Topic outline

  • This MyCourses workspace is meant to support the students who are preparing their Master thesis under the supervision of Assistant Professor Arno Solin (Department of Computer Science, School of Science, Aalto University).

    Getting started with the process

    Are you in the right place? Here is a short checklist to see if Arno is the right supervisor for you:
    • Topic area: Computer Science → Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science
    • Language: Typically English (Finnish and Swedish also work)

    What to expect from me as a supervisor

    As your supervisor, I will help to make sure the topic is aligned with our M.Sc. programs and I will oversee the process from defining the topic until submission. This is, however, your thesis which tests your maturity and thus you are the person responsible of carrying the process.

    The main communication channel will be email, and for meetings we will use Zoom. Thesis drafts will be submitted here in MyCourses. During the process we will meet at least four times (depending on your progress, your schedule, and your advisor). See sketch of the meeting structure below.

    You will typically also need a separate instructor/advisor. This person might be your supervisor at the company for which you do the work, or a post-doc at the university. Your instructor/advisor will be the person responsible to help with implementation, compiling results, preparing graphic materials, etc. I will provide you with feedback on those, but your instructor/advisor is your go-to person for execution-related questions (as opposed to questions regarding formalities of the process, requirements, etc., for which I am the right person to contact). 

    I offer detailed feedback during the process. I typically ask you to submit drafts of the thesis manuscript along the way (see below for schedule), which I will read and scribble full of comments. We will then meet and go through the comments in detail. The rule of thumb is that I comment on each thing once, and expect you to learn from the corrections. Please make use support from the Writing Clinic and make sure to submit text that you think is in good shape (so that I can focus on the message rather than typos).

    To save your (and my) time, I highly recommend that you make the use of the Aalto LaTeX thesis template (see Resources) and consider using spell-checkers (such as Grammarly or other tools).


    Getting in contact with Prof. Solin about the topic

    The supervision process starts with agreeing on the topic, finding an instructor/advisor (the person that typically is a subject/application expert and helps your day-to-day thesis work), and finding a supervising professor (the person who oversees the process and guarantees the the thesis fulfills the requirements; typically me).

    Process

    ☀️ Initial meeting
    Book a meeting over email. During the first meeting we will make sure I am the right supervisor for you. Be prepared to present yourself (your background, studies, etc.) and give a short pitch of your idea (you might want to prepare 1-3 slides).
    Outcome: Agreeing on the topic (after which you fill the thesis topic form) and schedule.

    ☀️ First checkpoint
    The student sets up the thesis template and fills in the planned structure of the thesis, after which they submit the Table of Contents (can be the entire thesis PDF, with sketches in each section what they will include) for commenting. Arno will read and comment on the structure. If changes are minor no meeting is required.

    ☀️ Second checkpoint
    The student submits the thesis manuscript PDF to Arno for commenting. In this version, at least the Introduction and Related Work/Background sections should be present. Arno will comment on the writing, the narrative, the use of sources, and citation style. Typically there will be a meeting to go through these.

    ☀️ Third checkpoint
    The student submits the thesis manuscript PDF to Arno for commenting. In this version, the methodology and data should be presented. Arno will comment on the manuscript, and there will be a meeting for going through the comments.

    ☀️ Fourth checkpoint
    The student submits the thesis manuscript PDF to Arno for commenting. In this version, the results/experiments should already be in. In addition, there should be a draft of the Discussion. Arno will comment on the manuscript, and there will be a meeting for going through the comments.

    ☀️ Comments on the near-final thesis
    For the last round of comments, the the student should see the thesis as practically ready. The student submits the thesis manuscript PDF to Arno for commenting, and Arno will go through the thesis: typically at this stage checking the modifications to the Discussion, the Conclusion, the final Introduction and Abstarct.

    ☀️ A final thumbs-up before submitting for grading
    The student submits the thesis to Arno for a final thumbs-up before submitting the thesis for grading. After receiving a thumbs-up, the student uploads the thesis into the grading system.

    ☀️ Master thesis presentation
    The student must present their work before submitting the final thesis. The presentations can either be given in joint presentation sessions in the department where several students present their work at once, or alternatively to a more specialized group of people.


    Please see the sections regarding Resources and Important Information for further information. Please, also read the information on the SCI M.Sc. thesis web pages.