BSc.

Course Description

The lecture introduces students to scientific work. The basic forms of written and oral knowledge representation will be described. We will discuss how to write texts in the context of computer science, and how these texts will be read and reviewed. In addition, legal, ethical and philosophical problems of science in general and of computer science in particular will be introduced. Further, problems of gender and diversity in computer science and in lectures will be presented, and solution strategies discussed.

Qualification goals
Students can independently familiarize themselves with a computer science topic using scientific literature and are able to acquire the relevant state of the art. They can identify suitable coherent and relevant parts of a field of knowledge and process these into a presentation concept. They can present this content in a structured and comprehensible manner and elaborate on it in a written paper. They can use common lecture and presentation techniques and tools and are able to take gender and diversity aspects into account in the lecture and presentation. They will be able to contextualize and discuss the content of a lecture they have heard.

Course Content
Students develop the concept of “scientific work” in the context of computer science and deal with the forms of written and oral knowledge generation and representation (e.g. comprehensibility; accuracy). They learn the basic concepts of scientific publishing, peer reviews and open science as well as problems and solutions in the area of gender and diversity in computer science research. They choose a presentation topic (e.g. based on a lecture topic) using the literature provided and expand this literature through independent research. The students prepare the topic based on the literature and thus develop an understanding of the topic, which should also include their own considerations. Based on this, students develop a presentation, give it and discuss any questions. They prepare a written paper based on the presentation.

Overview of proseminars
An overview of the proseminars can be found here: https://www.fu-berlin.de/vv/de/modul?id=836970&sm=870180

Proseminar: Theoretical Computer Science (Katharina Klost)
Seminar/Proseminar: Smart Homes and the World of IoT (Marius Max Wawerek)
Proseminar: Interactive Intelligent Systems - A Human-Centered Perspective (Malte Heiser)
Seminar/Proseminar: Information Theoretical Foundations of ML (Gerhard Wunder)
Active Learning, Uncertainty and Explainability for Biomedical Applications (Katharina Baum)

Further information
This lecture takes place in seven double periods (1 SWS total). However, these do not start at the beginning of the lecture period and end before the end of the lecture period.

Wed, 14.05.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall
Wed, 21.05.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall
Wed, 28.05.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall
Wed, 04.06.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall
Wed, 11. 06.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall
Wed, 18.06.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall
Wed, 02.07.2025 10:00-12:00 in the computer science lecture hall (***new date***)

Examination
The examination aspect of the module will be dealt with in the proseminar part (presentation).
Active participation will also be assessed in the proseminar part (written paper, participation in the discussion of each lecture).
However, in contrast to the other lectures in the degree program, this lecture is subject to compulsory attendance (i.e. one absence is permitted, several are not; RSPO §9).

Here you can find our Code of Conduct.

Schedule