circumstances process in the postgraduate handbook, or on the department intranet. If you are experiencing any problems then you can speak to a member of the Wellbeing Team.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


WELLBEING CALENDAR

June is on the horizon, so why not commit to giving your body and mind a well-deserved rest by prioritising your wellbeing! You can use our wellbeing calendar to help you carry out daily wellbeing activities throughout the month of June. You can find the wellbeing calendar here.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


EXAM BREAKFAST

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/70/2370/54c41eb5-0e83-45be-8902-139107ff3be0.jpg

We will continue to hold the SoE Exam Breakfast until the 7th June! Come along for a snack, juice or hot drink to kickstart your day with some much-needed energy! You'll be able to find us on weekdays between 8am and 10 am in the main Engineering Building A foyer on the ground floor. We look forward to seeing you all there! Student Information and Guidance Team.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


COMPUTER CLUSTERS DURING THE EXAM PERIOD

Please be aware that the certain computer clusters will be locked and unavailable for students to use outside of exam use during the upcoming exams. In the Kilburn Building 1.8/1.10 will not be available to students throughout the exam period. All other labs in the Kilburn building will be available.  

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Siyana Gospodinova


THE POSTGRADUATE HANDBOOK

As we are nearing the end of the year, and the final results for the year being published in the near future, it’s worth remembering that information about progression, how we determine degree classifications, and the mitigating circumstances processes can be found in the postgraduate handbook. 

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Siyana Gospodinova


COMPUTER CONSERVATION SOCIETY SEMINAR - ALAN TURING’S MANCHESTER

The Computer Conservation Society (CCS) seminar will be presented by Jonathan Swinton on Tuesday May 30th at 17:30. You can join the meeting in person (Room E0.05 in the John Dalton East Building, Manchester Metropolitan University) or via Zoom. The Zoom session will be recorded and will be posted on YouTube after a few days. Abstract: Many places legitimately claim to be where modern computing was created, but no claim is higher than that of the University of Manchester. This heritage is marked there by two notably separate blue plaques: one facing south for Alan Turing as a founder of computer science, and one facing north for Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn as creators of the first electronic computer. Turing and Kilburn had adjacent offices in the building housing the Ferranti Mark I, and today Turing has a worldwide public perception as a martyred British genius, while his then-peer Kilburn is, outside the CCS, barely known. Although both Kilburn and Turing were Cambridge-trained mathematicians, Kilburn firmly identified himself as an engineer, and he had little time for Turing, in life or in memory. Jonathan Swinton will use research from his recent book Alan Turing’s Manchester to explore why. He’ll discuss how well Turing’s modern perception fits with the historical events of 1948-1954, and how the viewpoints of mathematicians and engineers continue to differ to this day. Jonathan Swinton is a mathematical biologist and writer and blogs at www.manturing.net. More details can be found on the CCS Events page. 

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Siyana Gospodinova


SENTENCE COMPREHENSION STUDY

Paul Stott writes: Hello everyone, I am recruiting participants for a study. It’s a simple task: you’ll listen to 120 sentences and respond to words that pop up on the screen. You’ll also answer some comprehension questions. It should take around 40 mins to 1 hour to complete. Please see the Participant Information Sheet which provides detailed information on the study. If you’d like to participate, or have any questions, please do get in touch with me. I am recruiting participants as of NOW and will begin running the study as soon as possible.

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Siyana Gospodinova


WELLBEING PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

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The exam season can be a challenging time, but it's important to prioritise your wellbeing and forget to take care of yourself! Enter our photography competition for a chance to win some prizes! Capture an image that represents how you look after your wellbeing and submit it before midnight on June 2nd. Submit your entry here. You can find further inspiration on how to look after your wellbeing here. The winners will be contacted through student email.

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1st prize – Mindful colouring book and pencils

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2nd prize - Wellbeing journal

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3rd prize – Reusable water bottle

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Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Tuesday 23 May 2023


A newsletter for PGT

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Masters News - Contents
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* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
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DIGITAL TRUST & SECURITY SEMINAR SERIES

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/81/2381/eb6cd967-7005-42e1-8c29-71f659e9187f.jpg

Robert di Schiavi (Head of Technical Advisory for BSides Lancashire) Seminar with Q&A and lunch provided. 

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Date and Time: Tuesday 30th May 2023 | 12.30 - 14.00 

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Venue: Alliance Manchester Business School | The University of Manchester 

Digital Futures are excited to bring you the next instalment of the Digital Trust & Security Seminar Series, with guest speaker Robert di Schiavi. Cybersecurity has become a major concern in the digital age, as the increasing reliance on technology has led to an increase in cyberattacks. The psychology of cyber security involves the study of the human factors that contribute to the success or failure of cybersecurity efforts. This includes the behaviour of both attackers and defenders, as well as the social and psychological factors that influence the effectiveness of security measures. Understanding the psychology of cyber security is crucial in developing effective strategies to prevent cyberattacks and protect sensitive information. Key areas of research include understanding user behaviour and decision-making, creating effective security awareness programs, and designing secure systems that consider the human element. By considering the psychological factors that influence cybersecurity, we will look at how organisations can better protect themselves and their customers from the growing threat of cybercrime. Full registration details here.  

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Siyana Gospodinova


DIGITAL TRUST & SOCIETY FORUM

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Digital Futures are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the Digital Trust and Society Forum 2023. 

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Date and Time: Wednesday, 5th July 2023, 09:30 - 16:30. In-person event followed by a networking reception.  

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Venue: Manchester Hyatt Hotel  

The Centre for Digital Trust and Society was launched in 2021 to focus interdisciplinary research expertise at the University of Manchester on the barriers and enablers of trust in digital technologies. The Forum brings together an exciting range of international experts, interdisciplinary researchers and key partners to explore current challenges and opportunities in trust and security in our digital society. We welcome researchers, public sector, industry and community partners with an interest in digital trust and security issues in society to join us for an engaging day of building connections and sharing insights. The event is in-person with lunch provided, and the event will be followed by canapes and drinks. Speakers include international guest experts such as Professors Bart Preneel (KU Leuven) and Liz Campbell (Monash University), leading University of Manchester expertise across the digital trust and security space (Professors Richard Allmendinger, Emma Barrett, Peter Knight, Nicholas Lord, Stephen Hutchings and Dr Louise Dennis), and guests from industry and the public sector. Full registration details here.

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Siyana Gospodinova


EXAM BREAKFASTS.

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/70/2370/54c41eb5-0e83-45be-8902-139107ff3be0.jpg

We will continue to hold the SoE Exam Breakfast until the 7th June! Come along for a snack, juice or hot drink to kickstart your day with some much-needed energy! You'll be able to find us on weekdays between 8am and 10am in the main Engineering Building A foyer on the ground floor. We look forward to seeing you all there! 

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Siyana Gospodinova


INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/83/2383/04f435c7-e1d2-4c94-bf3f-dff8642af646.jpg

Here’s an update on some of the things you can get involved in over at the International Society:

Day trips

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Saturday, 27 May – North Lake District

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Sunday, 28 May – Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

Events 


• Mindful Colouring, Wednesday, 24 May, 1pm - Enhance your well-being and calm your mind through relaxing colouring—a great way to reduce stress during exam periods and meet new friends.

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

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Siyana Gospodinova


SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - QWELL

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Qwell offers a range of anonymous support options for students, including an online messaging service with qualified mental health professionals, providing safe and anonymous online mental health support whenever you need it. There are no waiting lists for support, and no referral needed and access is available instantly 24/7. You can find out more here, and you can access the service at quell.io.

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Siyana Gospodinova


SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - HEALTH ASSURED

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Health Assured is a 24 hour mental health helpline and wellbeing app which offers access to mental health support from trained counsellors and advisors who are ready to listen and provide help whenever you need it. It is anonymous, non-judgmental and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call the helpline for advice and support on a whole range of issues you might be facing, big or small. Things you could call for include mental and emotional health, managing relationships, feeling worried about yourself or someone else, dealing with stress and anxiety, money advice, and everything in between. You can find out more here.

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Siyana Gospodinova


MAKE THE MOST OF FREE WELLBEING SUPPORT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/84/2384/8fa470e5-803b-427a-b408-25bbf0285ad4.jpg

Check out these great activities to help you take some time out and keep your wellbeing in check, during the exam period.  

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Green wellbeing project every Wednesday 11am - 1pm at the Firs Botanical Gardens. Take some time out from studying and revision to do some gardening. Each gardening session will have a mindful activity to help with de-stressing.

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Go Well, Start Well: Meditation for Study every Tuesday 10am - 10:15am and Thursday 12pm-12:15pm, St Peter’s House run a drop-in meditation session in the Wholeness Studio.

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…After my nap – everyday 12pm - 1pm, St Peter’s open their Wholeness Studio as a space to rest with mats, cushions and eye masks provided.

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Study sessions – every Wednesday 3:30pm - 6pm in May (apart from 31st) Milk and Honey café transforms into a study space.

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Siyana Gospodinova


KITKAT CHITCHAT

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As May is wellbeing month, why not take the opportunity to have a chat with a wellbeing advisor about anything you may be feeling stressed about. Just drop-in. Chocolate provided!   Wednesday 24th May, 2pm - 3pam, University Place, Atrium, Pod 3.

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Siyana Gospodinova


COMPUTER CLUSTERS DURING THE EXAM PERIOD

Please be aware that the certain computer clusters will be locked and unavailable for students to use outside of exam use during the upcoming exams. In the Kilburn Building 1.8/1.10 will not be available to students throughout the exam period. All other labs in the Kilburn building will be available.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


GENDERED MICROAGGRESSIONS SURVEY

We are carrying out a survey about gender within computing education environments, and invite anyone who has or is studying or teaching IT/computing/ Computer Science within UK higher education institutions to complete a short survey. We’d like to hear about your experience of gendered microaggressions, whether you have personally experienced these or have observed these in your educational setting. The research is funded by the CPHC (Council of Professors and Heads of Computing) and is being carried out by Aberystwyth University, the Open University and Tectre Ltd. You can complete the survey in either English or Welsh. At the end of the survey participants have the option of adding their contact details to a separate system. This enables participants to enter a prize draw for a £20 amazon token, and/or to indicate that they would be willing to participate in 1:1 follow-up interviews.

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Siyana Gospodinova


LIBRARY OPENING HOURS AND EXTRA STUDY SPACES

Extended opening until 2am is available at Main Library during the exam period. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. Additional study space is available at Prospect House, Booth Street East until Wednesday 7th June 2023, 8am to 8pm. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

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Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Tuesday 16 May 2023


A newsletter for PGT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/13/28/1328/Kilburn090114.jpg


Masters News - Contents
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* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
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EXAM BREAKFASTS

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Exam Breakfast is back! We will be holding the SoE Exam Breakfast from 15th May to 7th June! Come along for a snack, juice or hot drink to kickstart your day with some much-needed energy! You'll be able to find us on weekdays between 8am and 10am in the main Engineering Building A foyer on the ground floor. We look forward to seeing you all there! Student Information and Guidance Team.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


KITKAT CHITCHAT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/71/2371/a6d22838-8678-49e1-80ef-372e11691ada.jpg

Are you feeling stressed, or just need someone to talk to? Come along, have some chocolate, and speak to a wellbeing advisor on Wednesday 17th May, 10am - 11am, University Place, Atrium, Pod 3.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK ACTIVITIES

This week is mental health awareness week, to support this, a number of activities are happening during the week to help support you:

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Monday: Calm your brain - These sessions, run by the Counselling and Mental Health Service, use guided relaxation to help start your day with a sense of calm and acceptance to enable you to face these challenges more easily.

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Tuesday: Wellbeing dogs @ the SU - Take time to visit some furry friends in the SU. Is there a better way to take a break from exams and revision?

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Wellbeing Wednesday: KitKat Chit Chat - Pick up a free KitKat and speak to members of staff from the Wellbeing Team to find out more about the support on offer. Uni Place, The Atrium - Pod 3, 10am-11am.

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Thursday: Wellbeing drop-in area the SU - Come & try your hand at origami, throw it back to childhood with Hama bead keyring making or get a relaxing hand or Indian head massage.

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Friday: Calm your brain - These sessions, run by the Counselling and Mental Health Service, use guided relaxation to help start your day with a sense of calm and acceptance to enable you to face these challenges more easily.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK RESOURCES

There are a number of resources available to support you during Mental Health Awareness Week as well as throughout the exam period: 

*

Green wellbeing project runs every Wednesday 11am – 1pm at the Firs Botanical Gardens. Students can take some time out from studying and revision to do some gardening for their wellbeing. Throughout Exam period each gardening session will have a mindful activity to help with de-stressing.

*

Go Well, Start Well: Meditation for Study – every Tuesday 10am-10:15am, St Peter’s House, and Thursday 12pm-12:15pm, St Peter’s are running a drop in meditation session in the Wholeness Studio.

*

 …After my nap – everyday 12pm-1pm St Peter’s House are opening their Wholeness Studio as a space to rest with mats, cushions and eye masks provided.

*

Study sessions – every Wednesday 3:30pm-6pm in May (apart from 31st) Milk and Honey café transforms into a study space equipped with everything a student might need.

*

Health Assured - Health Assured offer a number of resources to support you:  Coping with exam pressure article, Dealing with student stress article, Coping with student stress article.

*

Spotify playlists - there are resources available via Spotify: Health Assured Spotify, Peace of Mind Spotify Links for Podcasts,

*

YouTube - Peace of Mind YouTube links.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


NIGHTLINE

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/72/2372/9881cf27-2d03-4e8b-bc71-44060eb611d5.jpg

Greater Manchester Nightline is a confidential listening and information evening service run for students by students. They offer anonymous, confidential, non-judgemental and non-directive support for all callers, regardless of the situation, where you can talk about anything you like, academic stress, loneliness, relationships, or mental health. Just give Nightline a ring and ask – it’s as easy as that! You can contact Nightline by phone or instant message. Find out more about Nightline, and see contact information on their website. 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING EXAMS

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/64/2364/2ed27d96-3dcc-4e0a-bba1-39c44de23c62.jpg

With exams and the end of the year fast approaching, we know this can be a stressful time. That’s why we’ve put everything together in one place to help you through the exams and assessment period – from study support to finding your room and most importantly, looking after your wellbeing. You can find out more information here.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


COMPUTER CLUSTERS DURING THE EXAM PERIOD

Please be aware that the certain computer clusters will be locked and unavailable for students during the exam period as they are being used for exams. In the Kilburn Building 1.8/1.10 will not be available to students throughout the exam period. All other labs in the Kilburn building will be available for you to use during normal working hours.                   

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


THE POSTGRADUATE HANDBOOK.

The postgraduate handbook is your one-stop resource for all information related to your studies. It contains information about your degree programmes and, more importantly at this time of the year, provides details on progression and graduation and mitigating circumstances processes. You can always find the link to the handbook (as well as other useful links) at the top of each Monday Mail in the 'Essential Links' banner.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

Here’s an update on some of the things you can get involved in over at the International Society:

Day trips

*

Saturday, 20 May – York

*

Sunday, 21 May – North Wales visiting Penrhyn Castle and Bodnant Gardens

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

Events 

*

Mindful Colouring, Wednesday, 24 May, 1pm. Enhance your well-being and calm your mind through relaxing colouring—a great way to reduce stress during exam periods and meet new friends.

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


LIBRARY OPENING HOURS AND EXTRA STUDY SPACES

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/61/2361/8edc0649-245e-422a-ad07-b1174afd6c1e.jpg

Extended opening until 2am is available at Main Library up to and during the exam period. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. Additional study space is available at Prospect House, Booth Street East from Monday, 17 April to Wednesday, 7 June 2023, 8am to 8pm. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Wednesday 10 May 2023


A newsletter for PGT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/13/28/1328/Kilburn090114.jpg


Masters News - Contents
-

* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
-


MESSAGE FROM NORMAN PATON

The taught part of your programme is drawing to a close; I hope you have enjoyed and learned useful things from the second semester units.  This means that there will soon be exams for most of you; I hope you feel under control!  There are some items and links on exams below.

When your exams are over, it will be time to focus full-time on your project.  Please note that students are expected to be in Manchester for meetings with supervisors through the summer; there is not a remote study option for projects.

Norman Paton, PGT Programme Director

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


SEMESTER 2 EXAMS

The semester 2 exams take place over the period Monday 15th May to Wednesday 7th June 2023 (see the University’s key dates webpage). All examinations take place under invigilated conditions and on-campus (there may be one or two exceptions to this), so you must be in Manchester during the examination period. Please don’t forget to check your exam timetable via My Manchester and make sure you know when and where your exams are taking place. If you have any questions, please contact the student support hub.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING EXAMS

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/64/2364/2ed27d96-3dcc-4e0a-bba1-39c44de23c62.jpg

With exams and the end of the year fast approaching, we know this can be a stressful time. That’s why the University has put together help and advice, all in one place, to help you through the exams and assessment period – from study support to finding your room and most importantly, looking after your wellbeing.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE

The deadline for reporting any mitigating circumstances that have impacted you in semester 2 (coursework or exams) is Monday 12th June 2023 at 4:00pm. This is a strict deadline and no applications will be considered after this deadline. All applications and supporting evidence must be submitted by e-mail to the Wellbeing Team by this deadline. You can find information on the mitigating circumstances process in the postgraduate handbook, or on the department intranet. If you are experiencing any problems then you can speak to a member of the Wellbeing Team.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


BEE SWARM

You may have noticed a bee swarm in the upper limbs of the tree closest to the first floor elevated walkway which joins Kilburn to the Chaplaincy.

Firstly you should realise that a swarm (while looking menacing) is actually the bees in their most vulnerable state, they are just trying to keep their Queen warm while they search for a new home; so don't panic. They will eventually find their new home and move there, out of the way (they don't want you near).

Sometimes swarms can be caught (typically to start new hives for honey production) but these are way too high and trying to catch them would serve little purpose apart from to make them angry as they will be thinking we are trying to harm the Queen.

If you have an issue with bees, be it medical or otherwise, I suggest entering and exiting the building via the porters lodge.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


LIBRARY OPENING HOURS AND EXTRA STUDY SPACES

Extended opening until 2am is available at Main Library up to and during the exam period. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. Additional study space is available at Prospect House, Booth Street East from Monday, 17 April to Wednesday, 7 June 2023, 8am to 8pm. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


KITKAT CHITCHAT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/65/2365/54635d9e-45f1-4278-9a5f-59bace786c7c.jpg

Are you feeling stressed, or just need someone to talk to? Come along, have some chocolate, and speak to a wellbeing advisor on one of the following days, University Place, Atrium, Pod 3:

*

Wednesday 10th May, 2pm - 3pm

*

Wednesday 17th May, 10am - 11am

*

Wednesday 24th May, 2pm - 3pm

*

Wednesday 31st May, 10am-11am

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


EXTENDED OPENING HOURS IN ENGINEERING BUILDING A

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/21/74/2174/4e8d7564-c33d-43f7-818d-93147b1c225e.jpg

To support students ahead and during the semester 2 examination period, Engineering Building A will operate extended opening hours between Tuesday 9th May and Wednesday 7th June. Engineering Building A will be open weekdays and weekends from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Please note that the opening times of the Kilburn Building will remain unchanged at 8am - 6pm, Monday to Friday, and extended opening hours 6pm - 9pm, Monday to Friday, for those with an extended working hours pass. Both buildings will be closed on bank (public) holidays. Please note that access is not allowed outside of these times as there is a risk to the health and safety of students and staff.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UNICS NEW COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT

As we near the end of another academic year, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the members who have participated in and enjoyed the events held by the previous UniCS committee. Your support and enthusiasm have helped to make our society a vibrant and dynamic community for computer science enthusiasts. We would also like to take this opportunity to announce the formation of a new committee for UniCS. We are excited about the potential of this new team and the fresh ideas and perspectives they will bring to the table. UNICS Committee 2023/24:

*

Chair: Sarah Saad & Minahil Tariq

*

Inclusions Officer: Adwik Roshan

*

Treasurer: Luke Sanderson

*

Secretary: Kayley Lam

*

Procurement: Pallavi Nair

*

Sponsorships: Diya Chutani

*

Public Relations: Yashika Gandhi & Kavya Jain 

*

Graphics: Hanzila Hussain

*

Game Dev: Abubakar Tafida

*

Events: Anulome Kishore, Nayan Suresh, Anisha Sahu, Saurav Maheshkar

We are confident that they will work hard to continue the great work of the previous committee, and to offer new and exciting events and opportunities for all members. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the outgoing committee members for their dedication and hard work throughout the year. Their commitment to making UniCS a success has been truly appreciated by all members, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours. We hope that all members will continue to participate and engage with the society, and that the new committee will bring the same level of passion and energy to their roles. We hope all the best for your exams and we look forward to seeing you all at upcoming events and activities. Thank you for your continued support of UniCS.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


COMPUTER CLUSTERS DURING THE EXAM PERIOD

Please be aware that the certain computer clusters will be locked and unavailable for students to use outside of exam use during the upcoming exams. In the Kilburn Building, the large cluster on the first floor (1.8/1.10) will not be available to students throughout the exam period. All other labs in the Kilburn building will be available.    

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


GOOGLE DEVELOPER STUDENT CLUBS

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/66/2366/9cba2923-02bb-496c-92e1-ed0bc82e99a4.jpg

Announcing the End of Year social held by the Google Developer Student Clubs, Movie Night. The award-winning movie ‘The Social Network’ will be played on Tuesday 9th May from 17:00-19:00 at Room B1 at the Student's Union. There will be loads of free snacks and an opportunity to meet new people!

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/67/2367/bd615d7c-66cc-4725-8919-66560efa52c4.jpg

Here’s an update on some of the things you can get involved in over at the International Society:

Day trips

*

Saturday, 13 May – Sherwood Forest and Nottingham

*

Sunday, 14 May – South Lake District with a boat ride on Windermere

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

Events 

*

Yoga Taster Class, Wednesday, 17 May, 1pm. Thinking about trying something new? Join us for a yoga taster session with Alexis! Come along for good fun and to meet new friends. This event is in collaboration with UoM Wellbeing and no previous yoga experience is needed. 

 Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


LOWER FIRST FLOOR IMPROVEMENTS

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/68/2368/6865d3c6-5589-4b37-8597-6b3c072e6d75.jpg

The Department is looking at ways to improve the Kilburn Lower First (LF) floor student area to provide a better work and relaxing environment for students. We are looking at having the work done over the summer vacation in time for the start of the new academic year in September. If you have any suggestions as to what changes would be good on LF, such as new seating, more desks, different style of desks/furniture, more beanbags, more group work pods, better power provision etc., as well as the colour of walls, designs on the walls, then please let me know. We’ve already had some great suggestions to consider. We can't guarantee we can accommodate your suggestions, but we will consider any sensible suggestions made.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Thursday 4 May 2023


A newsletter for PGT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/13/28/1328/Kilburn090114.jpg


Masters News - Contents
-

* Masters News


[ top ]Masters News
-


COURSE UNIT SURVEYS

The course unit surveys for semester 2 course units are now live, so please use this opportunity to provide feedback on the course units you have taken in semester 2. Any feedback you provide is anonymous and we do take your opinions seriously, making changes to our teaching as a result of the feedback you provide. You will have received an email from The Taught Programme Enhancement Team, which contains a link which takes you straight to your bespoke surveys. You can also access them via course unit pages in Blackboard. Please provide us with written comments to explain why you rated course units as you did. Without these comments it’s difficult to make informed decisions on how to change and improve how we teach.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


SEMESTER 2 EXAMS

The semester 2 exams take place over the period Monday 15th May to Wednesday 7th June 2023 (see the University’s key dates webpage). All examinations take place under invigilated conditions and on-campus (there may be one or two exceptions to this), so you must be in Manchester during the examination period. Please don’t forget to check your exam timetable via My Manchester and make sure you know when and where your exams are taking place. If you have any questions, please contact the student support hub.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


SONY HACKATHON

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/55/2355/e7db9717-70ed-4bf8-8e47-ac094c17a07e.jpg

Save the date ... there will be a Sony Hackathon on Friday 9th June 2023, Engineering Building A. There are limited places so register early! The event should be a fun end to the exam period with judges being drawn from across the Faculty as well as flying in from Sony Japan & Europe. A range of prizes will be offered across three categories. The challenge will be shared at the start of what will be an entertaining and intense few hours where you can equally well show your flair for:

* Creativity & Vision

* Innovation

* Delivering Practical Solutions


• With prizes offered by Sony Semiconductors across all categories as well as an overall winning team.

Whether you are interested in a fun day, prizes, free food or a career opportunity the event should be a memorable one to end the year! For more information and to sign up visit this link. The event is open to students from any discipline across the Faculty of Science and Engineering and beyond. Coding skills are not essential as winners will equally well include those with the brightest ideas and visionary pitches as much as for those who can excel in delivering pragmatic technical solutions to a tight deadline, no matter how rough. The event will be based on team working within groups of four students. You may register as a self-selected team of four, individually or in smaller groups. Do not worry if you have less than four people as any missing numbers will be made up once registration closes. As is the nature of such events the specific challenge will be a mystery before the day and will be broad enough to be inclusive and challenging no matter what your chosen undergraduate course may be. To get a head start it is suggested that you visit this forum.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


STUDENT SUPPORT SPOTLIGHT - WELLBEING SUPPORT IN CS

Issues can impact students at any time, usually when you least expect it - this is particularly the case around exam time. If you are affected by any issues then it’s vitally important that you speak to someone and get the help and support you need. You can speak, in confidence, to a member of our Student Wellbeing Team: Ben Herbert and Maria Sloan, or drop into the student hub in Engineering Building A.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - NIGHTLINE

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/57/2357/31c49f7f-39fc-4db4-94b9-942350736452.jpg

 Greater Manchester Nightline is a confidential listening and information evening service run for students by students. They offer anonymous, non-judgemental and non-directive support for all callers, regardless of the situation, where you can talk about anything you like. As well as the listening service, Nightline can also provide information, such as contact numbers for a wide range of places. Just give Nightline a ring and ask – it’s as easy as that! You can contact Nightline by phone or instant message. Find out more about and see contact information on their website. 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES DEADLINE

The deadline for reporting any mitigating circumstances that have impacted you in semester 2 (coursework or exams) is Monday 12th June 2023 at 4:00pm. This is a strict deadline and no applications will be considered after this date. You can find information on the mitigating circumstances process in the postgraduate handbook, or on the department intranet. If you are experiencing any problems then you can speak to a member of the Computer Science wellbeing team.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


EXTENDED OPENING HOURS IN ENGINEERING BUILDING A

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/21/74/2174/4e8d7564-c33d-43f7-818d-93147b1c225e.jpg

To support students ahead and during the semester 2 examination period, Engineering Building A will operate extended opening hours between Tuesday 9th May and Wednesday 7th June. Engineering Building A will be open weekdays and weekends from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Please note that the opening times of the Kilburn Building will remain unchanged at 8am - 6pm, Monday to Friday, and extended opening hours 6pm - 9pm, Monday to Friday, for those with an extended working hours pass. Both buildings will be closed on bank (public) holidays.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


FREE BREAKFAST

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/21/65/2165/80f27e5c-22aa-4d74-81a1-3e40e75141d1.jpg

Take a break from revision with the return of our free breakfast events, where you can start your day off right with a free hot drink and a pastry or muffin. The Library Team will be handing out vouchers in Alan Gilbert Learning Commons on Wednesday 3rd May which can be exchanged for breakfast goodies at the Learning Commons Café.The giveaways start at 9am. Get your breakfast fix before stocks run out and check out our Cost of Living page for more initiatives.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


STAFF STUDENT PROGRAMMING COMPETITION

The 2023 Staff-Student Programming Competition was held in LF31 on Wednesday 26th April, from 14:00 to 17:00. The contest used the Hackerrank platform, and involved six challenges, all prepared by the local organizers at Manchester. Nine teams submitted solutions.

*

Winner: Mewzero (Yian Deng and Yujie Tian; 100% on 4 or the challenges and 70% on a fifth).

*

Runner-up: NX001 (Shay Boual; 100% on 3 of the challenges)

Unfortunately, no staff teams registered this year. For those with Hackerrank credentials, final standings and problem descriptions are visible here. The local organisers were Ian Pratt-Hartmann, Mihnea Dumitru and David Demitriad. Thanks go in particular to the student organisers.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/59/2359/1e266cbf-568f-41e7-8f50-e5138bc60790.jpg

Here’s an update on some of the things you can get involved in over at the International Society:

Day trips:

*

Saturday, 6 May – Cambridge

*

Sunday, 7 May – North Wales visiting Conwy Castle and Llandudno

Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

Events:

*

Yoga Taster Class, Wednesday, 17 May, 1pm. Thinking about trying something new? Join us for a yoga taster session with Alexis! Come along for good fun and to meet new friends. This event is in collaboration with UoM Wellbeing and no previous yoga experience is needed. 

 Visit the International Society website for more information and to book.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


THE PURPLE WAVE

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/60/2360/8ef7c2c9-7173-4b45-8479-07fa5cf6c214.jpg

Join the School of Engineering in running the Purple Wave on Sunday 21st May!! University of Manchester staff, students, and alumni can take part in the Great Manchester Run as part of The Purple Wave, choosing to run either 10km or a Half Marathon. The Purple Wave is a UoM Sport programme, created to bring people together to celebrate and enjoy spending time as a community, whilst being physically active. It is not about elite performance, but participating with loads of like-minded people to have fun and make friends. A group of staff and students from the School of Engineering will be meeting before the run at the South Entrance to Engineering Building A and heading to meet the rest of the Purple Wave community together. If you would like to meet with other students from the School of Engineering before the run, please register your interest via this Eventbrite link. Everyone is welcome, whether you are an experienced runner or not. If you have any further questions, please email the Student Experience Team. Find out more and register for The Purple Wave now.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


LOWER FIRST FLOOR IMPROVEMENTS

The Department is looking at ways to improve the Kilburn Lower First (LF) floor student area to provide a better work and relaxing environment for students. If we do make any improvements, then we are hoping at have the work completed over the summer vacation, in time for the start of the new academic year in September. If you have any suggestions as to what changes would be good on LF, such as new seating, more desks, different style of desks/furniture, more beanbags, more group work pods, better power provision, should we change the colour of walls or have designs on the walls? etc., then please let me know. We can't guarantee we can accommodate your suggestions, but we will consider any sensible suggestions made.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


LIBRARY OPENING HOURS AND EXTRA STUDY SPACES

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/61/2361/8edc0649-245e-422a-ad07-b1174afd6c1e.jpg

Extended opening until 2am is available at Main Library up to and during the exam period. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. Additional study space is available at Prospect House, Booth Street East from Monday, 17 April to Wednesday, 7 June 2023, 8am to 8pm. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova



 

Masters News • Tuesday 25 April 2023


A newsletter for PGT


Masters News - Contents
-

1. MANDATORY EQUALITY DIVERSION AND INCLUSION TRAINING

2. SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - QWELL

3. SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - HEALTH ASSURED

4. ASSESSMENT AND EXAM SUPPORT FROM THE LIBRARY

5. UNICS ELECTIONS

6. STELLIFY AWARD

7. COURSE UNIT SURVEYS

8. SEMESTER 2 EXAMS

9. WOMEN IN ENGINEERING SOCIAL EVENT

10. UNICS ALTON TOWERS TRIP

11. MAY BALL

12. GOOGLE DEVELOPERS STUDENT CLUB

13. UCU ACTION

14. LIBRARY OPENING HOURS AND EXTRA STUDY SPACES


MANDATORY EQUALITY DIVERSION AND INCLUSION TRAINING

The Faculty of Science and Engineering has produced some Equality, Diversion and Inclusion (EDI) training that is mandatory for all students. This training has been put together to highlight the benefits of working in a welcoming and inclusive environment and is aimed at benefiting all students. The training can be found in the Mandatory Training Folder in the CS PGT Community page in Blackboard - see the item “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - The University of Manchester. It is important that you complete this training, and receive 80% or more in the final test. Failure to complete the test before the end of the semester will result in access to exam results being restricted.

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Siyana Gospodinova


SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - QWELL

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/21/21/2121/31ac335c-502c-4f71-95c2-04e6917323c1.jpg

Qwell offers a range of anonymous support options for students, including an online messaging service with qualified mental health professionals, providing safe and anonymous online mental health support whenever you need it. There are no waiting lists for support and no referral needed and access is available instantly 24/7. You can find out more here, and you can access the service at quell.io.

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Siyana Gospodinova


SUPPORT SERVICE SPOTLIGHT - HEALTH ASSURED

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/29/2329/8b07845c-b9cd-45f3-9b06-69f8e2f10380.jpg

Health Assured is a 24 hour mental health helpline and wellbeing app which offers access to mental health support from trained counsellors and advisors who are ready to listen and provide help whenever you need it. It is anonymous, non-judgmental and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call the helpline for advice and support on a whole range of issues you might be facing, big or small. Things you could call for include mental and emotional health, managing relationships, feeling worried about yourself or someone else, dealing with stress and anxiety, money advice, and everything in between. You can find out more here.

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Siyana Gospodinova


ASSESSMENT AND EXAM SUPPORT FROM THE LIBRARY

As we head into the examination period, it’s good to know that the Library is here to support your revision and preparation. There are a number of resources available to you:

*

Workshops & Drop-in sessions: Join workshops offering practical revision support as well as general academic support, and sessions to help with your productivity and wellbeing. Join a drop-in session to ask specific questions and get guidance from a library expert. Browse workshops and drop-in sessions.

*

My Learning Essentials online resources: There are a wealth of online resources to support all aspects of your study, but the team have put together specific packages to support you at this time. Browse revision resources.

*

Further help and support. To find out more about how the Library can help, visit our exams and assessment support page  or chat online to library staff via the website.

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Siyana Gospodinova


UNICS ELECTIONS

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/30/2330/2f45e9bb-228a-43c8-a72f-1c952bd34cb2.png

We are pleased to inform you that UniCS will be holding its annual election for committee roles. This is a great opportunity for members to get involved and make a positive impact on the society. We will be holding an OGM (Ordinary General Meeting) on the 26th April 2023 to conduct the election. All members are invited to attend this meeting, whether you are interested in running for a position or simply want to cast your vote. Even if you are not running and are interested in voting, you should come as we will provide snacks and food as well as hoodie distribution.  We look forward to seeing you all at the OGM and hearing your ideas for the future of our society!

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


STELLIFY AWARD

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/31/2331/717101ad-8746-4463-bd8d-8cc99a2ee7a0.jpg

The Stellify Award is an employability award supporting your career and personal development by formally recognising the extra-curricular activities you complete during your time at The University of Manchester. The award is designed to complement your studies, helping you gain real-world experience and develop key skills that employers want you to have. You’ll get the chance to enjoy new experiences, develop transferable skills and make your mark as a Manchester student. You can attend our drop in session (over Teams) on Wednesday 26th April, 1pm – 3pm, Meeting ID: 396 199 251 284, Passcode: WWefYr, to find out more about the award, ask any questions you might have and check in on your personal progress. A further face to face event is planned for Thursday 11th May 1pm – 3pm in Pod 7 in the Atrium at University Place.

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Siyana Gospodinova


COURSE UNIT SURVEYS

The course unit surveys for semester 2 course units are now live, so please use this opportunity to provide feedback on the course units you have taken in semester 2. Any feedback you provide is anonymous and we do take your opinions seriously, making changes to our teaching as a result of the feedback you provide. You will have received an email from The Taught Programme Enhancement Team, which contains a link which takes you straight to your bespoke surveys. You can also access them via course unit pages in Blackboard. Please provide us with written comments to explain why you rated course units as you did. Without these comments it’s difficult to make informed decisions on how to change and improve how we teach.

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Siyana Gospodinova


SEMESTER 2 EXAMS

The semester 2 exams take place over the period Monday 15th May to Wednesday 7th June 2023 (see the University’s key dates webpage). All examinations take place under invigilated conditions and on-campus (there may be one or two exceptions to this), so you must be in Manchester during the examination period. Please don’t forget to check your exam timetable via My Manchester and make sure you know when and where your exams are taking place. If you have any questions, please contact the student support hub.

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Siyana Gospodinova


WOMEN IN ENGINEERING SOCIAL EVENT

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The Women in Engineering Network (WEN) will be holding a Social Event on Wednesday 26th April, The Makerspace in Engineering Building A, 1 - 3pm. All female and gender minority students and staff in the School of Engineering are invited to make friends, express their creativity and share advice in the lead up to the examination period. Cafe vouchers and arts and crafts will be supplied.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UNICS ALTON TOWERS TRIP

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/33/2333/f29c90a4-01a6-4e25-bbb3-32bd22e5697b.jpg

A friendly reminder that the Alton Towers trip will be happening this week on the 27th April 2023. Thank you to those who have purchased the tickets! We will be sending out an email regarding the trip so do keep an eye out for that. We hope to see you in the trip and have an amazing time with us! 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MAY BALL

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We are thrilled to announce our upcoming May Ball. This year’s event promises to be a night to remember, filled with delicious food, drinks, music, and entertainment. The ball will take place on Friday, May 5th 2023 at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel. In addition to meals, we will be arranging a variety of exciting activities throughout the night. From live music, to a photobooth and other surprises, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Tickets are now out for sale so do get them now! We can't wait to see you all in a Hollywood Glamour fashion!

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


GOOGLE DEVELOPERS STUDENT CLUB

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/39/2339/aa44865f-3894-4e68-958b-edadbf585dbb.jpg

The Google Developer's Student Club Manchester is organising a workshop on Wednesday 26th April from 4:00-6:00 pm on Go and Concurrency at Kilburn Lecture Theatre 1.1. You'll learn about Google's very own language Go and how to implement Concurrency features to write highly efficient programs! 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UCU ACTION

 Following a re-ballot of its members, the University and College Union (UCU) has been granted an extension of its mandate to take industrial action until September 2023. The action is in relation to pay, pensions, and working conditions, and follows the recent strike action by UCU members earlier this year. This first element of this continued action is a marking and assessment boycott, you can find out what this means here. 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


LIBRARY OPENING HOURS AND EXTRA STUDY SPACES

Extended opening until 2am is available at Main Library up to and during the exam period. Bookable study space and group study rooms are available at Main Library and Alan Gilbert Learning Commons. Additional study space is available at Prospect House, Booth Street East from Monday, 17 April to Wednesday, 7 June 2023, 8am to 8pm. You can find opening hours of all library sites on the Library website which will be kept updated over the assessment period.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova

 

Masters News • Tuesday 21 March 2023


A newsletter for PGT


Masters News - Contents
-

1. SEMESTER ONE RESULTS

2. MANDATORY EQUALITY DIVERSION AND INCLUSION TRAINING

3. CLOCKS MOVE FORWARD

4. EASTER OPENING HOURS

5. STAFF-STUDENT PROGRAMMING COMPETITION 2022-23

6. UNICS GAME JAM

7. UNICS ALTON TOWERS TRIP

8. MAY BALL

9. CRACKCHESTER HACKERSHUB

10. NORTH WEST CYBER RESILIENCE CENTRE

11. ROBOTICS SOCIETY HACK-A-BOT

12. WEEKLY WELLBEING EVENTS

13. UNICS ELECTION

14. UNIVERSITY TRAVEL AWARD

15. THE MANCHESTER PRIZE

16. UCU STRIKE ACTION


SEMESTER ONE RESULTS

The Semester 1 results have now been released.  I hope that you are satisfied with your results. The overall average was 66%, with 35% of students in the distinction band and 42% of students in the merit band (not allowing for boundary zones).  These are reasonable overall results, and some students have done very well, but recently we have come to expect a slightly higher percentage of merits and distinctions.

If you have any questions or concerns about your grades, please contact your Advisor. 

Norman Paton, PGT Director

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MANDATORY EQUALITY DIVERSION AND INCLUSION TRAINING

The Faculty of Science and Engineering has produced some Equality, Diversion and Inclusion (EDI) training that is mandatory for all students. This training has been put together to highlight the benefits of working in a welcoming and inclusive environment, and is aimed at benefiting all students. The training can be found in the EDI folder in the CS PG Community page in Blackboard - see the item “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - The University of Manchester". It is important that you complete this training, and receive 80% or more in the final test. Failure to complete the test before the end of the semester may result in access to exam results being restricted.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


CLOCKS MOVE FORWARD

Please note that on Sunday (26th March) the clocks go forward by 1 hour, when we move into British Summer Time (Greenwich Mean Time +1 hour). 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


EASTER OPENING HOURS

The Kilburn Building will be open as normal during the Easter vacation, 09:00 - 18:00 Monday to Friday, apart from the period Friday 7th April (Good Friday) to Monday 10th April (Easter Monday), when the Kilburn building will be closed and there will be no access for students. For students holding an extended working hours pass, access is still available when the Kilburn building is open.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


STAFF-STUDENT PROGRAMMING COMPETITION 2022-23

This from Ian Pratt-Hartmann: Staff and students in the School of Computer Science are cordially invited to take part in the Staff-student programming competition.

*

Date: Wednesday, 26th April, 2023

*

Time: 14:0017:00

*

Location: LF31, Lower first floor, Kilburn Building.

*

Registration deadline: Wednesday, 24th April, 2023

The competition is open to staff and students (undergraduate and postgraduate) in Computer Science. Teams will consist of a whole number of persons between 1 and 3 inclusive. Staff teams must have at least one member of staff (including RAs, but excluding PhD students) and must otherwise consist entirely of staff (including RAs) and PhD students. Student teams must consist entirely of students (graduate or undergraduate). No person may be in more than one team. Problems will be given out at the start of the competition. Teams will try to solve as many as they can. Contestants may use any of the supported languages: C, C++, Java, and Python.  Each team may bring a laptop computer with the desired compiler(s) installed; alternatively, the lab machines can be used. It is allowed to bring any printed materials into the competition room; however the use of stored electronic files or of the internet to access any sites other than the competition site is forbidden. Refreshments-free to contestants-will be provided in the course of the afternoon in the Lower First Floor area. To participate, visit the registration page by the deadline for participation. Space is limited, and teams will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis, subject to a reasonable balance of staff and students.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UNICS GAME JAM

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/00/2300/f7cce25f-cbea-47b7-9b9a-aeda35d59f71.png

This from the UniCS team: We are proud to announce our annual Game Jam in 2023!. The game jam will be a 48 hour game development competition wherein participants will be asked to make a game given a specific prompt within a time limit. We aim to accommodate around 75 people in teams of 3. It will be hosted online and people will submit their projects using an itch.io link. The date of this Game Jam will be on the 10th - 12th April 2023. Submissions will be judged by Game Dev team. The top 3 prizes of Game Jam will be :

1.

£150 & shirts

2.

£100

3.

£50.

If this is your jam, then go sign up your interest in this form! 

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UNICS ALTON TOWERS TRIP

On Friday, 14th of April, we will be heading to the famous theme park for a day of thrilling rides and exciting attractions. It’ll be a nice little addition to a list of things to do during the break. Not only will we be enjoying the rides, but we will also have a chance to explore the park’s stunning gardens and take in the breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Be sure to keep up with our social media for more updates regarding our tickets and details to our trip.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


MAY BALL

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/01/2301/b091ee11-285e-466a-b17e-6199764c0783.png

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming May Ball. This year’s event promises to be a night to remember, filled with delicious food, drinks, music, and entertainment. The ball will take place on Friday, May 5th 2023. In addition to meals, we will be arranging a variety of exciting activities throughout the night. From live music, to a photobooth and other surprises, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Stay tuned with our social media for more updates!

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


CRACKCHESTER HACKERSHUB

Last week was our last week of workshops before Easter, as we finished with the theme of social engineering. Our next major event will be HackersHub - an ethical hacking/cybersecurity all day event that we will hold in April. Room/location is TBC. There, we will have a capture the flag (CTF) competition, which is a very common style of cybersecurity competition where contestants compete to access a 'flag' or 'key' from a server they need to hack into. We will also have guest speakers from cybersecurity companies. We expect this event to be free for students. Find out more on our website. This is also a great time to plug our socials. Please go find us on Instagram and Twitter with @crackchester.

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Siyana Gospodinova


NORTH WEST CYBER RESILIENCE CENTRE

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/08/2308/aab8d03c-d67a-404f-baac-2aed234f784e.jpg

Danny Dresner writes: The North West Cyber Resilience Centre - just down Oxford Road in the Manchester Technology Centre - is hosting the next instalment of its North West Cyber Student Chapter on 21st March 2023. This will be the 'Life After University: Cyber Security Edition', an event featuring keynotes from CGI & 6Point6, as well as being opened by Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Lancashire. It's a student-focused event, offering an insight into Cyber Security careers and how life changes once you graduate. Students can network and meet like-minded individuals. For any soon-to-be graduates, the event will host several North West businesses that will be discussing graduate job roles for Summer 2023. Sign up now.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


ROBOTICS SOCIETY HACK-A-BOT

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/11/2311/7d446448-fa2d-4b9f-a697-073f1f4ae5f4.png

Hi Everyone! Are you ready to push your engineering skills to the limit? Do you want to showcase your creativity, innovation, and problem-solving abilities? If so, we invite you to participate in our upcoming 24-hour robotics-based hackathon! Hack-A-Bot is the perfect opportunity for you to challenge yourself, collaborate with peers, and gain valuable experience in the field of robotics. Whether you're an experienced robotics enthusiast or a beginner looking to learn more, this event is designed to be inclusive and engaging for all skill levels. During the hackathon, you'll have access to guidance from industry experts and mentors from Airbus and ICE9 Robotics. Work in teams to develop innovative robotics solutions to real-world problems and compete for a chance to win amazing prizes! Over £1500 worth of prizes are up for grabs! The event will be held on 25th March at 12pm and will run through to 26th March, finishing at 12pm. You'll have access to food and beverages throughout the event, as well as a comfortable and safe space to work in. To register for the hackathon, visit our students' union page and join our Discord server for updates! The deadline for registering is Wednesday the 22nd March, so please register now! Spaces are limited, so be sure to register early to secure your spot! We look forward to seeing you at the hackathon and can't wait to see what amazing robotics solutions you'll come up with! If you have any questions, either ask us in our Discord or send us an email.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


WEEKLY WELLBEING EVENTS

You can find out more about wellbeing in the University here, or view and book wellbeing events via the Student Support Wellbeing Calendar wepgage


• , as well as the University Residents website


• *. There are a number of wellbeing events happening this week:

*

Monday: Yoga for Beginners


• - Explore foundational postures at a gentle pace and practice different breathing exercises. Ideal for those dipping their toes into yogic waters, or hoping to gain back-to-basics confidence.

*

Tuesday: Yoga Breakfast


• - Come down and enjoy a 30 minute yoga wake-up for your mind and body followed by breakfast in St Peter's House. Suitable for all levels. More information on the St Peter's House website.

*

Wednesday: Post Pals Eid/Ramadan Crafting - Join the volunteering team in Simon 4.04 between 12-2pm for a fun crafternoon making Eid and Ramadan cards for children who are unwell in hospital.

*

Thursday: Tote Bag Decorating for Whitworth & Horniman Residents


• * - Fancy a crafty evening? Look no further! Come up to the Reslife Room where blank tote bags and supplies await your creativity!

*

Friday: Friday social with the International Society


• - Come along and meet new friends or have a catch up over tea, coffee and biscuits!

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UNICS ELECTION

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/12/2312/e6a1cadd-7b95-4dd1-8766-ce2d567ae9ae.png

We are pleased to inform you that UniCS will be holding its annual election for committee roles. This is a great opportunity for members to get involved and make a positive impact on the society. We will be holding an OGM (Ordinary General Meeting) on the 26th April 2023 to conduct the election. All members are invited to attend this meeting, whether you are interested in running for a position or simply want to cast your vote. Even if you are not running and are interested in voting, you should come as we will provide snacks and food. The committee application will be out shortly so be sure to check our social media and website for more updates. Deadline for committee role application is on the 9th of April. We look forward seeing you all at the OGM and hearing your ideas for the future of our society!

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UNIVERSITY TRAVEL AWARD

Applications are now open for The University of Manchester’s Travel Awards. The awards, worth between £75 and £1500, are available for individuals or groups, to help you explore the world and gain invaluable experiences. There are three different awards available, see here. Don’t miss out on a fantastic opportunity to explore the world and develop your skills. Apply now and you might just end up with a prize ranging from £75 to £1500! Applications close on Wednesday 5th April. Even if you apply for one award, the panel will consider you for others if they feel your travel plans fit better.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


THE MANCHESTER PRIZE

img: https://newsagent.cs.manchester.ac.uk/images/large/23/13/2313/5731f727-c924-48f4-80da-10af9366c294.jpg

On Wednesday last week The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced a new prize for artificial intelligence named after the world’s first stored programme computer, The Baby, which was invented in Manchester in 1948. The “Manchester Prize'' is a £1m prize that will be awarded annually for the next 10 years to recognise ground-breaking research into artificial intelligence in the UK. See this BBC news article for further information. The first programme was run on the Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), nicknamed ‘The Baby’, at 11am on 21st June, 1948. The programme took 52 minutes to determine the highest proper factor of 218 (262,144), and used eight words of working storage in addition to its 17 words of instructions, to give a total program size of 25 words. The work on the Baby, along with later developments in computing, led to the formation of this department in 1964. The Baby is widely acknowledged to be the first stored program computer largely as a result of Simon Lavington’s work documenting and publicising the early history of Manchester computing. Simon was a senior lecturer in the very early days of the department and worked with the Atlas computer and on MU5 before moving to a chair at Essex University. He continued to work on the history of Manchester computing for 30 years after he left Manchester. If you haven’t already, why not take a look at the Department Museum, which is located outside the Atlas and Mercury meeting room on the first floor in Kilburn. At the entrance to the senior common room you will find a poster that outlines the origins and significance of Alan Turing’s seminal paper on AI “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” in which he coined the term “The Imitation Game”, which was inspired by discussions within Manchester University in 1949. You can also see a working replica of the Baby as it was in June 1948 at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova


UCU STRIKE ACTION

Strike action by members of The University and College Union (UCU) will continue this week on the following dates: Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd March 2023. The University will remain open during the periods of the strike action, however, some teaching activities, such as lectures, may be affected. You can find out more information about why staff are striking on the UCU website.

img: https://gravatar.com/avatar/1b4ca56653f6668f99af39452a30af05?s=16&d=mm&r=g
Siyana Gospodinova