Presentation on Presentation and discussions on the COMNET teaching and curriculum development processes by Mika Nupponen

1. COMNET teaching and curriculum
development processes
Mika Nupponen
M.Sc. (Tech.)
Coordinator
Department of Communications and Networking
Email: mika.nupponen@aalto.fi

2. Outline
• Players in the Field of Education
• Teaching and curriculum development processes
– LPM-process
– Feedback-systems
– Academic year of teaching
– Curricula reform of Bachelor and Master programmes
• ICT & teaching
– Oodi
– Noppa
– Into

3. Players in the Field of Education
• University level:
– Vice President Martti Raevaara (Academic Affairs (Education))
– Academic Affairs Committee
• Decides on the university’s curriculum, degree requirements, and
criteria for student selection, other general rules involving teaching.
• School level:
– Academic & Degree programme Committees
– Vice Dean (Education) Prof. Keino Nikoskinen
– Coordinator of Degree Programme
• Communications Engineering : Prof. Olav Tirkkonen
– Head of Academic Affairs: Dr. Perttu Puska
– School Planners & Study advisors

4. Players in the Field of Education (2)
• Department level:
– Vice head of the Department: Prof. Patric Östergård
– Coordinator
– Secretary (Teaching retated issues)
– Teachers:
• Professors
• Docents
• University Teacher -> University Lecturer -> Senior University
Lecturer
• Doctoral students
• Visiting lecturers
• Research assistants & course assistants

5. Teaching Development Processes
• LPM-process
• Course feedbacks
• School of Electrical Engineer´s (Aalto ELEC) Quality of
Education Committee (OpLaa)
• Teaching Development days

6. LPM-Process
• First phase (deadline in the end of January)
– New courses (additions)
– Removed courses (removals)
– Changes (= changes of teaching period)
– New Major & Minor subjects (modules)
– Responsible professors
• Second phase (deadline in April)
– Course lists of each Major & Minor subjects (modules)
– Description texts of objectives & contents of each Major & Minor
(modules) & Curricula
– Course descriptions to OpasOodi

7. Academic Year of Teaching

8. Course Feedbacks
• Student feedback is a part of the development of
teaching and of the quality assurance system
• The primary goal of student feedback is the
development of teaching, course contents and working
methods.
• The obligation to collect feedback is set forth in Section
5 of the Universities Act (645/1997): 'The universities
shall evaluate their education, research and artistic
activities and their effectiveness. The universities shall
also take part in external evaluation of their activities.
The universities shall publish the findings of the
evaluations they undertake.'

9. Course Feedbacks (2)
• Student feedback is collected from the course participants
primarily with the help of the feedback tool of the Oodi
student data system (PalauteOodi).
– Also: face to face, by e-mail or in feedback sessions.
• The course participants give their feedback via PalauteOodi
most often at the end of the course.
• Giving feedback allows students to influence the future
development of the courses they have taken or of their
degree programme.
• The feedback form has seven questions common for all
courses while the additional questions used are specific to
schools/departments/degree programmes/courses.

10. Course Feedbacks (3)
• After the end of the feedback collection time for a course, the
teacher in charge of the course reads, processes and
analyses the feedback and draws up a summary of the
feedback based on the individual student responses.
• The teacher records the needs for development and, together
with the rest of teaching staff of the course, plans the
development measures to be taken.
• The department or degree programme collects the course
feedback in order to use it as a basis for developing the
content and structure of the degree programme.
– School level: OpLaa!
• The university is in charge of monitoring that feedback is
collected and used in the planning and development of
degree programmes, modules and courses.

11. School of Electrical Engineer´s (Aalto ELEC)
Quality of Education Committee (OpLaa)
• School of Electrical Engineer´s (Aalto ELEC) Quality of
Education Committee (OpLaa) was established in the mid
1990´s being unique at former TKK and current Aalto
University.
• Its members are teachers, professors, researchers,
administrative personnel and students representing their
guilds.
– Students form an essential part of the committee in which they
have had a direct channel for co-operation with the Aalto ELEC
School staff.
• Main functions of the committee are developing teaching,
interviewing applicants for teaching positions, evaluating
demonstration lectures and developing teacher tutoring.

12. School of Electrical Engineer´s (Aalto ELEC)
Quality of Education Committee (OpLaa) (2)
• OpLaa arranges also events and small-scale lectures for
teachers and students concerning teaching, evaluation,
academic life and current study affairs in general.
• Ope-aamiainen (= Teacher breakfast) once a month during the teaching
periods
• The main goal is to improve co-operation between teaching
staff and also students.
• OpLaa makes statements and gives instructions related to
theses evaluation, exams, teaching etc.
• Even if the committee is not an official authority, it has had a
very significant role in the educational development at the
School during its existence.

13. Teaching Development days
• Department arranges at least one Teaching Developmet Day
per year.
• Somewhere outside of Otaniemi
• Teachers with major responsibilities in teaching should
participate, but also those with minor responsibilities (like
teaching assistants) or someone with a general interest in
teaching issues are welcome
• Content:
– Topical issues in teaching
– Practical issues related to (the arrangement of) teaching, exams,...
– Discussion of curricular reform (master level)
– Possible team work,..
– Possible invited speaker(s)

14. Curricula reform of Bachelor and Master
programmes
• In the reform, studies will be more clearly divided into
Bachelor's degree and Master's degree studies.
• Old Bachelor's degree programmes combined and
integrated in fewer degree programmes.
– students will no longer apply to narrow study paths but instead
to wider programmes within which they can choose areas of
specialisation.
– The schools of technology will introduce the new Bachelor's
degree programmes in autumn 2013.
• Master program reform is in starting point
– New master's degree programmes in autumn 2016.

15. Basic Studies (70 cr)
Aalto-studies + compulsory (10 cr)
Curriculum may decide (60 cr)
Major (60 op)
B.Sc seminar (10 cr)
Minor (25 cr)
Elective studies
(25 op)
Basic Studies (82 cr)
Module B1
(20 cr)
Module A1
(20 cr)
Module A2
(20 cr) Elective studies
(10 cr)
B.Sc. sem. (10 cr)
Module O ( 18 cr)
Old B.Sc Degree Programme. New B.Sc Degree Programme.

16. New B.Sc Degree Programme
• Basic Studies:
– Mathematics 25 cr
• Linear Algebra 1 (5 cr)
• Differential and Integral calculation 1-2 (5 + 5 cr)
• Probability and statistics (5 cr)
• Fourier analysis (5 cr.)
– Physics 10 cr.
• Mechanics (5 cr)
• Electricity and Magnetism (5 cr)
– Programming 12 cr.
• Python (5 cr.)
• C (5 cr)
• Mathematical softwares 2 cr. (Matlab, Mathematica)
– Other:
• Electrical Engineering Workshop (8 cr)
• Signals and Systems 5 (cr)
• Aalto Studies

17. New B.Sc Degree Programme
• ELEC-C1110 Fundamentals of Automation and Control Engineering
• ELEC-C7110 Fundamentals of Information Technology
• ELEC-C7210 Modelling and Analysis of Communication Networks
• ELEC-C7220 Information Theory
• ELEC-C7230 Transmission Methods in Communication Systems
• ELEC-C7240 Internet Technology
• ELEC-C7310 Application Programming
• ELEC-C7320 Software Defined Radio
• ELEC-C5210 Stochastic Processes in Communications
• ELEC-C5230 Digital Signal Processing Basics
• ELEC-C5340 Applied Digital Signal Processing

18. Old M.Sc Degree Programme New possible M.Sc Degree Programme.
Module B2
(20 cr)
Module A3
(20 cr)
Special module
(20 cr)
Elective studies
(20 cr)
Methodological studies
(10 cr)
Masters thesis
(30 cr)
Masters thesis
(30 cr)
Master´s
Programme X
(40 - 65 cr)
Elective studies
(25 - 35 cr)
A M.Sc. degree (120 ECTS) is
composed of
•1 Master´s Programme
• MSc Thesis
• Elective studies or/and a Minor

19. ICT & teaching : Oodi
• Oodi consists of two parts: WinOodi, which is the
officials' user interface, and WebOodi, which is used by
students and teachers.
• In WebOodi student may
– check and change your personal data
– check information about courses and their descriptions
– register for courses, examinations, and other teaching events
– check his/her study attainments
– order transcripts of records (unofficial)
– draw up personal study plan
– give course feedback

20. ICT & teaching : Oodi…
• In WebOodi teacher can
– Follow and manage teaching events (courses, examinations,
practice groups) to which the Oodi official has assigned him/her
as the responsible teacher
– Write more detailed descriptions of these events
– Add inquiries for more information to the events. The students
respond to these questions when registering for the event
– View the students registered for a course and their basic
information
– Add students to courses/examinations and accept/reject
registrations
– Print out a list of registered students, which can be edited for
e.g. registering exam results

21. ICT & teaching : NOPPA
• The course portal Noppa is a tool for both students and
teaching staff of Aalto University for everyday course
work and communication.
• Noppa is composed of course home pages that include
e.g.
– course overviews, schedules and exercises,
– course materials,
– information about assignments and exams,
– news and results

22. ICT & teaching : INTO
• Into is a portal for Aalto University students into information
relating to studies and to Aalto services.
– Bachelor and Master's Students: The most important source of
information for Bachelor and Master’s students; content is
organized by School and by degree programme/department. Here
you will find, for instance, information on degree structures,
guidelines for the practices concerning studies, enrollment for the
academic year, graduation and exchange studies as well as news.
– Doctoral Candidates: The most important source of information for
doctoral candidates, organized by doctoral programme. Contains
information related to doctoral studies.
– Services: A set of links to the Aalto services that support students
and studies (e.g.Library, IT Services).
– Campuses: Links to practical information concerning the
campuses.
– About Aalto: General information and news about Aalto University.

23. ICT & teaching: Summary