Learning outcomes

This integrated teaching unit comprises two compulsory learning outcomes: "languages" and "IT development project".
 
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
 
For languages:
 
Describe IT-related topics in detail;
Develop and justify their ideas and points of view using relevant examples and arguments;
Adapt the content, style and register of their speech to the speaker;
Produce a professional presentation using visual aids.
 
For the IT development project:
 
Manage an IT development project;
Use the usual tools used in industrial projects: collaborative source code managers (e.g. SVN/Git), integrated development tools (e.g. Eclipse/Netbeans/IntelliJ), unit testing tools (e.g. JUnit), documentation tools (e.g. JavaDoc, Doxygen, etc.), time management tools (Gantt)... ;
Mobilize the resources needed to manage a project independently;
Write technical documentation for different audiences (e.g. users and IT specialists);
Present a project orally before a jury;
Produce a multimedia presentation of their project.

Goals

The aim of this course is to enable each student to manage an IT project using all the technical, methodological and soft-skills required. In particular, they should be able to present their project orally in the foreign language of their choice: English or Dutch.
 
As far as languages are concerned, the aim is for each student to be confirmed at the end of Bloc 3 as having a B2/B2+ level for oral production in English, or a B1+ level for oral production in Dutch. At the end of the academic year, students must be able to present an IT development project in the foreign language of their choice: English or Dutch.
 
The aim of the IT development project is to make students aware of the various aspects involved in producing a medium- to large-scale program in a context as close as possible to the professional world.
 

Content

With regard to languages, the themes covered in the course will be those required for the oral presentation. More specifically, students will work on various language and linguistic skills through workshops in which they will analyze the practice of professionals, evaluate themselves, put into practice the skills worked on in class, and so on.
 
With regard to the IT development project, the teaching unit is divided into two parts.
 
In the 1st part, students are introduced to tools (SVN/Git, JUnit, JavaDoc, Debugger, IDE...) and some frequently encountered design-patterns, as well as to more advanced aspects of programming (by contracts, API design, use of libraries, etc.) and to the issues involved in open or free software (licenses, models, purposes, constraints...). Students also learn how to write technical and user documentation, as well as how to present a presentation orally and via media (poster, video, etc.).
 
In the 2nd part, students carry out individual development work. This work covers several aspects including specification, design, implementation, testing, writing a manual and reporting on the project's progress in a Gantt chart.

Assessment method

Assessment of this teaching unit is based on 3 learning outcomes:
 
1.          Languages: English or Dutch ("language")
 
The assessment will be based on the student's oral presentation at the end of the year and continuous assessment (oral presentation exercises, linguistic aspects of the video produced in the LA media + grammar and vocabulary tests).
 
If students fail the "Languages" learning outcome in June, they will be allowed te retake the necessary parts during the second session.
 
2.         Computer development project:
 
The overall assessment of the project will focus on the quality of the documentation (user's guide, programmer's guide, code documentation), the quality of the software developed, the completeness of the project, the testing procedures, the management of the project, and the appropriateness of the implementation in relation to the customer's stated requirements.
 
The second session is reserved only for students who have demonstrated continuous effort during the year, or who can demonstrate exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the teachers. By continuous effort, we mean the presentation of all the tests linked to the different learning outcomes, significant and continuous production (documentation, development, video, Gantt charts attested by activities on GitHub among others) as well as effective participation in the video coaching session.
 
3.         Video communication project:
 
This learning outcome consists of producing a video for the general public.
 
If students fail this learning outcome, they may retake it during the second session, provided that they have successfully completed the "Computer Development Project" learning outcome or have been accepted to retake it.
 
The final grade for this teaching unit takes into account the assessment of:
 
- performances and work carried out throughout the year;
 
- an oral defense of the work carried out in June.
 
The "Languages" learning outcome will be assessed on a pass/fail basis (including continuous assessment and final assignment).
 
Credits for this teaching unit will be acquired on condition that the students pass both the "project" AND "language" learning outcomes.
 
The score obtained out of twenty is a weighted sum of 3 points for the video communication project and 17 points for the computer development project.
 
The following reservations apply:
 
Production of the requested videos is mandatory.
Non-participation in the video coaching session is penalized by 2 points out of 20 for the UE.
If, for any reason, the student wishes to change subject between two sessions or during the year, it is up to him to find another subject and a supervisor among the teaching staff, with the prior agreement of the professor of the teaching unit and the clients concerned. A change of topic cannot be an excuse to influence the final grade of the exam.
 
The following reservations apply to the "languages" learning outcome:
 
Participation in the continuous assessment is mandatory
The oral defense of the project in a foreign language (English or Dutch) is mandatory.
Failure to present the oral defense will result in a grade of <10/20 for this teaching unit.
 

Sources, references and any support material

See WebCampus.

Language of instruction

Anglais
Training Study programme Block Credits Mandatory
Bachelor in Computer Science Standard 0 10
Bachelor in Computer Science Standard 3 10