Hello 603 students,

Welcome to the University of Alberta grad program, and to CMPUT 603.  I hope
you are settling in to your new university (or perhaps to your new program
in a familiar university).

As Nelson mentioned at lunch today, there are a few dates to be aware of
with regard to CMPUT 603.  Your first class with the instructor (Dr. Nelson
Amaral) is not until September 12th, as you are busy with various
orientation presentations before then.  For that reason, you should pay
attention to this email. :)

* In general you should be familiar with the course schedule and course
website: http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~c603/

* Your first reading assignment is due on Monday, September 17th
(http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~c603/readings.shtml).  You should be prepared
for an in-class discussion of the reading on that day.

* On September 24th, you need to pass in your test results from the ethics
modules.  I will include more information about that in a future email.

* On or before September 19th, email the TA (me) the research paper you
intend to use as a basis for paper 1.  Remember to send a PDF file, and not
just the title.  A direct URL to a PDF is also fine.  The actual paper 1
submission is due in October 10th.

To explain, a central component of 603 is the mock conferences.  During the
course, you will write and submit two papers.  Each student will then
peer-review several of the submitted papers, and the author will write a
rebuttal - just as happens for many academic conferences.  (For the second
paper, you will be divided in program committees and proceed with that
aspect of conferences as well, but more about that in the future.)  Paper 1
is designed to introduce you to the aspects of composing an academic
technical paper.  It is described in detail on the website:
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~c603/paperspecs.shtml

Submission instructions for Paper 1 will follow in the next week or so.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  I
am, after all, here to help. :)

Cheers,

-Mike