This thesis seminar supports the preparation of MSc thesis on the topics related to Networking and Services specialization line. These topic range from global architectures, service production to mobile and interactive systems. For further details on the potential MSc topic areas, view the research conducted in the NODES network.

Taking the seminar involves

• participation to instruction and discussion sessions clarifying the nature of scientific research, its relationship to thesis work, expected elements of theses writeup, understanding the evaluation of thesis and thus improving your own thesis, and practicalities on dealing with litterature and your own working process during the thesis project;
• giving a presentation of either thesis plans or almost completed theses;
• acting as oppontent for other theses.

The seminar will be active for the whole academic year, but each participant will be expected the workload similar to a normal, one-term seminar (excluding the thesis itself, that is granted its credit units separately). Thus, we expect each participant to be present 10-12 times. Within these sessions, everyone is expected to

• give an in-depth presentation of their thesis topic area with a well-formed research question;
• act as an opponent twice;
• actively participate in 3 of the joint discussion sessions;
• actively participate in 6 other presentation sessions, making relevant questions, comments and suggestions for the thesis discussed.

The first session of the seminar involves organisation and goal-setting. Participants are expected to indicate their thesis process status at the registration time, or latest the week before the first session. This involves identifying the thesis topic area roughly and contacting potential thesis advisors; help getting started with the topic selection is available already during spring 2011. The presentation language is normally the same as the written thesis language.

It is recommendable to start the seminar on the term you intend to start your thesis work.  Although new participants are taken during the seminar duration too, the startup instruction sessions will not be repeated.

Moodle:

The seminar has now also a moodle course for paper submission and distribution.  Register for the moodle course in the university moodle https://moodle.helsinki.fi/  The course key is: NeSe2011