May be he don’t like his comments to be published online with name.. So I am hiding his name but this professor for sure rules.. His answers are simple and to the point.. I hope I can become that clear minded. Amin
QuestionMy perception is this that all the courses in Swedish universities are offered based on the feedback from industry. So i was wondering what was the actual motivation behind starting "Interactive System Engineering". Is Sweden looking for professionals in this area? If yes is it for some industry or research. AS far as I know Sweden is taking part in two of the "Disappearing-Computer" initiative. But I guess there should be more reasons then this to start an international program. I hope sir you can tell me something, which will be helpful in deciding my career.
Answerthe actual motivation is not direct demand from industry but our perception of future developments based upon our research experiences (as you have noted e.g. the disappearing computer research).
QuestionAlso, sir I had some other options available for studies. I have refused all of them apart from one which was TUCS (partially because of higher percentage of paid thesis grant + flexibility in coursework design).. But as far as I know KTH is higher ranked then TUCS and Interactive System Engineering is more futuristic than most of the software engineering fields). But what I don't know is the standing of KTH in Computer sciences in Nordic region. Sir I hope you can give me some personal opinion on research and education standard of KTH vs. others.
AnswerMy personal opinion is that KTH has an excellent research and education record which is in the top league in Europe, and probably also worldwide
QuestionLast but not least, Sir what you think is better keeping in future IT demands. Specific MS or General MS. I have seen that most if the USA MS are very general as compared to EU. And Swedish MS are very specific.
AnswerKTH offers both general and specific M Sc courses but I feel that the specific ones are the best bet for the time being as there are more than enough general educated scholars around
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Monday, June 07, 2004
Human Computer Interaction Resources
Well well well! they have companies, research places and lots of other interesting bookmarks.
Beginner's Corner - In-Circuit-Emulators
I was searching nokia site for job opportunities... And then I came to know about this thing.. In-Circuit... So all out there who are interested in telecom industry from testing point of view here is something you should look at... Especially for entry-level people.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Ubiquitous Computing: The New Industrial Challenge
At the time when i am about to leave Pakistan for studies in EU (Sweden or Finland), concluding remarks from this article were really motivating. :)
Ubiquitous Computing signals a new phase of the digital economy. It will create new markets for ICT products and services. Unlike some ICT markets, such as PC systems, Internet infrastructure and e-commerce where US firms are relatively dominant, European firms are in a strong position to contest these markets. Also, the gains from this new avenue are open to traditional industries as well as the high technology sectors.
Ubiquitous Computing signals a new phase of the digital economy. It will create new markets for ICT products and services. Unlike some ICT markets, such as PC systems, Internet infrastructure and e-commerce where US firms are relatively dominant, European firms are in a strong position to contest these markets. Also, the gains from this new avenue are open to traditional industries as well as the high technology sectors.
Allah Hu Akbar
If you are looking for fitnas in Islam then here is a site which tell about different fitnas in Islam.. May Allah keep us all on straight path.
And dear reader! I am searching for an Islamic site which tells about the war that will take place between ?Hazrat Eesa (Christ) and Mal'oun Dajal (Anti-Christ)... So if you know any do add a comment. May Allah bless all those who are on right path and May Allah guide them all who are not. Ameen
And dear reader! I am searching for an Islamic site which tells about the war that will take place between ?Hazrat Eesa (Christ) and Mal'oun Dajal (Anti-Christ)... So if you know any do add a comment. May Allah bless all those who are on right path and May Allah guide them all who are not. Ameen
Saturday, June 05, 2004
MS.. related queries and their replies
EMAIL 1
I wrote:
More queries
1) KTH has good repute for its SOC but what about CS. How you rate it or what's their general repute.
2) I am under impression that in KTH programs are offered based on the feedback form industry otherwise they are offering it coz they have teachers available to do that. If the former is true then is it good idea to assume that they need interactive system engineers that is why they have started this program. This assumption will lead to conclusion that chances of getting jobs are there in Sweden (in CS).
3) How difficult are studies there. Is it humanly possible to get full GPA? Plus if one ends up in class top 5 will life will be easier for him in Sweden or not (for paid thesis and job)
A friend replied:
About the reputation of KTH in general, it is quite good. e.g. people have got admissions in Phd in top US schools like Texas A&M etc... the industry recognizes it quite well e.g. Like Philips, Nokia, Microsoft, IBM etc... so I guess this is not an issue...
About the job situation in Sweden it has been pretty bleak because of Ericsson. Ericsson has been their biggest tech employer and it has fired more than 10,000 ppl and because of this the chances are quite slim to hire foreigners especially if so many of their own people are unemployed (in case some jobs do open). This has been for the past two years. Now the situation has been improving although very slowly... cannot say any thing about it for the future.
Regarding feedback from the industry, the SOC program was started in 2000. The plan for SOC program originated around 1998-1999 and the first batch was inducted the next year. Ericsson was one of the major funders of the program and then it decided to pull back because of its own financial conditions so...the industry can change…
Coming to your specific question, I and some other students from Pakistan are under the impression that they have started these programs for two purposes.
One reason for starting these programs there were / are forecasts for growth in these areas in the future. There are many challenges in these areas which need to be solved through research.
So master thesis and then inducting best students out of those for a Phd enables them to continue their research.
The second reason is that the Sweden education system is designed in such a way that the department gets funding based on the number of students that pass a specific course.
……….. Again I cannot say that this is also the reason for starting the Interactive systems program or there is going to be some real demand in the near future.
…. I was lucky enough .. to get a paid thesis in ….. So if you have two plus years of solid experience, the industry will "generally" welcome you.
Regarding the grading system, it is tough but not impossible to get a full GPA. to make it easier, the Swedish and Finnish system both allow a student to repeat an exam as many times as he like to improve his grade even if he has an A-. This sounds easy and comforting but... I can assure that in practical this is not the case. Courses move at quite a brisk pace.
I wrote:
More queries
1) KTH has good repute for its SOC but what about CS. How you rate it or what's their general repute.
2) I am under impression that in KTH programs are offered based on the feedback form industry otherwise they are offering it coz they have teachers available to do that. If the former is true then is it good idea to assume that they need interactive system engineers that is why they have started this program. This assumption will lead to conclusion that chances of getting jobs are there in Sweden (in CS).
3) How difficult are studies there. Is it humanly possible to get full GPA? Plus if one ends up in class top 5 will life will be easier for him in Sweden or not (for paid thesis and job)
A friend replied:
About the reputation of KTH in general, it is quite good. e.g. people have got admissions in Phd in top US schools like Texas A&M etc... the industry recognizes it quite well e.g. Like Philips, Nokia, Microsoft, IBM etc... so I guess this is not an issue...
About the job situation in Sweden it has been pretty bleak because of Ericsson. Ericsson has been their biggest tech employer and it has fired more than 10,000 ppl and because of this the chances are quite slim to hire foreigners especially if so many of their own people are unemployed (in case some jobs do open). This has been for the past two years. Now the situation has been improving although very slowly... cannot say any thing about it for the future.
Regarding feedback from the industry, the SOC program was started in 2000. The plan for SOC program originated around 1998-1999 and the first batch was inducted the next year. Ericsson was one of the major funders of the program and then it decided to pull back because of its own financial conditions so...the industry can change…
Coming to your specific question, I and some other students from Pakistan are under the impression that they have started these programs for two purposes.
One reason for starting these programs there were / are forecasts for growth in these areas in the future. There are many challenges in these areas which need to be solved through research.
So master thesis and then inducting best students out of those for a Phd enables them to continue their research.
The second reason is that the Sweden education system is designed in such a way that the department gets funding based on the number of students that pass a specific course.
……….. Again I cannot say that this is also the reason for starting the Interactive systems program or there is going to be some real demand in the near future.
…. I was lucky enough .. to get a paid thesis in ….. So if you have two plus years of solid experience, the industry will "generally" welcome you.
Regarding the grading system, it is tough but not impossible to get a full GPA. to make it easier, the Swedish and Finnish system both allow a student to repeat an exam as many times as he like to improve his grade even if he has an A-. This sounds easy and comforting but... I can assure that in practical this is not the case. Courses move at quite a brisk pace.
Thought of the day: Contentment and issue at hand:MS
Bunny asked me a question and I am wondering what would be the answer?
What makes me feel content... After saying lot of junk i admitted in the end that it is too early to for me to define what makes me feel content.. She left for her home after promising that she will be in Islamabad on 28th to attend my Walima.
I am still wondering about it.. Is it money? Is it doing something which other's can’t do.. ahh its childish.. May be I wanted to do something that would benefit others in my field. Am I that noble? J
I hope I will find answer to this within next 4-5 years.. I seriously wish that coz it will help me design my career path in better way.
And still the other question remains should I go for Ranking + futuristic program or else flexible program + funding opportunity..
What if I had no constraint of time and money... then probably KTH.. But funding option is always encouraging..
Probably I should look how good are research facilities at KTH... May be i should try contacting few PhDs there for paid research opportunities.. May be I should search job opportunities at industry.. I should search for some site which give career guidance.. Tell me about different fields... Or may be I should see the site which can tell future industry trend.. Will it be bioengineering that will rule or will it be ubiquitous..
I don’t know what I really want to do… and I don’t know how can I know this.. Where my thinking process should start from.. so that I can reach to a conclusion…
I do am interested in developing 3d games.. but still I have never tried writing even one program in 3d. Nor do I know exactly how many different career opportunities are there in that field.. I should search this as well….
Time to stop ….
What makes me feel content... After saying lot of junk i admitted in the end that it is too early to for me to define what makes me feel content.. She left for her home after promising that she will be in Islamabad on 28th to attend my Walima.
I am still wondering about it.. Is it money? Is it doing something which other's can’t do.. ahh its childish.. May be I wanted to do something that would benefit others in my field. Am I that noble? J
I hope I will find answer to this within next 4-5 years.. I seriously wish that coz it will help me design my career path in better way.
And still the other question remains should I go for Ranking + futuristic program or else flexible program + funding opportunity..
What if I had no constraint of time and money... then probably KTH.. But funding option is always encouraging..
Probably I should look how good are research facilities at KTH... May be i should try contacting few PhDs there for paid research opportunities.. May be I should search job opportunities at industry.. I should search for some site which give career guidance.. Tell me about different fields... Or may be I should see the site which can tell future industry trend.. Will it be bioengineering that will rule or will it be ubiquitous..
I don’t know what I really want to do… and I don’t know how can I know this.. Where my thinking process should start from.. so that I can reach to a conclusion…
I do am interested in developing 3d games.. but still I have never tried writing even one program in 3d. Nor do I know exactly how many different career opportunities are there in that field.. I should search this as well….
Time to stop ….
Friday, June 04, 2004
conversation with Zahid.. some search bookmarks
Ahh i am still confused on what to do.. go for MS at KTH in interactive System Engineering or else TUCS where i can smell funding and flexibility in course selection... :(
Hope fully when i will visit following links in detail i may have more points in favour of KTH..
http://www.bcs-hci.org.uk/bus_ind.html HCI in Business and Industry
http://choices.cs.uiuc.edu/gaia/html/videos.htm Active Spaces for ubiquitous computing
http://research.microsoft.com/easyliving/ Microsoft Easy Living
Hope fully when i will visit following links in detail i may have more points in favour of KTH..
http://www.bcs-hci.org.uk/bus_ind.html HCI in Business and Industry
http://choices.cs.uiuc.edu/gaia/html/videos.htm Active Spaces for ubiquitous computing
http://research.microsoft.com/easyliving/ Microsoft Easy Living
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