Data Science & Entrepreneurship 101 for Pre-Master Students
By: Roy Klaasse Bos
Tags: Study, Education, University, Data Science, Learning

A. Practical

A.1 — Study Books 📚

That is where it all begins, right? Dabble in piles of literature to become the next level data science genius. No, not really to be honest. In fact, in the premaster program the focus is more on gaining practical skills. All the necessary materials will be uploaded on Blackboard and the JADS hub. In other words it won’t cost you a dime, lucky you!

A.2 — TU/e or UvT? 📩

You probably know that JADS is a joint-initative of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Tilburg University (UvT), don’t you? This basically means you have the best of both worlds: you can make use of the student sport centers in Eindhoven and Tilburg, you can follow additional language courses at the UvT while you can buy an affordable notebook through the TU/e, you receive graduate diplomas from both institutions, and the list goes on and on.. So kind of two for the price of one. That sounds great, right? Honestly, it can sometimes be a bit confusing too. Am I supposed to write down my TU/e student number or my UvT one? Which of the two email accounts should I use? More importantly, which email address is read by my professor? Generally speaking, teachers use the email address from their mother university: so if they’re originally part of a research group in Eindhoven they most likely read their @tue.nl email. But be careful to double-check it. I can tell you I’ve got some bad experiences sending assignment files to the wrong one. So it’s up to you: 50% chance. Do you want to take a chance? Is luck on your side? If not, then send your urgent emails to both.

A.3 — Notebook 💻

Due to the continual exponential growth of data and the rise of big data you would almost get the impression that having a supercomputer at your fingertips is a must for anyone in the field of data science. Actually, truth be told, all datasets I have worked with so far were all very small in size (<100 MB) and few computation intensive tasks were needed. But keep in mind that might change throughout the remainder of the program. That’s why it is probably more meaningful to consider current master students’ point of view. For that matter check out this recent Facebook post (update April 23: post has been removed) in which a prospective DS&E student asked whether there is a required notebook configuration in terms of CPU, RAM or Windows version. In summary, a couple of master students mention that any notebook with ≥ 8GB RAM and at least an i5 processor will be more than sufficient for your coursework.

Tip: the TU/e offers the Notebook Reduction Program to (pre)master students which basically means that you get a substantial discount on a relatively high-performance notebook bought in bulk by the university.

A.4 — Student Housing 🏚

As many of the premaster students did their bachelor in Eindhoven, Tilburg or Utrecht, the majority still lives in one of those three cities (20–30 minutes away by train). However, if you moved from abroad it makes sense to find a place in Den Bosch. One option is the Mariënburg itself: Gapph rents apartments on a short-stay basis (<6 months). If you are looking for a permanent residence instead: Camelot Europe offers 1- and 2-person student rooms for a minimal renting period of 6 months. For more details about the rooms, price and location have a look over here.

A.5 — Academic Calendar 🏝

It’s still winter but due to our lovely Dutch weather I would not be surprised if you are already looking out for summer. So in case you’re tempted to score those early bird fly deals to your favorite tropical holiday destination, you may want to have a look at the exam schedule first.

Tip: In the electronic study guide you can find the exact examination dates for each course (Course Code > Examination schedule).

A.6 — Course Exemptions ⚠️

Possibly you are in a home stretch: trying to pass your hardest college course in order to secure your bachelor degree. Or you may even be taking the pre-master on top of all your bachelor coures. In any case, it is good to know that you may be eligible for exemptions for some of the premaster courses. Here is the email I received about it:

Tip: Given that you are only enrolled for the premaster, you may have to pay less tuition (i.e. it’s partially refunded, but you have to be patient..)

Update 30th of January: Important to note that once you decide to follow an optional course it will become part of your exam program. That is to say, you must pass it. Thanks for the tip Nigel!

A.7 — Always Register for the Resit 🔮

Do you know that moment you walk out of the exam room, either feeling relieved and confident or sad and terrified by what just happened in the past 180 minutes? Even though your gut feeling is often right, I would still recommend to register for the resit at all times. After all, it’s not unusual that at the moment of the resit registration deadline you haven’t received your grade for the first attempt yet. So your safest bet is to simply always register for the resit.

The exam took place on the 18th of December and the grades were published the 4th of January 2018, while the closure deadline is on the 21st of December as you can see above. You don’t want to pay the administration fee, do you?

Believe me, you will not be the only one doing that. As a result, expect to be bombarded with de-registration emails 1–2 weeks prior to the resits..

A.8 — You Get Assigned a Seat for Each Exam 😳

Yes, it has already been pre-determined where you have to sit in advance. So, you have to be lucky to sit next to your closest and most brilliant classmates..

A.9 — Being Late During Exams 🕥

Having been 28 minutes late myself — due to folks walking on the railway tracks — I would not necessarily recommend it, but it’s good to know:

you are allowed to enter the exam room until 30 minutes after the examination started. Yep, just in time, like always..

A.10 — Grades are Rounded to the Nearest 0.5 🤔

It’s probably best to illustrate this with a numerical example: if you think an 8.7 becomes a 9 then you are sorely mistaken. It will be rounded downwards to an 8.5. On the other hand, an 8.3 becomes an 8.5 as well.

A.11 — Pass-Fail Criteria ✅

In order to pass a course both your average assignment (!) and written exam grade must be at least 5.0. That is to say, an 8 for you exam cannot compensate a 4 for your assignments. Moreover, the total weighted average grade must be 5.5 or higher.

A.12 — Thursday Afternoon Drinks 🍻

Most Thursdays the Borrelcie (i.e. drinks committee) organises drinks from 17:30 onwards (follow the Facebook group for the exact dates). Stampcards can only be bought with cash, because you know… only by evading taxes we can serve you 8 cold beers for just €5.

A.13 — The Outlier ✍️

Bad luck? No not all, thirteen is an outlier and so are the academics and entrepreneurs showcased on The Outlier. You can read about the story behind JADS, the history of Data Science, the AI World Summit, the differences between an entrepreneurial and scientific career, what the “Stanford for Data Science” is, and much more!

As I (yes, I am also a writer for The Outlier!) wrote earlier, there is something for everyone. So regardless of whether you want to be involved as a writer, editor, interviewer, photographer, designer or promoter get in touch with me or one of the other committee members!

A.14 — Change Password of JADS Hub 🔒

Undoubtedly, your new classmates have your best interests at heart. Still, you might want to consider changing the default password (something like “qwerty”) to something even less original. For a step-by-step tutorial on how to do exactly that see section 3.1 in this guide.

A.15 — iStudent App 📱

Although this mobile app was originally developed for students of Tilburg University, you may benefit from it as a JADS-student too (e.g. to have a quick glance at your schedule). You can find the app on Google Play (Android) and the AppStore (iOS).

A.16 — JADS PowerPoint Template 🖥

A good first impression can work wonders and well begun is half done, so better use a fancy PowerPoint to catch your audience’s attention from the very start. You can find one — in line with JADS’ slick brand identity — over here (both PowerPoint and Keynote).