Telecommunication Engineering Arjan Meijerink TE Presentation – May 29, 2012.

Telecommunication Engineering

Arjan Meijerink

TE Presentation – May 29, 2012

Education at the UT – new curriculum ; tasks of PhDs; tasks of supervisors Mark Bentum

3

Assessment of EE curriculum

2010 Good quality (BSc/MSc)

But All EE curricula failed in effectiveness Possibly talent is lost… The reaction on effectiveness and duration is rather phlegmatic

In coming years serious efforts are expected to improve the success !!

4

Causes of the delay

Some courses might ask too much Many assignments take substantionally longer time than

scheduled Decision for the fitting master program causes delays

Main point: student have priorities of their own choice

5

Problems in the assignments

We observe the following:

Huge delays in the projects - often ~1 year. Responsibilities are not always clear Poor background in writing …

…and in structuring research

6

Conclusions

Tell you about the new Electrical Engineering curriculum and the rational behind it.

Show you that the duration of the assignment is one of the main problems. This is also the case for PhD projects.

Show you the structure of assignments. Tell you about a career in science. Give you some tips and expectations

Open issues: How to write a paper/report/thesis How to structure research


Arjan Meijerink


in

Some practical hints for preparingreports, papers and presentations

(8)Outline

1. Motivation2. Proficient communication3. Some myths & facts about writing4. Preparation5. The actual writing6. Revision7. Other forms of communication8. Conclusion

(9)Outline


(10)2. Proficient communication

Communication should be effective efficient acceptable

and this is determined by factors such as goal

audience

boundary conditions

e.g. knowledge transfer, seeking feedback,building reputation, convincing (!), entertainment

relation? knowledge? attitude/opinion?culture? goals? (!)

i.e. form (written/oral), length, house style, tools, time for preparation, etc.

(11)Outline


(12)3. Some myths & facts about writing (1)

MythWriting is a matter of

talent personal taste inspiration choosing the proper words and sentences following a procedure with a predefined order ‘first time right’

(13)

Facts Writing is like solving a problem There are good and bad approaches Being a proficient writer is mostly a matter of attitude The writing process consists of subprocesses:

o planning o data collection and orderingo text formulation and formattingo revising

Good writers spend relatively much time on planning, and revise more often and more thoroughly

3. Some myths & facts about writing (2)

(14)

smugness rigidity

resistance against rational and systematic approach

disregard of audience

postponing exaggerated perfection

overcompletenes

self-criticism professionalism reflection systematics

empathy inner dialog with reader go ahead! revision satisfaction with imperfect selectivity and focus

3. Some myths & facts about writing (3)

(15)Outline


(16)4. Preparation (1)

Task orientation Goal? main purpose/message? limitations? Readers? goals? knowledge? shadow readers? Boundary conditions:

oon the product? format, length, illustrations?oon the proces? deadline(s), sources, help, tools?

Examples: Paper in IEEE Transactions Article in Scintilla’s magazine “De Vonk” Project proposal for STW

(17)4. Preparation (2)

Determining contents and order What is the main question to be answered? How to organize this in subquestions?

Common in engineering science: problem structureoWhat is the problem to be solved? goal/question oWhy is it a problem? motivation/relevanceoWhat is the cause? technical background/analysisoWhat is the solution? conclusion/answer

What is the proper detail level?Collecting data: Literature

Research results

(18)Outline


(19)5. The actual writing (1)

Outline Title Authors Division in chapters, (sub)sections, (sub)paragraphs Abstract/summary References Appendices Writing style & layout Acronyms & symbols Figures & tables Equations


Titlepurposes:

structuringo themeo keywordso type of text

motivating

possible approach: title – subtitle

be creative…e.g. review, comparison, analysis, …


Arjan Meijerink


in

Some practical hints for preparingreports, papers and presentations


Authors anybody who had a scientific contribution to content,

i.e. novel technical idea, reasoning, approach, …i.e. not for:

technical assistance/measurement/production explaining background material editorial assistance

Order? often: student(s), advisor(s),

…, supervisorAll authors are responsible for contents

acknowledgment

including author list!


Division in chapters, (sub)sections, (sub)paragraphs (1)1. Introduction

Opening Scope: goal/question Outline

Not: Personal background Acknowledgment Technical details

Preface/epilogue/footnote

Chapter/Section 2 !

Wide field

Topic

Funnel openingNovelty?

Descriptive! Logical?Related work?

Motivation!


Division in chapters, (sub)sections, (sub)paragraphs (2)x. Conclusion(s) (and recommendations)

Goal achieved?or: answer to research question

Future perspective, e.g.oapplicationso relation to future work ocall to action

Not: summary

Remaining chapters/sections: support of conclusion

Abstract !

Connect to introduction!


Division in chapters, (sub)sections, (sub)paragraphs (3)

Example 1:1. Introduction2. Technical background/analysis3. Research approach4. Results5. Conclusions

Example 2:1. Introduction2. Problem analysis3. Problem 14. Problem 25. Problem 36. Overall conclusionSections as in Example 1

Conventional!

Balance overview/logic vs. overkill vs. esthetics


Abstract/summary Summary of context, scope, support, conclusion Typically

o1–2 pages, ~1 paragraph/chapter (report) o1 paragraph, 1–3 lines/section (paper)

So distinguish between: Preface: personal notes etc. outside scope Introduction: context, scope, outline Conclusion: evaluation/answer Abstract: context, scope, support, conclusion


References Not: list of consulted or recommended material Purpose: honor / support / context Form: quote / summary / citation Descriptive & traceable (complete!) In order of citation

[4] http://www.utwente.nl/ewi/te/

Better: [4] Web site of the Telecommunication Engineering Group at the University of Twente,http://www.utwente.nl/ewi/te/.

refer!


AppendicesAnything that is relevant but not essential for understanding

e.g. raw data, mathematical proof, source codeor at least not for every reader

e.g. summary background knowledge

refer!


Writing style & layout be specific and precise be punctual (spelling & layout) be consistent follow conventions

Acronyms & symbols Introduced once, upon first occurrence

Exception: abstract Abbreviated words not capitalized. Exception: names

The probability density function (PDF) is given by […]. From this PDF it follows that …


Figures & tables Purpose: illustration, support, attraction, esthetics Should explain (not be explained) Should not contain more information than needed

e.g. graphs Independent var. on x axis; dependent var. on y axis Clearly define variables and units Scales: illustrative and consistent

refer!

(31)

What could be improved?

Figure 5.3: Measurement of the RC filter. The measurement matches well with the theory.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

time [s]

v

olta

ge [

V]

theory

measurement

?small…

dashed lines do not make sense…

in text!

(32)

Better..

Figure 5.3: Theoretical and measured output voltage of the RC filteras a function of time

0 20 40 60 80 1000

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

time [s]

v

olta

ge

[V]

theorymeasurement


Figures & tables Purpose: illustration, support, attraction, esthetics Should explain (not be explained) Should not contain more information than needed

e.g. graphs Independent var. on x axis; dependent var. on y axis Clearly define variables and units Scales: illustrative and consistent

Captions Below figure or above table Should only describe what is there (no interpretation!)

refer!


Equations are part of the sentence should be written in well-defined symbols

The voltage is given by […], in which …

italic Roman (not italic) variables x, V function names f (x) indices ai

operators/parentheses + > (.)

common functions cos(x) words/acronyms Vout(t) numbers and units 1 cm vectors: boldlowercase v matrices: bold uppercaseM

(35)Outline


(36)6. Revision Write in rounds: first rough contents, then details Proofread

o Is the main question answered?oAre order and detail level appropriate?o Is everything consistent?oAre boundary conditions met?o…

(Make notes during writing!) Reconsider focus/structure/audience Kill your darlings! Let others (co-authors?) review Instruct them

(37)Outline


(38)7. Other forms of communication

PresentationsMain difference with report/paper?

perception by audience!i.e. more effort required on:

focus motivation completeness

Main difference oral/poster presentation?

Other examplesE-mails, phonecalls, meetings, …

clear presentation stressing important things …

(39)8. Conclusion

Proper writing is mainly a matter ofbeing aware of your goal

and having the right attitude

…just like doing the actual research itself

(…and many other things you do in life).

Good luck writing…and advising others

how to do it!

Telecommunication Engineering Arjan Meijerink TE Presentation – May 29, 2012.

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