Good Professional Practice Copyright © 2008 UCL MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME PROJECT CHOICE David R. Selviah Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Good Professional Practice Copyright © 2008 UCL

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

PROJECT CHOICE

David R. Selviah

Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering

University College London

E-Mail: [email protected]

Phone: 020 7679 3056

Fax: 020 7388 9325

2 Good Professional Practice Copyright © 2008 UCL

Outline

• Introduction, Motivation• The 3rd Year Project• Choosing a Project• Daily Activities • Choosing a Subject• Think of your own idea, Course Choices• Choose your supervisor• Define Project with Supervisor• Academics Research Areas Resource• Curriculum Vitae• Checklist, Daily Activities Table


Introduction

• The purpose of this talk is • to provide you with a common tutorial experience about

how to choose a project• to challenge how you might otherwise have chosen a

project and your decision making process• to give you unified guidelines on how to write a curriculum

vitae (CV)


Into the Project

• In embarking on a project you will be stepping away from the educational world you know where – All equations can be solved analytically– A function is simple like a cosine or a Gaussian.– You are told what is important.– You are provided with comprehensive lecture notes which contain all

the facts to solve the problem.– You are told which books contain all the answers.– Your tutor knows the way to solve the problem.

• You will be stepping into the real world where none of this is true.


Into the Project

• The project guidelines are at http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~afernand/projects/3rd-Year/ProjGuideStudents.html

• Direct queries to the project co-ordinator :Dr Fernandez • In the project

– You are in charge giving you freedom but responsibility– You need to decide what is important– You need to search for it or develop it.

• The supervisors job is not to tell you what to do next so don’t expect him to do that.

• It is your job to work out what to do next, knowing the goal to be achieved.


Motivation

• You will be spending a fair amount of your time on the project.

• The project mark is substantial being worth 1/4 of the third year marks equivalent to 2 courses.

• However, it should also be considered that employers pay special attention to project work so effectively the project has a higher weight as far as employers are concerned.

• So it is worth thinking carefully about your choice of project.


Motivation

• The only way to carry out a difficult project is to be really highly motivated to do well and to work hard.

• This type of motivation can only come if the project is something you really enjoy so that you want to think about it all the time.

• So make sure you choose a project that motivates you if you want a good mark.

• Do not expect your supervisor to motivate you by scolding you if you don’t work hard enough!


Motivation

• Most students choose an interesting project and enjoy the experience and look back on it as being one of the most enjoyable learning experience in the whole of their time at university.

• Most universities allocate projects to students but we let you choose.

• It helps you to learn how to make serious decisions and teaches you to have the responsibility to live with the consequences.


Employment Motivation

• When you go for a job interview the first thing the interviewer is likely to talk about is your project.

• The project is the most similar activity to the company's working environment.

• They don’t pay you to memorise and take exams!• They don’t even pay you because you work hard.• They pay you to produce results and achieve goals by specified

deadlines.• They expect you to learn whatever is necessary in order to overcome

any obstacle you encounter.



• The project is a learning experience that tries to approximate the real work situation.

• However, the marking is not just for the results.• Marks are also given for the whole process of finding the

results as well.



• The interviewer will be very happy if you have done a project in the same subject area as that of the company as this shows a continuing interest in this subject.

• However, it is more important that you have carried out a project well whether it is in the same area or not.

• So you should be thinking about in which subject area you wish to work.• A short project is a good way to try out a subject area to see if it is what

you want to do for the rest of your life.• If you don’t like it you can change to another area when you apply for a

job or when you choose your next project.


The 3rd Year Project

• A misleading name• It is more like a month project spread out over a year.• Mainly for you to learn how to carry out a project.• Generally of little or no benefit to your supervisor.• You will learn how to interact with a supervisor

– to get the most help– to get constructive criticism and to accept it positively– to impress him and so get good marks



• You will practice– “The Scientific Method”.– The importance of logical deduction– Debugging a program or circuit or hardware– Maintaining a positive attitude even when everything is

breaking down or crashing.– Managing a complex set of tasks in a limited time.



• Two of the most useful skills you will practice and enhance are:

• How to break down a problem or obstacle into a series of simpler tasks which can then be scheduled and completed to solve the problem.

• How to search for the required information and knowledge and to learn it and then use it to solve a problem.


Questions

• What do you think you should consider in coming to a decision about which project to do?

• Which lectures have you enjoyed the most?• Was it because of the subject or the lecturer?• What did you enjoy before you came here?• What hobbies did you have before you came here?• What job do you want to do?


Choosing a Project

• To complete successfully an enjoyable project you must: • Choose your supervisor well• Choose the daily activities that you want to do• Choose your subject area appropriately• Activity work:

– Decide what order of importance you would put these in and discuss your decision with your tutor.

– Choose and research your subject area– Define your project with your supervisor


Daily activities

• Most students start choosing a project by considering the subject area.

• The ultimate goal may sound exciting and you may want to be part of the team trying to achieve that goal.

• Although the subject area may be appealing the actual work you will be carrying out day to day may not be.

• You will be spending most of your time on the daily activities such as electronic design, calculation, writing and debugging computer programs, constructing electrical or optical experiments or fabrication of devices.

• So you need to consider how much of each of these you want to do in your project.


Daily activities

• Activity work: What proportion of each of the following activities do you want to do in the project? Discuss with your tutor.

• Its hard to do maths without a computer to plot graphs of results.

Maths 5 %

Design 10 %

Computing 40 %

Electronic Experiments 5 %

Optical Experiments 40 %

Clean Room Fabrication -------


Daily activities

• Computing Project

– Can do it any time in the day when you are free.

– Can do it at home if you purchase the software licence and if it does not require a hardware key - dongle.

• Hardware Project

– Can only do at certain times

– May need to share expensive equipment which may break down

– May need to purchase components and wait for delivery.

– Fun and a sense of achievement when experiment works.


Choosing a Project Subject

• Look at a list of projects on a web page• Approach supervisor for ideas• Think of your own idea• Choose third year courses and similar project.


Look on web project list

• Look at http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/projects/3rdyr/

• Only a few academics will usually post some projects on the web page early. Another few will post some projects at random times later

• So you may not book a project in the hope that a better project may be posted later.

• If a new project is posted and you don’t see it straight away someone else may book it.

• There is a temptation to book a project from one posted early in case all of the others are worse.


Look on web project list

• Posted projects on the web page encourage students to visit that academic but not necessarily to do those projects.

• Usually students agree with supervisors on a project after a discussion.


Look at project presentation list

• Look at last years list of student project presentations which has an address of the form http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~afernand/Pres2005.html

• You will find there a list of all of the titles of last years projects with links to abstracts describing them written by the students themselves.


Approach Supervisor

• To identify which supervisor might supervise which topic • Look at the web page http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/projects.html

where their interests are listed• Once you have found an academic arrange a meeting with

them by e-mail or phone, if possible. They may not be there if you knock on their door

• ASK the academic if they have or can think of any projects to suit your interests and abilities.


Approach Supervisor

• Don’t ask him which project would be easiest or the least work!

• ASK present third year students about their projects and supervisors.

• ATTEND the third year students project presentations near the end of term (usually all day on a Wednesday around 15th March)

• This will give you ideas of what projects are available, who supervises them, how difficult it is to give a good talk and what the question session is like.

• Very interesting projects are also offered by staff of other departments: Medical Physics, CS


Think of your own idea

• An alternative approach would be for you to SUGGEST a project that you would like to do and ask whether the academic would agree to supervise it.

• It could be something based on your hobbies such as an electric guitar chorus pedal, or building a robot, or building a bat detector.

• You will not find these amongst the academics research interests although they may have supervised such projects before and may be willing to do so again.


Think of your own idea

• Obviously if you suggest an idea it will need to be at the required academic level to be considered as a 3rd year project.

• If not your supervisor will reject it or he he may suggest how it can be modified to meet the required standard.

• Do not assume that you will be able to find anyone who is willing to supervise a project suggested by you.


Course Choices

• If you choose the project first then you should ask your new supervisor for help in choosing courses which will help your project and which balance effort between the two terms.

• If you choose the courses first try to balance the number you attend each term. Then think of a project which overlaps as much of the course material as possible.

• By doing this you will make a lot less work for yourself as the courses help the project and vice versa.


Choose your Supervisor

• An important factor in successful completion of an enjoyable project is your relationship with your supervisor.

• You have one character and your supervisor another character. • You need to choose someone with whom you can work.• Someone you like or at least respect.• Certainly someone you can ask for criticism of your work and

from whom you can accept it as a useful way for you to improve.• It’s the only way to learn and improve.



• Academics are all different characters.• Do you want a young, energetic, enthusiastic supervisor

who is always pushing you forwards to produce results, and wants to see you at least once a week to report progress?

• May be good for students who need motivating.



• Do you want a supervisor with a vast experience, international reputation, large research group who is often invited to give talks in other countries and so may not be easy to meet but when you do see him it is tremendously useful?

• He is likely to have a large research group with Postdocs and Research Students who can help you on a daily basis.

• Likely to have a lot of very expensive brand new equipment for experiments.

• Likely to have a lot of money to purchase more equipment or software.



• You may only have seen your supervisor in lectures.• Many academics are quite different when you meet them in their

offices on a one-to-one basis.• Students find that some academics who frighten them in lectures

are actually very helpful and friendly on a one-to-one basis.• So don’t judge them just on their appearance in lectures.• Visit them in their offices first to find out what they are like.• Ask their project students what they are like.• See the project presentations on ~15th March.



• Booking projects is on a first come first served basis.• Some supervisors are very, very popular because of their project

topics.• Supervisors are limited to a maximum of 5 project students • So they soon become booked up.• Students might rush and book up projects without giving enough

consideration.• They may then not enjoy their project and may try to change to

another supervisor and another project but it may then be too late to find a good choice available.


Define Project with Supervisor

• Discuss the project goals with prospective supervisor.

• Supervisor can make project harder/easier to match the required academic standard and shorter/longer to match what is possible in the time.

• Project needs to interest you a lot - it should absolutely fascinate you and be so interesting that you want to do it during your free time because it is fun.

• You may want it to be in areas you are good at or new areas you want to learn about.

• Project should match your table of desirable proportions of daily activities.


Define Project with Supervisor

• Supervisor needs to be able to supervise project.• It can be in his area of expertise.• Or can be in a new area which interests him• Academics are experts at carrying out projects no matter

what the area as the principles are the same.• Only £100 is allocated to the supervisor for project costs.


Academic Supervisor

• Every time you see the academics they are teaching you.• However, this is only part of what they are expected to do.• The rest of their time is spent on research.• Part of their teaching and research time is spent on

administration and management too.


Academic Supervisor

• Some academics have a research group consisting of:– Postdoctoral Research Assistants (RAs or Postdocs)

whom they employ to carry out research,– Research Students who are working towards higher

degrees such as MPhil, MRes, EngD, PhD.– Academic Visitors from other countries

• It is beneficial to a BEng, MEng, MSc student to carry out his/her project in the research group in the same subject area and aiming towards the same goal.


Academic Supervisor

• The members of the research group can often help the student with solving day to day problems in the project.

• They are usually closer to the students age and a student may find it easier to talk to them.

• Sometimes a project is closely related to the work of a member of the group and he will give you day-to-day supervision.

• Of course the academic supervisor remains in overall charge and will oversee and direct the course of your project.


Academic Supervisor

• Supervisors usually are members of staff of the EE department but it is possible to have second assessors from Computer Science or Medical Physics department.


Academic Supervisor

• Each academic carries out research in a certain area of knowledge which is his/her specialist topic area.

• You need to find out these so that you know who to approach to supervise a project in an area that you like.

• List of all academics research activities in next few slides and at http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/dept/staff/academic/ and

• http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/dept/academic.html• Look at the academics personal web pages e.g.

http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~afernand/• Look at the research groups web page e.g. http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~pbrennan/ar/• Ask your tutor to give guidance on who to approach.


Research Areas

Digital

RF and Radar

Materials

ComputingMaths

Optics

Services

Networks

Telecoms

Digital


Research Layers

Devices

Systems

Materials

Services


George Pavlou

• Networks• network management and service engineering• the convergence of telecommunication and packet

networks• the next generation Internet and wireless self-organised

networks


Yang Yang

• Mobile ad hoc networks and wireless sensor networks• Third generation (3G) mobile communication systems and beyond• Dynamic radio resource management (RRM) for integrated

services, • Cross-layer radio resource management, performance evaluation

and optimisation for wireless communication systems• Medium access control (MAC) protocols for wireless sensor

networks• Simulation study of UWB, WiMAX and mobile IPv6


Miguel Rio

• Telecommunications• Internet Congestion Control • Quality of Service • Routing and QoS Routing • Multicast • Traffic Analysis


Izzat Darwazeh

• Optical and wireless communications systems• Design, modelling and experimentation of wireless and

mobile communication systems• High speed optical communications• Radio over fibre systems• High speed circuit design and integrated circuits for optical

systems • Modulation techniques and software defined radio


John Mitchell

• Optical and wireless communications systems• Design, modelling and experimentation• High speed optical communications• Mobile and wireless communication systems• High speed circuits and MMICs• optical access (Fibre to the Home) • radio distribution networks using optical fibere• Hardware for Wireless sensor networks and monitoring

applications.


Ioannis Andreopoulos

• Signal transforms• Fast Transforms• Video Coding• Video transmission through unreliable media• Wireless networks• Internet• Pattern Recognition• Image Compression• C and Matlab needed and ideally signal or image processing


Polina Bayvel • Optical Communications: networks, transmission, devices• Optical Network Architectures: optical burst switching, optical packet

networks, wavelength routed optical networks• Ultra-high speed WDM transmission: • Optical non-linearities and fundamental limitation to fibre transmission• Ultra-short pulse propagation in dispersive media: • New optical devices for short pulse generation, multiwavelength clock

recovery and regeneration, routers/crossconnects, tuneable lasers• Surface plasmon polariton-based devices for optical processing


Robert Killey

• Optical Communications• Ultra-high speed WDM transmission systems• Wavelength routed optical networks• Network planning and performance monitoring• Simulation and analysis of optical communication transmission

systems • advanced optical signal formats, • transmission impairments including optical fibre dispersion and

nonlinearity• dense wavelength division multiplexing• novel optical and electronic equalisation techniques.'


Seb Savory

• Experimental and theoretical research in optical communication systems

• Digital signal processing for nonlinear systems – optical transmission systems– diagnosis of brugada in the heart

• Digital signal processing to increase the capacity of installed fibre base while simultaneously compensating transmission impairments.


Benn Thomsen

• Physical layer implementation of dynamic optical networks, • Fast tunable burst mode transmitters, • digital burst mode receiver, • burst mode amplification • nonlinear optical signal processing • Matlab based simulation software for modeling of optical

transmission systems and networks


Alwyn Seeds

• Microwave photonic devices and systems• Coherent optical communication systems• Tuneable and mode-locked semiconductor lasers• Ultra-fast optical communications• Quantum well modulators and saturable absorbers• InP-based lasers, modulators and detectors. • Wireless over fibre and other optical access systems• THz systems.


Cyril Renaud

• Optoelectronics • Uncooled WDM sources• agile tuneable laser diode and monolithic optical• frequency comb generator using Quantum Confined Stark

Effect• high frequency, photodetectors and optical frequency

generation systems in the optical and millimetre wave domains (DWDM, THZ).


Sally Day

• Liquid crystal devices and LCDs• Modelling of displays and other liquid crystal devices• Microlenses and their applications• microwave applications of liquid crystal• tunable liquid crystal optical filters• tunable liquid crystal microlenses• structured illumination for microscopy and other optical

devices and systems.


F. Anibal Fernandez

• Computer modelling of• - liquid crystal devices• - optical devices• - microwave/antennas• Applications of liquid crystals in microwave and optical

devices• Computer modelling in Electromagnetics• Numerical methods


Nicolae Panoiu

• Modelling of optical waveguides in polymer and silicon• silicon (nonlinear) photonics – modelling and device applications • metamaterials with negative index of refraction • nonlinear photonic crystals • optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures • optical solitons in media with quadratic or cubic nonlinearities • optical solitons in fibres, soliton-WDM • FDTD modelling of VCSELSs and other active photonic devices


David R. Selviah

• Modelling of polymer optical waveguides on printed circuit boards with 10 companies and 3 universites

• Modelling of LED coupling to colour separating LCD backlights

• Real time, video image transformation in MATLAB and VHDL with one company

• Design of a high speed parallel processor computer for pattern recognition using higher order neural networks


Oleg Mitrofanov

• Experimental research on the femtosecond and picosecond time scales

• Ultrafast lasers producing very short optical pulses. • ultrafast phenomena such as atomic vibrations in crystals and

molecular rotations in gases. • Terahertz (THz) research • THz characterization tools, • THz time resolved imaging system, • THz light imaging with picosecond resolution.


Chris Baker

• Radar• Sonar• RF• Electronic Warfare technology and techniques• sensor systems• signal processing • Many projects with industry


Paul Brennan

• Microwaves/RF Electronics• Phase locked loops• Synthesisers• Antennas• Phased Arrays• Radar• Chaos• RF-ID tags


Karl Woodbridge

• Radar and Air Traffic Control Systems• Radar• Air Traffic Control• Avionics• Satellite Communications• Global Positioning Systems


Kenneth Tong

• Planar antenna design, Microstrip antenna, low-k dielectric PCB, semiconductor process for high frequency antenna design ~30 - 60 GHz.

• Passive microwave and millimetre wave devices, X band to Ka Band, microstrip filters.

• Microwave and millimetre wave measurement, Network analyser, spectrum analyser, probe station, anechoic chamber for antenna measurements.


Paul Warburton

• Nanoelectronic Materials and Devices• Superconductivity• Carbon Nanotubes• Carbon Buckyballs• Quantum Electronic Devices• Josephson Junctions• Nanolithography• Focussed Ion-Beam Nanofabrication Techniques


Ed Romans• Pulsed laser deposition of high temperature superconductor thin films

and new oxide materials for nanoscale devices.• Superconducting Electronics - Josephson junctions, Superconducting

quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and their applications especially in biomagnetism, geophysics and fundamental metrology.

• Quantum interference and frustration in multi-junction arrays - superconducting quantum interference filters (SQIFs).

• Nano-scale SQUIDs for single photon and spin detection applications in quantum communication and quantum computing.


Ian Boyd

• Fabrication and Processing for Nanotechnology• Low temperature nanometre thin film growth • Laser Applications• Ultraviolet sources and applications• High and low k dielectrics• Advanced optical and microelectronic devices• Si, SiGe, SiGeC Devices• Silicon Oxidation


Richard Jackman

• Diamond Electronics• The growth of diamond and other wide band gap semiconductors• Fabrication of micro and optoelectronic devices from diamond • Control of defects and carrier transport within diamond. • Laser processing of electronic materials.• Electronic characteristics of diamond• Doped and undoped, single crystal or nanocrystalline diamond• Clean-room based fabrication of active devices.


Tony Kenyon

• Optoelectronic and Nanostructured Materials• Rare-earth doped optical materials• scanning probe microscopy• silicon photonics• materials for lasers and optical amplifiers• plasma processing of materials• laser spectroscopy• the physics of light emission from novel materials • quantum confinement effects in semiconductors.


Neil Curzon

• Materials processing• Controlled placement and imaging of dopants in

semiconductors • Study and control of chemical reactions at surfaces • Development of scanning probe lithography techniques • Fabrication of novel materials by molecular manipulation


Arokia Nathan

• Digital x-ray imaging for radiography, fluoroscopy, and mammography.

• Active matrix organic light emitting diode displays.

• Low dark current detectors for fluorescent-based bio-assays.

• Large area MEMS for electronic skin.

• Inorganic, organic, and nanocomposite thin film transistors and circuit integration.

• Electronics on flexible substrates such as plastic or polyester


Andreas Demosthenous

• Design of Analogue and mixed-signal integrated circuits• Applications

– Communications– Video Coding– Error-Control Coding– Medical Electronics


Tom Crummey

• Computer Networks• Control Systems• Parallel Processing• Can only take 2 project students


Computer Science

• Second assessors can be taken from other departments• Saleem Bhatti


Medical Physics

• Second assessors can be taken from other departments • Nick Donaldson• Martin Fry• Jem Hebden• Especially electronic devices for medical application

Good Professional Practice Copyright © 2008 UCL

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LIFE IN TWO PAGES?

CURRICULUM VITAE


Curriculum Vitae

• You must now prepare a Curriculum Vitae (CV)• This will be useful for applying for summer jobs and for your permanent job.• Look at web site for instructions

http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/helpshts/cvs.htm• Visit UCL and UoL Careers Centre.• Prepare a CV.• Take your CV to your tutor and discuss its layout and content and then

make an improved version.• Take CV to Careers Service for extra comments• You may need to go around this loop again.


Curriculum Vitae

• Please go to UCL Careers Service 4th Floor, ULU, Malet Street, 020 7866 3600 Email: [email protected]

• http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/• and ask for the double sided flyer and the somewhat larger booklet

on how to write a CV.• You can “drop in” there once you have written your CV and they are

happy to comment on it to help you to improve it.• They also provide details of companies requesting students for

holiday placements: Hobson’s guide, Prospects, University of London website.


Curriculum Vitae

• Layout is important as it gives your employer their first impression of you.

• The interviewer only looks at it for 3 (!) seconds before discarding it so if they have not obtained the key data by then you will have failed.

• Your CV needs to be presented in a relevant way.• You need to emphasise the skills that are important for your potential

employer.• Give proof of your ability, don’t just say that you are hard working.• After reading your CV the interviewer should be left with a lasting

favourable impression.


Curriculum Vitae

• Personal details• name (put family name in CAPITALS) • address (with dates if more than one) • telephone number (and e-mail) • date of birth • nationality • sex


Curriculum Vitae

• Education• Dates: details of your university education• First year courses studied with course marks • GCSEs & A-levels (or equivalent) with grades• Prizes awarded, titles of project performed• Work experience• Dates: Companies• Text saying what useful skills you learnt


Curriculum Vitae

• Skills• foreign languages • computing languages or packages • keyboard skills • driving


Curriculum Vitae

• Leisure interests• sports • music, drama and other cultural activities • membership of clubs and societies • positions of responsibility in clubs and societies• Referees• Your first year and second year tutors • all of their contact details, especially e-mail• addresses.


Checklist

• Decide what order of importance you would put these in and discuss your decision with your tutor: Daily activities, Supervisor, Subject?

• What proportion of each of the daily activities do you want to do in the project? Fill in the table on the next page. Discuss with your tutor.

• Decide on a subject area and look into it in the library.• Prepare your CV taking care to put all your first and second year

courses.• Make your first appointment with a potential supervisor • Define your project with your supervisor


Daily Activities Table

Maths

Design

Computing

Electronic Experiments

Optical Experiments

Clean Room Fabrication

Documents

Good Professional Practice Copyright © 2008 UCL MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME PROJECT CHOICE David R. Selviah Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering