Selecting Mentors and Topics#

The personal project is a great way to apply and practice knowledge from lessons on some real word problems. It is also an excellent opportunity to explore specific areas more deeply.

The Project#

We would like you to select a project that you are passionate about because you are more likely to complete such a project and invest time into it.

Once you have some idea/problem of what you want to build/solve, validate it:

  • It should be challenging to some extent. A very well-explored problem will probably not teach so much. On the other hand, we recommend picking up a problem (or similar one) that was already solved.

  • It is interesting enough for someone (at least to you).

  • There is some dataset available to you; data can be collected or synthesized.

  • A metric to measure a solution exists, or you have a way to evaluate your solution.

  • You can come up with some hardcoded solution. It does not have to be perfect, but it can somewhat solve the problem. It can be used as a baseline.

Have several (two or three) ideas ready and validated before your first lecture, so you can discuss them with us.

Selecting Mentors#

You will work with your mentors during the course. Having your problem/idea ready for the first lecture is vital because each mentor has different expertise, and we want to match you with an appropriate mentor.

The Presentation#

During the last session, you are supposed to present your problem, introduce the solution, and showcase some results. Each presentation is supposed to fit into six minutes, so there is enough time for additional questions.

We expect the following structure:

  • Describe the problem you were solving in simple terms, so it is easy to follow. An essential part of the introduction is also motivation for the problem.

  • Briefly discuss the dataset you used.

  • Introduce your solution to the problem. Give a high-level description of your solution.

  • Evaluate achieved results and compare them with your expectations (or a baseline, if there is one).

  • Describe the following steps, if there are any.

We leave the format of your presentation up to you. However, we prefer a presentation following this template.