Requirements for Entrance Examination for Doctoral Study Programme Computer Science (P1801),

branch of study Autonomous Systems

Doctoral Study Programme:

Computer Science

Branch of study:

Autonomous Systems

Address of department:

Silesian University in Opava
Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
The Institute of Computer Science
Bezručovo nám. 1150/13
746 01 Opava
The Czech Republic

E-mail: hana.cerninova (at) fpf.slu.cz
Tel: +420 553 684 368

Admission requirements:

• a completed university study of master degree in computer science (obtained title MSc. or a corresponding engineer title in computer science)

• knowledge of computer science corresponding to a master degree, and a proof of expertise based on published or unpublished results
• successful passing of an admission interview focused mainly on a general background in computer science and a potential study profile of the candidate
• elementary knowledge of English, both common and specialized to computer science
• a preliminary agreement with a potential PhD thesis supervisor

The condition of admission of applicants who have completed a Master's degree at a foreign university is recognized nostrification - officially certified copy (copy) of the recognition certificate of foreign higher education and qualifications in the Czech Republic.

The final admission decision depends on the Dean of the Faculty, on the base of recommendation of the admission committee composed of guarantors of the study program.

Planned number of students admitted:

Full-time study:                      2
Part-time study:                     2

Application Fee: 590 CZK

Payment of the administrative fee for an electronic application must be made only via non-cash payment and must include the specific symbol. If the specific symbol is not listed or incorrectly stated, the application will be discarded as unpaid. The wrongly paid fee must be reimbursed correctly by 15.08.2019.

The applicant is supposed to submit the electronic form

He is not supposed to send the printed version of the application form or its shortened version.

Mandatory annexes to the application:

• a copy of master´s degree, diploma supplement or certificate of final state exam officially certified by vidimation- not for graduates FPS SU; (Applicants who have not completed a Master's degree, are required to submit a copy of a master´s degree, diploma supplement or certificate of final state exam officially certified by vidimation during the entrance exam or study enrollment at the latest

• CV including an overview of current professional experience
• list of current publishing activities
• preliminary approval of a potential supervisor of candidate with a proposal of the dissertation thesis

The condition of admission of applicants who have completed a Master's degree at a foreign university is recognized nostrification - officially certified copy (copy) of the recognition certificate of foreign higher education and qualifications in the Czech Republic.

Bankers:

Name of the bank:                             ČSOB Ostrava
Account Number:                               8010-0309706853/0300
Variable symbol for the bank:            0175000219
Specific symbol:                                 birthcode of candidate/without slash

Data for foreign payers:

IBAN: CZ51 0300 0080 1003 0970 6853
SWIFT CODE: CEKOCZPP

Fee study carried out in English:

P1801 Computer Science - 2600 EUR / per year

The fee is paid in EURO or the equivalent amount of CZK exchange rate announced by the Czech National Bank valid on the date of payment.

Bankers:

Name of the bank:                ČSOB Ostrava
Account Number:                   8010-0309706853/0300
Variable symbol:                    0175000419
Specific symbol:                     birthcode of candidate/without slash (YYYYMMDD)

Address for delivery of applications:

Silesian University in Opava
Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Department of Science and Foreign Relations
Bezručovo nám. 1150/13
746 01 Opava
The Czech Republic

Tel: +420 553 684 252
Email: eva.jakubcova (at) fpf.slu.cz

Application deadline: 15th August 2019

Date of entrance exam:   September 2019

Detailed study information:

The goal of the doctoral study of computer science in the branch of study Autonomous Systems is the training of experts for design, research and applications of a broad spectrum of autonomous and multiagent systems. Students choose their specialization among topics like artificial intelligence (cognitive systems), knowledge systems and knowledge engineering, theoretical and applied robotics, drone control and processing of data streams from drones (UAV – Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles), mathematical modelling of multi-agent systems, bio-inspired multiagent computing, supercomputing technologies and more. They have also wide opportunities of participation in research projects, grant support, short-term and long-term foreign research stays.

Graduate profile:

PhD graduates will find jobs as top IT experts in both private companies and public sector organizations. They are able to participate at the development of open-source software platforms, to lead teams developing large software projects, to design and build knowledge bases, to become consultants of the latest information technologies. Last but not least, they can continue their academic career as investigators at universities and international research centers.

Study organization:

The study program is available in full-time and part-time form. Standard study duration is 3 years in the full-time form and 5 years in the part-time form. In return, they will participate in teaching duties of the Institute of Computer Science, up to 4 hours weekly.

The study follows an individual study plan under control of the student’s supervisor. The individual study plan is designed in cooperation of the supervisor and the student, and must be approved by the scientific council of the study program. The individual study plan contains:

• a)        the PhD thesis theme
• b)        the list of courses the student has to pass
• c)        a list of other duties and suggestions for subsequent years of study (scientific publications, conference and workshop participation etc.)
• d)        a description of continuous control of the state of preparation of the PhD thesis

The individual study plan includes at least 5 study courses concluded by exams conducted by an exam tribunal. The students of full-time form must pass the exams in the first two years of study, and the students of part-time form must pass them in the first three years of study. The courses Autonomous Systems and English for Computer Science are mandatory, the student also visits the Seminarium every semester of the study.^₁ At least four courses are chosen from the list of optional courses according to the topic of the PhD thesis.

Mandatory Courses
Autonomous Systems		Ex 2
Seminarium 1		CC 2
English for Computer Science		Ex
Optional Courses		Ex
Formal languages, generative systems and automata		Ex
Theory and Applications of Artificial Neural Networks		Ex
Machine Learning and Knowledge Acquisition Methods		Ex
Computer Vision and Image Analysis in Autonomous Systems		Ex
Knowledge Management		Ex
Fuzzy Approximation Theory		Ex
New Computation Media for Autonomous Systems		Ex
Logic and Logic Programming		Ex
Theory of Computability and Complexity		Ex
Graphs and Graph Algorithms		Ex
Parallel Implementations of Autonomous Systems		Ex

Since the candidates of the doctoral study of Autonomous systems can be graduates of various universities with different types of computer science study programs, they are allowed also to include into their individual study plans some courses of the master’s degree of Computer Science at the Silesian University in Opava.

The scientific part of the individual study plan includes the proposal of the PhD thesis preparation, the research progress plan of the student, and eventually also a plan of research stays of the student at collaborating institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad. During the study, the doctoral student presents the results of his/her research work at scientific conferences and in journal and proceedings publications.

Contents, scope and form of the state doctoral examination:

The state doctoral examination is organized as a scientific dispute with the candidate and it includes topics of three courses of the individual study plan, selected so as to be linked with the PhD thesis topic and the exams the student has passed. The scope of these three courses is defined in the actual published list of topics for the final exams, and in more details also in content descriptions of these courses. The student is expected to prove an orientation in theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence and the field of autonomous agents and multiagent systems.

The graduates

Graduates get familiar with autonomous ICT systems reaching their goals by rational collaboration. They can choose specialization as: groups of mobile robots and their cooperation; squadrons of drones with sensors, their control and data processing; distributed and parallel computer systems, supercomputing; bio-inspired software agents (neural computing, DNA computing, membrane computing) and applications; multiagent systems in artificial intelligence; or individual choices approved by student's supervisor.
PhD degree in ICT opens gates to the most dynamic recent job market. Global job opportunities and home office are frequent. Typical positions: R&D positions at universities/national/global industries / Leading ICT expert/consultant in both commercial or public sector / ICT projects manager, ICT team leader / Design and development of high level information, database and expert systems / Expert in robotics/drones/artificial intelligence.

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[1] The seminarium continues during the whole period of study and the course credit must be obtained every semester.

[2] Ex = Exam, CC = Course Credit