Project Suggestions¶
Introduction¶
A list of project suggestions from staff will be available mid-way through Semester 1. Ordinarily, you will be expected to undertake work based on one of these project suggestions.
Information about the staff suggestions will be listed on the MMP Website.
It is also possible for you to suggest a project topic for consideration by staff; the process to do that is described in the Student Suggestions section.
Staff Suggestions¶
Staff in the department will be supervising projects, each of whom will suggest several project topics. These suggestions will include a title and one or two paragraphs of information about the project. These descriptions are intended to help you decide if you would like to find out more infomation about the topic.
You will build a shortlist of the topics that you would like to learn more about.
Some of these suggestions will be specific and there is a particular aim for the project. Other suggestions will be more open and there is scope to discuss with the staff member an appropriate project based on the topic. Each student will work on a distinct project. For some suggestions, there may be scope to have more than one project based on the suggested topic.
A supervisor will indicate if there could be one or more than one possible projects for a topic.
Some of the staff suggestions that are open-ended will ask you to complete a short form to explain an idea you have for the topic. The link to the form will be available on the same page as the details for the suggestion.
Student Suggestions¶
It is possible for you to propose a project topic as one of the projects that you Bid for. A form will be made available on the MMP Website. You will be able to submit up to two suggestions for discussion.
When you submit your idea, the module co-ordinator will review it and discuss it with some supervisors. We will give you some feedback on the suggestion. It is likely that we will ask you to speak to the module co-ordinator or one of the supervisors to discuss the topic.
When considering the technical scope of the project, review the information in Appendix A: Project Complexity. If we agree to one of your project suggestions, you will only be able to propose one of your suggestions in your list of bids.
If you do include one of your suggestions in your list of topics, your proposal will then be considered as part of the allocation process once all project choices have been submitted.
If we agree to one of your project suggestions, you will only be able to propose one of your suggestions in your list of bids.
If you do include one of your suggestions in your list of bids, your proposal will then be considered as part of the allocation process once all project bids have been submitted.
Note
You are not required to submit your own project suggestion.
If we think the project is suitable in size and scope, and you put it on your list of project bids, then we will see if it is possible to allocate it. This does not guarantee that we will be able to allocate it as your project topic, or that a particular staff member will supervise it.
Requested Information¶
If you want to propose a topic, you will need to provide the following information.
Title - A short name for the project topic, up to 100 characters.
Outline - An outline of up to 500 words that describes the proposed topic.
IPR - Identify if the project would have any relationship with 3rd parties, e.g. using data from the company you worked for during your Industrial Year.
Degree Scheme - A short statement of up to 100 words that relates the topic to your degree scheme.
Data Sets - If your project is planning to use a dataset, e.g. for machine learning or computer vision processing, it would be good to outline what the dataset is and whether the license for the data would permit use on the project. This field will not be relevant for all projects. A description of up to 100 words will be sufficient.
Investigation - If you have done any investigation of the topic, write a short description about what you have done. This description is up to 200 words.
Hardware or Software - Are there any specific requirements regarding hardware or software for the project topics? Do you have access to the relevant hardware or software? What impact would there be on the project if any hardware broke during the project or became unavailable for some reason?
It is worth spending a bit of time to work on a sensible proposal, but please don’t spend too much time because your idea might not be a suitable topic. Add enough detail to give an good impression of what you think might be involved. You are not expected to know how to solve the project or have done much investigation. However, we do want to see that you have given it some thought.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)¶
Each year, students ask about the ownership of the intellectual property in Major/Minor projects. The answer depends upon the type of project and factors such as:
the level and type of input by the supervisor and/or other member of staff, and
the potential use of specialist equipment or facilities provided by the University.
Other factors may also be considered as appropriate.
The Department wants to see students develop the skills to meet the academic standards for the degree and will support the students as they graduate and apply for jobs. If the Major/Minor project can be exploited commercially, the University can provide guidance on taking the ideas further.
In the Major/Minor project a student might generate intellectual property including, without limitation, software code and copyright therein, inventions (both patentable and unpatentable e.g., algorithms) and/or confidential information.
The Aberystwyth University and Bangor University Common Intellectual Property Policy (the “Policy”) sets out the position of the University and student with respect to the creation, ownership, protection and exploitation of Intellectual Property, together with procedures for, and obligations of, staff and students.
The Policy will apply unless otherwise agreed between the student and the University. The student must notify the University via their supervisor prior to signing any agreement with a third party in relation to intellectual property arising via their Major/Minor Project.
In the case where a project might generate or has generated IP that is potentially commercially exploitable, the issue must be discussed with the supervisor in the first instance at the first available opportunity. If the student wishes to carry out a Major/Minor project they consider is based upon their own ideas and not derived from the use of University facilities and/or intellectual property the student should notify their supervisor. The Department of Computer Science may refer the matter to the University’s Research, Business and Innovation (RBI) department. RBI will discuss the matter with all parties and advise on how to proceed. In some situations, the parties might be asked to sign an agreement related to intellectual property. RBI offers a range of support to staff and students of the University interested to start businesses and commercially exploit intellectual property.
If you have any questions about this statement, speak to the module coordinator in the first instance.
