The PDCS master program at VU University Amsterdam
Transcript of The PDCS master program at VU University Amsterdam
The PDCS master programat VU University Amsterdam
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Amsterdam
Bustling international city, capital ofthe Netherlands
Renowned cultural, scientific andcommercial center
Over 50 museums
Many restaurants, excellent shopping,friendly bars
Extensive public transport network
English widely spoken
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Campus
Compact campus in south-westAmsterdam
All amenities within walking distance
In the fastest growing economic regionof the Netherlands
Excellent transport connections
20 minutes from the historic city centre
8 minutes from the Schiphol airport
Vibrant Romanian community (3Romanians researchers in the ComputerSystems group, many more masterstudents)
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Short Track Master: one master, two degrees
Spend your final study year atVU University Amsterdam
Get a double degree
You can choose from a widevariety of courses
You will improve your positionin the labor market
You will gain internationalexperience
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Special masters program: PDCS
Andrew Tanenbaum
Goal: prepare for PhD studies
Highly systems oriented:I Operating systemsI Computer networksI Distributed systemsI Network securityI Parallel & Grid computing
Very international students:I India, PakistanI US, Canada, Venezuela, IcelandI Europe
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Study program overview
Hardworking students
1st year: at UPB
2nd year: strong focus on researchI Research seminars – studying &
presenting scientific papersF Read some of the best recent
research papers in the domainF Prepare difficult presentations,
improve your presentation skillsF Debate the presented topics
I Research proposal writing – the realthing
F Prepare your own proposalF Have it evaluated by your peersF Evaluate proposals from fellow
studentsF Learn to argue about good and bad
proposals
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2nd-year program overview
Mandatory:I Sep-Oct: Advanced topics in distributed systemsI Nov-Dec: Advanced topics in computer and network securityI Nov-Dec: Research proposal writingI Jan-Jun: Master project
Plus at least one course out of:I Sep-Oct: Coding and complexityI Sep-Oct: Evolutionary computingI Sep-Dec: Performance analysis of communication networksI Nov-Dec: Computer GraphicsI Nov-Jan: Parallel programming practicalI Feb-Mar: Distributed algorithmsI Anytime: Selected topics in parallel and distributed systems
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Master projects
Master projects are directly linked with our own research
Examples of projects from last yearI Data placement in a scalable transactional data storeI Aggregate queries in NoSQL Cloud data storesI P2P social networkingI Impact of security techniques on BGP performanceI Distributed Model Checking of JVM BytecodeI Fast TCP on StreamlineI Reverse engineering of data structuresI Record, replay and attack detection for normal Linux processesI Etc.
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Meet the team
Andrew Tanenbaum (full professor)I Operating system security (Minix)I RFID-based systems
Henri Bal (full professor)I Support for parallel programmingI Parallel applications
Maarten van Steen (full professor)I Large-scale decentralized systemsI Peer-to-peer systemsI Extreme wireless ad-hoc networks
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Meet the team
Herbert Bos Bruno Crispo Thilo Kielmann Guillaume Pierre Spyros Voulgaris
Herbert Bos: reverse engineering of stripped binaries
Bruno Crispo: network security, secure sensor networks
Thilo Kielmann: programming support for computing grids & clouds
Guillaume Pierre: scalable Web hosting, cloud computing
Spyros Voulgaris: P2P, sensor networks
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Facilities
DAS4: our wide-area distributed clustercomputer
I 5 sites across the NetherlandsI 200 dual-quad-core compute nodesI GPUsI Insanely fast networks (10 Gb/s between
clusters thanks to dedicated light paths)
Fun part: you get to use it
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Career prospects
90% of students complete studies in two years
Virtually all PDCS students graduate with honorsI Only 10% of regular computer science students manage to accomplish
this
90% of students are offered PhD positionsI VU, INRIA, EPFL, ETH Zurich, Georgia Tech, Waterloo, etc.
Lots of job opportunitiesI On graduation date, 100% of our students have a job that matches
their qualification
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Admission criteria
A solid grounding in Computer Science,especially computer architecture, com-puter networking, operating systems, dis-tributed systems.
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Financial matters
Tuition fees: 1713 e/year
Cost of living: ∼ 1000 e/month(including accommodation)
VUFP fellowships available: 5500 e
Research assistant jobs:∼ 500 e/month
If you have a job ≥ 8 hours/week:you can apply for an extra grantand/or loan
Without a job you can apply for aloan
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Application procedure
You will need a formal approval fromthe coordinator stating that you havebeen selected for the Short TrackMaster
A completed application form, a formwith a list of completed courses, a proofof proficiency in English
In April, the Examination board willdecide which applicants get admitted.Applicants will be notified by Mayabout the result of their application andscholarship
Deadlines:I VU Fellowship program: March 1stI PDCS enrollment: April 1st
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VU starter’s kit
We will arrange for you:I HousingI VisaI Residence permit
International student association: ESN-VUniverse
A mentor to answer all your questions
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More information
http://pdcs.vu.nl
Ms. Greetje Gorens(official matters)
Dr. Corina Stratan(Romanian postdoc)[email protected]
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