Frequently Asked Questions
As you know I am trying not to reply to your questions by email (unless they are about very personal matters), instead I reply to them through this page and the syllabus. This helps everybody since others might have the same question, furthermore it makes us all aware that we all know the same things. Keep the questions coming!
Q1: How do I pass the course?
A1: The final score is the sum of four different sub-scores:
1. Contact sessions (20 points)
Attend at least 50% to get 20 points. Substitute assignments for when you cannot attend. See Q3 & Q4 below.
2. Pre-assignments (25 points)
Not too demanding, but needed for the activity in the classroom. They are all mandatory. See Q5 below.
3. Project/practical work (30 points)
This is done (usually) in pairs. Not done in the classroom. See Q6 below.
4. Final essay (25 points)
A 1500 words IMRaD individual report. See Q7 below.
Q2: Does the course start at 9:00 or 9:15?
A2: Old academic conventions are meant to be broken. We start at 9:00 sharp. I am a Brit at heart so please be very punctual!
Q3: Do I need to take part to all the contact sessions?
I ask that everybody attends at least 50% of the contact sessions (i.e. at least 3 out of 5 Tuesday morning sessions). This is important because the course is highly interactive. There will be substitute assignments for when you miss a contact session, so that you are at the same pace with others.
Q4: Are the hands-on sessions mandatory?
A4: No, they are not. They are for you to ask questions and learn practical things that are usually not included in the main contact sessions. Afternoon sessions are important to get feedback on your final project (see Q6 below).
Q5: Why do we need pre-assignments
A5: In the classroom there will be group activities based on the pre-assignments (e.g. discussing a paper you have read). In the respect of others, you must complete all pre-assignments.
Q6: Could you tell us more about the project work?
A6: You can decide your own project (especially PhD students) or work on a standard one that I will provide (see Q8 below). The project should be done in pairs, usually by combining expertises (i.e. somebody that is not familiar with coding, should join someone who is a fluent coder: you learn from each other). Remember that what matters is the learning not the outcome, so you do not need to run a full study during the course. The points are given so that:
5 points from participation to afternoon sessions, with extra 5 points for active helpers
15 points based on: shared code and tutorials
5 points based on amount of tools tested
There will be a group presentation of your project work during the exam week so that you explain your projects to the others. After that you need to submit an individual report about your project (i.e. the report is not done with the person you did the project with). See Q7.
Q7: Could you tell us more about the final report?
A7: In the report you follow the IMRaD paper structure and simply describe what you did in the project. Report must be submitted to Turnit-In. Plagiarism will result in fail. Detailed instructions can be found at the subsection "Final Essay"
Q8: I am not able to log in to mycourses
A8: If you are a university of Helsinki student, you need to use the Haka login option. If you have both Helsinki and Aalto account, please remember that you will receive communication only at the account you use to sign in to mycourses.
Q9: I am not able to come to the next contact session. What should I do?
A9: Please always tell in advance if you are not able to come so that I can plan the interactive activity accordingly. If you miss a contact session you need to do a substitute assignment, see Q3 above.
Q10: How do I get the JOO permit to get the credits?
A10: Enrico will add details here.
Q11: This course has the same code as other past/ongoing courses, is this a problem?
A11: The course code is a general code used for all the special courses in neuroscience organised at Aalto NBE, so the code will be the same and this has not caused problems in the past.
Q12: Where is the building/classroom for the course?
The building is the so called "Health Tech House" http://usefulaaltomap.fi/#!/select/F and the room is F175b. If you enter from Otakaari 3A doors, then you just walk straight ~20 meters and the room will be on your right.
Q13: I am not able to complete the course / I must drop out, is that ok?
A13: Sure it is fine, life sometimes doesn't follow our plans. You can always take this course as a book exam, see details at the bottom of this page: http://www.brain-mind.fi/courses.html.
I am the one doing the exam for both these books:
1) Sporns: Networks of the brain, (2010, 1st ed, 424 pages), 3 cr.
2) Fornito et al.: Fundamentals of brain network analysis (2016, 1st ed., 494 pages), 4 cr
Q14: can I get credits (e.g. attendance certificate) even though I am not a student?
A14: according to this page http://sci.aalto.fi/en/studies/non-degree_studies/ you should be able to get credits/certificate if you pay 10 eu per ECTS credit (so 50eu for this course)