BN518 Master of Science in Computing (Business Intelligence & Data Mining Stream)

Scrappychimow

ITguru wrote: »

Hi jfh,
Do you know any other Masters in Computing/IT course (part time / online) with fees less than 3000, excluding Trinity?
Last year the fees for BN518 was 2500. So sooner you do, the cheaper the fees.

At Trinity there are a couple of courses with fees falling around 2500 range.
http://www.scss.tcd.ie/Fees_1011.php

1. TRS18 MSc Health Informatics 2,500
2. TRS52 MSc in Computer Science
(Networks and Distributed Systems) 2,500
3. TRS55 MSc in Computer Science
(Interactive Entertainment Technology) 2,500
4. TRS53 MSc in Computer Science
(Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing) 2,500
5. TRS54 MSc Technology and Learning 2,500
6. TRS51 MSc Interactive Digital Media 2,500

I tried for MSc Health Informatics, but didnt get through. Though later I came to know that there is not much scope or it here.

Can you still get the higher education grant to pay for the remaining 2500?

Nonie21

Hi,
I'm trying to decide between doing this course and the ucd one, I'm a bit worried about the level of research, peer evaluation thesis etc on this one and whether i'd actually ever finish it, I'd prefer to do exams.
I've done another online course previously and found it fantastic.
Anyone out there done this and can give advice.

Staplor

Nonie21 wrote: »

Hi,
I'm trying to decide between doing this course and the ucd one, I'm a bit worried about the level of research, peer evaluation thesis etc on this one and whether i'd actually ever finish it, I'd prefer to do exams.
I've done another online course previously and found it fantastic.
Anyone out there done this and can give advice.

I'm in the middle of my thesis. I'm managing the course with a full time job and a kid.

Research wise it is fine, you are given papers to research and you can generally pick what direction you want to go in (within reason). They stagger the assignments so they aren't all due the same week.

Peer evaluation is relatively small, I did it only once, and your evaluation does not make the persons grade, the lecturer considers it and then marks the person.

The thesis is tricky to do, but you get plenty of time, the college gives suggestions but you can pick your own, I picked my own. Then they pair you up with a lecturer to bounce ideas back and forth. I'm starting to work on mine now and really cracking into it.

I'm enjoying the course and am finding it useful in work, but interesting also.

Nonie21

Thanks Staplor,

Have you come across many of the tools used in workplaces?

Staplor

My place was pretty backwards, so they weren't used here.

All of the tools they use in class are free for personal use. I've just purchased one package for about €150 which will make my thesis a whole lot easier.

Nonie21

But you learned how to use them as part of the course?

Staplor

Absolutely, they do walk throughs on how to use the software, you do things alongside the lecturer, all of it is recorded, and you can watch it back later, I found that to be brilliant.

I came to the course as someone who was good on Excel, and could use the database querying tool that we have in work.

illdoit2morrow

Staplor wrote: »

Absolutely, they do walk throughs on how to use the software, you do things alongside the lecturer, all of it is recorded, and you can watch it back later, I found that to be brilliant.

I came to the course as someone who was good on Excel, and could use the database querying tool that we have in work.

Hi Staplor,

I hope you don't mind me piggy backing a few questions.

I have enrolled on this course and will start in September. Is there a large 'maths' element to the course?

How many hours outside the lecturers did you put in in an average week to keep abreast with what you covered?

Computing wise, would I need something descent to do some of the assignments?

Staplor

Not really a large maths element, I've never been amazing and managed to follow what was going on. If you are looking at the theory behind a technique there's an algebraic equation behind everything, you don't need to learn it, but it's understandable, so I wouldn't worry about the maths side.

Outside lectures, I honestly did very little, they spread out assignments, and really a weekend of solid work does the smaller papers, maybe 2 for a larger assignment, there was usually 2 small and 1 large assignments. If you have distractions like a family etc, it's great to get them out of the house when you are working.

Computing wise, something decent is handy. By the time I got to Christmas in year 1, I couldn't run a program on my work PC, (2GB Ram), so i got an early christmas present of an i5 processor with 8gb ram, does the job nicely. Got it cheap enough too, think about €600. The faster your computer is, the faster calculations will be done in the programs you use.

conor05

Hi Staplor

Sorry to bump up this thread again, just I am in the process of applying for this course (Late I know) for the September start.

I am coming from a non-computer expert background. I work with AIB in Baggot Street but this is an area I really want to move into. Now I can use all microsoft office and use excel databases at work, just not to a degree computer science level obviously.

Do you reckon the conversion would be do-able?

vigos

Hi Conor05,

There are some prerequisites for entry to the course do you meet those?

http://www.itb.ie/StudyatITB/bn518BID.html

i.e. "Second Class Honours Grade 2 (GPA 2.5 or equivalent) in an NFQ Level 8 Degree in Computing, Science, Engineering, Business with IT, or equivalent"

conor05

Hi vigos

Yes I have an Honours Bsc degree in Quality Control Management with statistic Process Control the main core.

I might actually check with the Tutor Geraldine to see does it meet the specs.

Cheers
Conor

vigos

The course doesn't really have a huge requirement for programming but it will help a lot to be comfortable with computers, databases. Saying that if you haven't done a degree with a programming element it can be a sticking point unless you've working experience to back it up. Anyway best to talk with the tutor to confirm things to be on the safe side

They also have a website describing the course in detail

http://www.dataminingmasters.com/

vigos

Also just saw this might be worth attending, its an online Q&A session

http://www.kdnuggets.com/2015/08/itb-online-msc-bi-data-mining-august.html

conor05

That's excellent. To be honest I am still young enough so I might ask them in the live Q+A is there a bridging course I could do between now and September that would get me up to speed in some core subjects. I don't want to struggle through the Msc and get a poor grade. Be a waste of time and money.
Thanks for sending that on, I would say it will be an informative chat session on the 26th.
Did you do the course yourself?

conor05

I meant a bridging course between now and September 2016!

vigos

Yes I did the course myself,plus I wouldn't put yourself off from not doing the course before talking with Geraldine. I think if you have the interest in the area and are motivated then that’s half the battle.

beauf

How much time a week did it require for you.

illdoit2morrow

vigos wrote: »

Also just saw this might be worth attending, its an online Q&A session

http://www.kdnuggets.com/2015/08/itb-online-msc-bi-data-mining-august.html

That kdnuggets site looks like a good resource to have, thanks for the link vigos.

vigos

beauf wrote: »

How much time a week did it require for you.

Well lectures were generally 5 to 6 hours a week so for me it would vary from week to week but could be anything up to 20 hours including lectures. Another poster had different hours so its really up to the person I think.

vigos

illdoit2morrow wrote: »

That kdnuggets site looks like a good resource to have, thanks for the link vigos.

Yes the guy who founded the website Gregory Piatetsky is one of the big names in data mining. There is also the big data and data analytics forum on here as well that might be worth a look

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1630

beauf

vigos wrote: »

Well lectures were generally 5 to 6 hours a week so for me it would vary from week to week but could be anything up to 20 hours including lectures. Another poster had different hours so its really up to the person I think.

Thanks would you do the same in projects and study in addition to that???

vigos

If you are good at time management you can probably keep it under 20 hours a week for lectures, study and projects. I wasn't so good with mine so ended up having busier weeks at times

illdoit2morrow

They are currently having their live Q&A session, go to

http://www.itb.ie/BusinessIntelligence/