In the recent Secure Software Development module, I had a chance to participate in a group assignment, and I think this experience deserves a dedicated post.

Some context first: so far, each module required three assignments. One of them is usually focused on software design, planning, justification, etc., and is followed by a task to implement the system based on that design.

While the assignment itself was pretty standard and similar to previous ones, this time we had to work in groups on the design document. So, while the idea of working together on something wasn’t entirely new, the group format definitely added a layer of unpredictability—and that’s where things started to get interesting.

Since my last post half a year ago, I’ve completed not one, but two modules: Object Oriented Programming and Secure Software Development. I’m still waiting for the results on the latter, but it got me thinking about a few things, so I figured I’d write a couple of posts while the inspiration’s here.

By the way, this module kind of marks the halfway point for me: it’s the third out of six domain-specific modules (the last two will focus on research methods and the dissertation). Yay! 🎉

First, let’s talk about motivation and engagement. I think these are essential for doing pretty much anything, especially when it comes to a long and expensive educational program. Honestly, motivation was one of the reasons I left my first uni (but that one was free). I’m not sure if it came through in earlier posts, but the previous modules didn’t exactly make studying fun. They didn’t offer much new information or any particularly challenging tasks.

Oh, hi! How’s your winter break been? ❄️❄️❄️
I personally went to Switzerland and enjoyed their nature, raclette, and overpriced everything.

Anyway, now I’m back with some news, as life wasn’t absolutely on hold over the past few weeks since I last posted.

So, to shed some light on what’s under the cut, the topics for today are:

1. Referencing strikes back Pt. 2 (oh yeah)
2. The assignments and the feedback

First, I’d like to complain for a while about the referencing managers. Remember I told you about how I used the Mendeley Reference Manager for the assignment in the induction module? Remember? Now forget.

It’s been a month since my last post—granted, there hasn’t been much to write about. I’m currently working on the first credit-bearing module, “Launching into Computer Science” (but you already knew that). It’s been pretty calm so far, with plenty of reading materials, seminars (and their recordings), and other resources to keep me busy.

Today, I submitted the draft for the module assignment, and it felt like a good moment to share a few words about it. (And one fascinating story.)

The past two weeks were full of new experiences and challenges, as I was making my first steps in the Induction module, learning how to navigate the university resources and the academic tools.

On Wednesday, I submitted the induction assignment — a piece of work to confirm my “compatibility” with the course and its requirements, and was eagerly waiting on the results and feedback. So today I was really happy to see this in my email:

This means that tomorrow I will be starting “Launching into Computer Science” — my first credit-bearing module on the course.

And obviously, it means this blog will almost certainly get even more updates in the future! Stay tuned and follow along as I continue this exciting journey!

One of the core ideas behind student work is that it must express original ideas. Basically, you cannot copy someone else’s work and claim that it’s yours, otherwise it’s plagiarism.

The concept is pretty obvious, I know. But — again, I’d like to stress that my previous venture in academia was brief and shallow — there’s so much more to it. The concept of plagiarism is wider than just copying others’ words, and I’d like to dive deeper into the issue.

In the previous post on the induction assignment, I touched upon the topic of managing reference materials while working on the essay. However, it’s not enough to find the materials; it’s about using the information available from them. How did I go about extracting relevant pieces of information from multiple articles and structuring it?

The Induction module isn’t just some kind of generic intro, it’s also a tool that the university uses to see if the prospective students are fit to start the course they applied to. Let’s talk about the first assignment I’ve submitted — and academic references.

The induction module has effectively finished (although the results are pending), with today being the final day to submit the assignments, so I thought it might be a nice moment to reflect on what’s been happening over the last couple of weeks.