Master Project

Doel vak

The Master program in Artificial Intelligence is a scientific program that aims to provide the student with the knowledge, experience and insights in AI needed to autonomously carry out his/her professional duties. It is designed to prepare the student for further education as scientific researcher (Ph. D. studies) as well as to offer a solid basis for a career in business at an academic level. Moreover, the program aims at educating students to acquire a practical understanding of the position of the field of Artificial Intelligence within a broad scientific, philosophic and societal context. The Master Project AI marks the end of the Master program in Artificial Intelligence and aims to cover all its intended final learning outcomes.

The learning outcomes of the course (based on the Dublin descriptors) are as follows:

1. Knowledge and Understanding (reading up on relevant AI techniques for the project at hand);
2. Applying Knowledge and Understanding (applying the AI techniques within the project);
3. Making judgements (finding an appropriate technique, applying the technique for a specific case);
4. Communication skills (reporting on your approach, choices and your results and how to present your work)
5. Learning skills (e.g. finding new relevant techniques, assessing their suitability, etc.).

Inhoud vak

The Master Project AI marks the end of the Master programme in Artificial Intelligence. Information about possible projects (incl. internships) can be found on the Master Projects Canvas site.

Internships proposed by students need prior approval by a staff member, who will also be involved in the project supervision.

The graduation project lasts between 5 and 6 months, and (typically) involves implementation of an artificially intelligent system and conducting experiments to evaluate performance. Deliverables include (not limited to) a project plan written in the first month, a written thesis and a final presentation.

For more details and deliverables, see Canvas and Assignments.

Aanvullende informatie onderwijsvormen

Your master project is typically supervised by a staff member with a PhD title and (general) expertise in the topic of your research. Postdocs and (assistant/associate) Professors are hence qualified to be your main supervisor. Persons outside of the VU AI staff may also be asked as supervisor. A PhD candidate may still be your daily supervisor, in which case the main supervision should be in the hands of someone who does have a PhD title. The grading is performed by two examiners who hold a PhD degree, of which at least one should be a VU staff member (typically the supervisor). The second examiner needs to comply with the VU's formal requirements for second examiners as well, even in the case that (s)he is not a staff member at the VU or a collaborating University.

Toetsvorm

The final grade will be based on the quality of the research (40%), the written thesis (40%), and the final presentation (20%).

For detailed information on grading see the grading rubric on Master Project AI Canvas page.

Vereiste voorkennis

The student needs to have successfully completed 60 ECTS (in total) of the MSc Artificial Intelligence to start with the master thesis, which marks the final part of the master AI.

Aanvullende informatie doelgroep

Overige informatie

In this course, generative AI (GenAI), such as ChatGPT or similar tools, may only be used for orientation and brainstorming, for example to explore ideas or clarify questions. GenAI may not be used to generate content that becomes part of the final submission. The final product must be based entirely on the student's own understanding, analysis, and wording. Incorrect use of GenAI is considered fraud. If established, the submitted work or assessment result will be declared invalid, and the Examination Board may impose further measures.

Toelichting Canvas

For all rules, assessment criteria, contact persons, and many practical tips for your master project, see the Master project page on Canvas.