EU - Canada Student Exchange

We kindly appreciate the financial support provided by European Commission and Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), which enabled the operation of this program from 2005-2007. A new program, funded by the same sponsors, is running for the next 3 years (2008-2010) on dual/joint degree programmes.

European Universities
University of Crete
Fachhochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
Warsaw University of Technology
General Information

Canadian Universities
York University
University of New Brunswick
Dalhousie University

Transcripts for European exchange students in Canada

Table of course equivalences across Universities htm xls pdf
Memorandum of Understanding among partner universities doc htm
Latest MOU draft doc

Powerpoint presentation on the exchange program (E. Milios, 2005.03.30)

Virtual classroom participation
Dual degrees
Links

Highlights
The Department of Computer Science was established in 1984.
Graduate program established in 1985.
Number of students: Undergraduate 578, Master's 86, PhD 21
Lab space: Undergraduate 435 m^2, Graduate 290 m^2
Closely affiliated with the Foundation of Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), which offers significant additional space and facilities for graduate students.
The language of instruction is Greek. However, special arrangements for English-speaking students can be discussed with each Department, as already practiced within Erasmus, a European student exchange program.

Course descriptions
List of undergraduate courses (in English)
UG course of study (in Greek)
Prerequsites table (in Greek)
Course descriptions (in Greek)
UG years 1 2 3 4
Graduate 1 2

Fachhochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences

Highlights
Small applied technical University, about 10 years old.
Disciplines covered include Business, Computer Science, Electrical Eng., Mech. Eng., Chemistry, Biology, Technical Journalism.
Industry expectations are taken into account in shaping the curriculum.
Faculty is required to have industry experience.
Offers undergraduate and Master degrees (no PhD).
Undergraduate degree programs are structured, courses are offered in sequence, no explicit prerequisites
Undergraduate degrees last 6 terms: terms 1-3 foundations (core), terms 4-6 mostly elective courses, including directed practical projects.
Degree structure is in transition, driven by the Bologna declaration.

Bachelor degree course lectures are in German.
Master of Computer Science course lectures are in German and English.
Group size is small (< 10-15 students), so adaptation to language skills of participating students is possible.
Course materials are in English in most cases.
The Master's degree in Autonomous Systems is offered entirely in English.
Thanks to experience with a European student exchange program (Erasmus), suitable accommodation and assistance is provided to non-german-speaking students in attendance.
Affiliated with the Fraunhofer Institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems.

Course descriptions:

Exchange student information
Address and directions - Univ. campuses - German city maps

Warsaw University of Technology

Highlights
Large technical university, the most prestigious technical University in Poland.
The Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology has approximately
90 professors, 200 PhD students, >300 non-faculty teaching staff, 4000 students
BS: 8 semesters, Master: 3 semesters, PhD: 8 semensters
Electrical and Computer Engineering degree is offered in English, it contains many courses relevant to a CS degree
Computer Science degree is only offered in Polish.

Course descriptions:
List of courses in English
Courses offered in the academic year 2005-2006
Electrical and Computer Engineering degree (in English)
CS courses (English titles and descriptions, taught in Polish)

General information about European Universities

Bologna declaration (issued 1999-06-19, deadline for implementation 2010)
- Aim: Easily readable and comparable degrees across Europe
- Bachelor / Master degrees (as in the British system)
- total duration up to 5 years, Bachelor up to 3-4 years
This represents a substantial change from the current degrees offered in continental Europe:
Diplom (in engineering and science, 4-5 years), Magister (humanities) and Staatsexamen (law, medicine, teachers, and other professional degrees).
Diploma Supplement Deutschland: a detailed description of a student's completed program of study. It is both program and student specific, and more detailed than the transcript.
European universities are in the process of adopting the guidelines of the Bologna declaration.

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)
- normal load: 60 credit points/year or 1500-1800 hours of workload
- 1 credit point = 25-30 hrs of student workload (includes contact hours plus home work)
- Flexible proof of academic achievement

Grades in the ECTS grading model

Grades in current German system

There is a formal mapping between the German and the ECTS system.

York University Department of Computer Science
Course descriptions
Undergraduate
Graduate

York University has an approved dual international degree in Mathematics and Statistics, with the
University of L'Aquila in Italy, and an international degree in Computer Science is being proposed.

York International (office supporting exchange students)

University of New Brunswick Department of Computer Science
Undergraduate Information Course Descriptions
Graduate

Contact person for European exchange students: Silke Klenk, sklenk at unb dot ca
(web site under construction)

Dalhousie University Faculty of Computer Science
Course descriptions
Undergraduate - UG calendar in pdf format
Graduate - Grad calendar in pdf format

International student and exchange services
Contact person for European exchange students on non-academic matters: Kristen Healy, +1 902 494 1740 or Kristen dot Healy at-sign Dal dot Ca
Contact person in Computer Science on academic matters: Kate Millar, millark at cs dot dal dot ca
For registration at Dalhousie University, the following are required:
1. A completed scanned copy of the graduate studies application form, http://www.registrar.dal.ca/forms/grada_ref.pdf
(one copy only is enough). Leave blank the Social Insurance Number (you do not have one) and the payment information
(your application fee and tuition are both waived through the exchange program between Dalhousie and FHBRS/WUT/UC).
2. A scanned copy of your official transcript (showing the degree program you are enrolled in at FHBRS/WUT/UC, the list of courses you took from the beginning of your studies at FHBRS/WUT/UC so far and your grades).
3. A scanned copy of a letter from your academic exchange advisor at your home university to me, recommending you by FHBRS/WUT/UC to take the course.
Put the original paper copies in the mail to Evangelos Milios.
Once registration has been processed, you will receive a Banner ID number, which you will need to order a Dalhousie transcript showing your grade in the course.
This will be your proof that you completed the course, for use towards your FHBRS/WUT/UC degree requirement (see below).

Transcripts for European students who completed an exchange in one of the Canadian Universities:
In North America, transcripts are considered private information, and therefore the students are responsible for ordering their transcripts.
The Canadian Universities will not automatically notify the home universities of the European exchange students about their successful completion of courses.
Transcripts can be ordered online from the following URLs:
Dalhousie U: http://www.registrar.dal.ca/CONTACT/tcripts.htm
York U: http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/services/everything/transcripts/methods.htm
UNB: https://eservices.unb.ca/ecommerce/transcript/fr/transcript.html
You should be able to have them sent to you directly, or to the registrar's office or exchange program director of your university.

Dalhousie U.: If you have any questions, or wish to order transcripts by physical mail or fax, contact
Angie McGrath in the Registrars office, email: angie dot mcgrath at-sign dal period ca

Summer school video (English, 24MB)

Dual degrees

Integrierte binationale Studiengaenge mit Doppeldiplom (DAAD)

Presentation

EU funding for dual degrees - news release

Yorku U. iBSC (international Bachelor's of Science degree)

Links

DAAD New York (funding for Canadian students to come to Germany) - Univ. summer course grants
CORDIS

Summer Schools 2007:
Biomimetic Robotics @ Univ. of Crete, Greece (link is to last year's offering of the course, hence ignore those dates)
Dates of classes: July 2-July 19, 2007. Final exam and projects due the week of July 23.
Dates of stay: June 30-July 28.

Medical Image Processing @ FH Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
Dates of classes: end of May to end of June.

Data Structures @ Univ. of New Brunswick CS 3323 Introduction to Data Structures
Dates of classes: Jul 3, 2007 to Aug. 9 2007. Final Exam: Aug 10 or 11
Dates of stay: Jul 3 to Aug. 11

Programming Language Fundamentals@York
Jul 2-20, exam: Jul 23 (4 weeks stay)

Note: There is no funding for Canadian students attending summer courses in Europe in 2007.
Funding for Canadian students on a regular exchange is $4500/term

Summer Schools 2006:
European courses (Warsaw-Poland, Crete-Greece)

Artificial Intelligence @ Dalhousie U, Halifax, Dates: July 17 - Aug 4, 2006, instructor: M. Shafiei
For students coming to Dalhousie U. the following links are needed:
International Student Services (includes links to Housing info) - this is a very useful site for general information as well
Application process (students need to submit an application to Dalhousie U. for admission).
Deadline is March 15, or ASAP, so that their study permits can be processed.
Registration to the course: (students need to register on-line for the course after being admitted, and after the course has been mounted. This can be done after arrival in Halifax)
Visa: Students should find out whether they require visas, and if they do they should give themselves plenty of time (several months) to receive them on time. The admission letter from Dalhousie U. will be required for a visa.
Housing @ Dalhousie U.: Accommodation is available in student residences. Rates.
Detailed information on reservation process. (see also under Application Process)
Health Insurance. Students are responsible for their health insurance coverage while in Canada. Summer students can opt into the Dalhousie health insurance coverage by paying the required premium, or obtain their own worldwide coverage before leaving home. Students coming for a term exchange will be automatically enrolled into the Dalhousie health insurance plan (and charged the premium), unless they opt out of it by showing proof of alternative coverage.
English Language Instruction:
Dalhousie tutoring service (at the web site there is contact information for tutors)
Private tutoring: East Coast School of Languages International Language Institute

Summer school 2005 (in Warsaw): Database Management Systems

Summer school 2005 (at York University, Toronto, Canada) Software Tools COSC 2031 (p. 26)

Past summer schools at York University

Virtual Classroom Participation

Basic technology (already in use for sharing presentation and voice communication)
Netmeeting (part of Windows OS) for sharing application - PPT or Acrobat,
Netmeeting or Skype for voice - up to 4 remote student locations on Skype, 16(?) on Netmeeting
manual echo cancellation using a microphone with a switch in the physical classroom, to turn it off when remote student speaks.

Freeware:
Virtual Room Videoconferencing System (VRVS)
accessgrid.org -- Access Grid at Dal (supports high end audio/video/display technology)

Commercial Products:
Horizon Live (product which Dal subscribes to and supports)
Dalhousie Integrated Learning Online - Live Classroom - Dal service - Dal Faculty Support

Elluminate Live

Hardware:
Basic:
Microphone with a switch (e.g. Logitech USB Desktop Microphone, $30)
Echo cancelling microphones ($200-$300), see also speakerphone ($100)
Bluetooth headset (allows lecturer to walk around, possibly minimizes echo if speakers face the classroom, $100)
Tablet (e.g. Wacom Graphire, $99) for writing on a virtual shared whiteboard
Webcam (e.g. Logitech, $30-130)
Advanced:
D-Drive (high end audio/video/display technology)
Polycom (leading provider of hardware and software - gone under?)

Links:
Wikipedia videoconferencing entry
Wikipedia Virtual Learning Environments
Wikipedia History of Virtual Learning Environments

Friday, 23-Apr-2010 8:37