Topic outline

  • Descriptions

    • 1. Self-assessment, beginning of the course
      2. Self-assessment, end of the course


      5. Superstudent 
      6. Time management
      7. Academic writing assignment (in connection with 1, 2, 4 or 5)

      1. Thesis review assignment
      2. Thesis brainstorming assignment
      3. Mentor meeting and meeting report

    • Self-assessment assignments (Periods I, III)


      In this part you do two assignments where you first assess which study skills you need to improve or develop during the course, and in the second evaluate how your goals have realized during the course.  

      First assignment is done in the beginning of the course in September (deadline 24.9.2021) and another assignment towards the end of the course in February (deadline 25.2.2022).

    • Study and career planning (period I)

      The goal of this part is to develop your skills on how to make justified and goal-oriented plans and decisions based on (self)reflection and analysis. In this case the outcome is a motivated personal study plan for your master's degree. This assignment entity consists of two assignments, one mentor meeting and submission of the personal study plan. 

      Career planning assignment (DL 4.10.2021)

      In this assignment you will review the current status of your professional development. The assignment prefaces the actual study plan assignment by offering a possibility to analyse your needs and goals regarding studies. There are three alternative assignments - choose the one that best suits your current situation. Deadline is 4 October 2021.

    • Option A: Career planning assignment - self-evaluation and -awareness
      • This assignment is suitable for those who don't have a clear direction in their studies yet. The assignment will increase your self-awareness for better study planning. Choose this assignment if you are wondering any of the following questions: What should I study and why? Where am I aiming at with my studies? What motivates me, where am I good at?
      • The assignment consists of online assignments and a final submission. The assignment is available here.

    • Option B: Career planning assignment - knowledge, skills and attitudes
      • This assignment is for those who already have a quite clear direction in their studies and some ideas regarding their career after graduation. This assignment will help you with finding better focus for your studies. Choose this assignment if you are wondering eg: I know what I want to study but I'm not sure what is expected in the industry/of graduates. I'm interested in many things but I'm not sure where should I focus in my studies.
      • The assignment consists of information search and a written assignment. The assignment is available here.

    • Option C: Career planning assignment - weak signals

      • This assignment if for those who have a clear direction in their studies and may eg. already have a job in a desired professional field. This assignment invites you to think your studies outside the box. Choose this assignment if you are wondering eg: Where is my career focus? Could there be something I could provide to the field? How to develop further besides regular studies? Is this it? Is there something else my field of study/profession could provide?
      • The assigment consists of reading material and a short essay assignment. The assignment is available here.

    • Study planning assignment
      Based on the career planning assignment, start planning your studies further. The purpose of this assignment is to create a clear study plan with justified course choices based on long term goals. This assignment is submitted to your mentor before your meeting. Assignment is available here. The deadline is 4 October 18.00.

    • Mentor meeting and meeting report
      In the individual mentor meeting, you will discuss with your mentor the questions and topics that emerged in the career and study planning assignments.
      • Meetings take place during Autumn semester.
      • You will be contacted by the Learning Services by e-mail regarding the meeting arrangements (scheduling the meeting).
      • After the meeting, report your attendance here and give brief feedback below.
      • Deadline is 17 December 2021 18.00. 

    • Submission of personal study plan (HOPS)
      After the mentor meeting, finalize your study plan including a schedule (a timing template is available under "timeline" section is Sisu). Submit the elective studies part for approval in SISU (major is in most cases automatically approved, if not, apply for approval for you major as well).  You can update your plan later whenever needed. General instructions for study plan submission can be found in Into (your programme page) under "planning your studies".

      • Deadline is 17 December 2021
      • Also mark the submission in the "submission of personal study plan" here.

    • Choose 3 assignments (periods I-II, III)

      Based on the self-assessment assignment in the beginning of the course, choose three out of seven assignments to complete during the periods I and II. The goal of this part is to develop your academic skills in the area you have chosen from these assignments. 

      The duration of each assignment is one period. Most assignments are available in both autumn periods, I and II. It is advisable not to choose all of the three assignments to period I because of the study planning assignments taking place in the period I.

    • 1. Essay assignment, optional material

      Period: I, II, III

      This part consists of reading material and essay submission.

      • Choose a set of material, new or already familiar to you. Material can be a book, article, or some other content entity, such as online course. 
      • The point is that the material is relevant to you, and you find it useful in developing your study skills. In this assignment however the concept of study skill is understood broadly. Possible topics could be for example time management, study motivation, taking care of your well-being and managing stress or career planning during your studies.
      • Read the material and write an essay concerning the chosen topic.
      • Detailed instructions on the essay you can find from the assignment section. Submission deadline in the third period is 11.2.2022 at 18.00.

    • 2. Ethics in Technology

      Period: I, II, III

      This part consists of reading material, short assignment submission and commentaries.

      "If it’s true that all human activity is morally charged, then also the design, manufacturing and sales of technical devices are always morally charged. A device has been developed to bring something good for both its producer and its user. These “goods” and the ways they are pursued can be morally evaluated." (Topi Heikkerö, Tekniikan etiikka 2009).


      Success in complex and holistic engineering practices requires more than problem-solving abilities and technical competencies. The ever-growing amount and versatility of emerging technologies call for ethical awareness and competence for ethical considerations from professional engineers. If a company is contemplating questions about what they do, how they do it and how it will affect the surrounding society and people, it’s evident that ethical considerations are present.

      This assignment will provide you with theoretical background and practical tools for ethical analysis.

      The assignment and the instructions are available here. Deadline of the first part of the assignment is on 28.1.2022 at 18.00 and 11.2.2022 at 18.00 for the second part.

    • 3. Getting things done online workshop

      Period: II

      This part consists of reading material, two short assignment submissions and an online contact session.

      Description

      Do you find yourself putting of your assignments? Or is it typical for you to start doing what you should do just before deadlines? Do you procrastinate? This part is suitable for all students who want to develop their skills to ‘get things done on time’. 

      Teacher of the workshop is study psychologist Mikko Inkinen.

      Instructions

      First, you read about procrastination and describe briefly your delaying behavior as a student (3 hours). Then we meet in the online contact session and learn from each other the skills to get things done (3 hours). Finally, you write an essay on what you have learned and how you get along with your delaying behavior (3 hours).

      Students who have proceeded to master's programme from ELEC bachelor's programme: similar assignment has been a part of the Study planning course in the bachelor's programme. Note that there might be some overlapping content in this part. If you choose this assignment, you will be asked to go back to your old course assignments in the bachelor's course and reflect your current situation to your past situation. Further instructions are in the preassignment description.

      Schedule 


      Further instructions of the preassignment and final assignment can be found from the assignment section.

    • 4. Learning skills online workshop
      Period: I, II, III

      This part consists of reading material, practical exercise and assignment submissions.

      Description
      Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to rote memorize details by heart? On the other hand, sometimes learning feels rather pleasant when details, which you did not understand before, fall into place. This workshop deals with understanding how learning and studying routines may be improved. Also, we try to develop learning routines that would make learning deeper, more meaningful and long-lasting. A number of practical tips will be included.

      Disclaimer: You do not learn any magic tricks here because there are not such available. But you can become a better learner if you are curious to do so. If you are not interested in developing your learning skills, do not select this one.

      Workshop consists of preassignment and familiarization with material, and planning of a learning experiment (4 hours), and execution and reflection of the experiment (4 hours).

      Passing criteria: all tasks returned are written with constructive and narrative manner and they feature the learning outcomes of the workshop.

      Teacher of the workshop is university lecturer Jari Holopainen.

      Students who have proceeded to master's programme from ELEC bachelor's programme: similar assignment has been a part of the Introduction to studies and Study planning course in the bachelor's programme. Note that there might be some overlapping content in this part. If you want to choose this part focus on the content that you did not practice in the bachelor's courses.

      Instructions, period III

      Weeks 1-2, preassignment

      You can find the instructions of the preassigment from the assignment section.
      Deadline for the preassigment is 28.1.2022 at 18.00.


      Weeks 3-4, reflection part

      Use about four (4) hours of time for this part. Write with full sentences and constructive & narrative manner, - i.e. no bullet points.  

      Reflect and write down about your learning experiment. Explain, how did it work out. Did you get any benefit of it and how? Derive and tell improved ways for learning based on your test. 

      Return your writing by 11.2.2022 at 18.00 in the assignment section.

    • 5. Superstudent

      Period: I, II, III

      This part consists of reading material, practical exercise and assignment submission.

      Description
      The theme of this part is learning. The reading material is the book "Superstudent" (Valkonen, 2016), which       deals with learning in understandable and practical manner, using scientifically proven results.

      This part will provide you with theoretical background to observe your learning and the factors that motivate you to learn. It also introduces practical tips for more effective learning.

      Students who have proceeded to master's programme from ELEC bachelor's programme: similar assignment has been a part of the Introduction to studies course in the bachelor's programme. Note that there is overlapping content in this part. If you want to choose this part focus on the content that you did not practice in the bachelor's course.

      Instructions, period III
      Weeks 1 and 2 (17.-28.1.2022)

      1. Read the book "Superstudent".
      http://www.tommivalkonen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Superstudent-1.pdf       (in English)
      http://www.tommivalkonen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Mestariopiskelija.pdf (suomeksi)

      2. After each chapter take some time to consider what you have read. You can consider the following:
          -Did you learn something new?
          -Did your perception of the matter handled in the chapter change, and if it did, how?

      3. Make short notes of each chapter for yourself.

      When you are ready, mark the first part completed in the assignment section "I have read the book and made notes of each chapter".

      Weeks 3 and 4 (31.1.-11.2.2022)

      1. Choose one practice or technique that Valkonen in telling about in his book, and try it in practice at least once.

      2. Make short notes:
           -What did you try?
           -How did it succeed?
           -Are you going to continue with the practice you tried?

      3. Write a short text and submit it by Friday 11.2.2022 at 18.00 in the assignment section.

      Further instructions on the text assignment can be found from the submission activity under the link above.

    • 6. Time management

      Period: I, II, III

      This part consists of reading material, practical exercise and assignment submission.

      Description

      This set of exercises is suitable for students who need to focus on improving their time management skills. This self-study material and its assignments focus on two common problems: having too much to do and having trouble getting things done.

      Self-study material offers opportunities to:
      - look at your time use as a self-management skill
      - learn to make schedules and stay on them
      - learn new skills on the area of time management and review what you already know.

      Students who have proceeded to master's programme from ELEC bachelor's programme: similar assignment has been a part of the Introduction to studies course in the bachelor's programme. Note that there is overlapping content in this part. Consider whether it is useful to you to do the weekly schedule exercise again and recap the time management contents.

      Instructions, period III

      Weeks 1 and 2 (17.-28.1.2022 )

      Material of this part can be found from here: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/course/view.php?id=23146

      1. Go through the parts 1: ABC of time management, and 2: Well planned is half done, in the self-study material page, and prepare the weekly plan concerning the week 3. Spread the go-through of the sections over a period of several days so you have enough time to read the theory part and do the exercises carefully. This way they are most beneficial to you.

      2. When you are ready, mark the first part completed in the assignment section "I have read the materials in sections 1 and 2, done the exercises and prepared the weekly plan for week 3" (at the latest by the end of the week 2).


      Weeks 3 and 4       (31.1.-11.2.2022) 

      1. During the week 3 follow the plan and observe how your plan works in practice.

      2. During week 4 go through part 3:       Evaluate the schedule! in the material. Make notes and evaluate, how your plan worked. Also draft a plan for next week taking account the findings you have done during the week 3. Take a look at the part Extra: More tips on making schedules in the future.

      3. Write a short text and submit it by Friday 11.2.2022 at 18.00 in the assignment section.

      Further instructions on the text assignment can be found from the submission activity under the link above.

    • 7. Academic writing assignment
      Period II

      This assignment can be selected only if you complete one of these assignments in (preferably) period 1: Essay assignment, Ethics in technology, Learning skills, Superstudent. In this assignment you will elaborate further the text that you have produded in one of the previous assignments.

      This assignment is to practise your formal, specifically academic, writing skills in English. It is an opportunity for you to receive feedback on your writing skills from an English teacher for whatever your own personal motivation might be.

      The outcomes are:

      - to possess better awareness of your personal writing profile in writing more academic/ research-based text,
      - to harness suggestions and support for further development of your skills.

      See detailed description of the assignment here.


    • Master's Thesis process start (periods III-IV)

      In this part you familiarize yourself with the requirements of the master's thesis and prepare for your own thesis process. The goal is to provide sufficient information and skills for starting the thesis work during the second year of the master's studies.

      This part consists of a lecture, two assignments and one mentor meeting.


      1. What is a master's thesis - info lecture
      • The lecture explains both the formal and the substance requirements of the master's thesis.
      • Lecture is on Monday 17 January 2022, 16-18

      2. Master's thesis review assignment
      • What did others do? Reviewing a completed thesis is the best way to familiarize yourself with the thesis requirements.
      • Deadline is on 25 February 2022 at 18.00.
      • Assignment is available here.

      3. Master's thesis brainstorming assignment
      • In this assignment you take the first step in planning your own master's thesis project.
      • Deadline is on 25 February 2022 at 18.00.
      • Assignment is available here.

      4. Mentor meeting
      In this individual mentor meeting you will discuss with your mentor the questions or topics that emerged in the thesis brainstorming assignment.

      • Meetings take place during late February-April.
      • You will be contacted either directly by your mentor or by the Learning Services regarding the meeting arrangements (scheduling the meeting).
      • Report your meeting here by 16.4.2022.

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