SFU Professional Master's Program (Big Data and Visual Computing)

Dr. Jiannan Wang gave a 5-min speech on the SFU Professional Master's Program at new student orientation sessions. The speech covered program history, student achievement, and advice for new students.

Transcript

1. SFU Professional Master’s Program
   in Computing Science
   Jiannan Wang
   Director, Professional Master's Program
   School of Computing Science
   Simon Fraser University
   Sept 2019
   https://www.cs.sfu.ca/~jnwang/
   

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2. Big Data Cohort 1
   Big Data Cohort 4
   Visual Computing
   Cohort 1
   Have Trained 251 Students
   

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3. Train the next generation of technical global leaders
   in strategically important areas of society
   Big Data Visual Computing
   Launched in 2014 Launched in 2018
   Our Vision
   

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4. Big Data Program is On Fire
   ~100
   238
   365
   659
   760
   1108
   2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
   # Applications
   11 X increase in # applications 100% placement for co-op
   

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5. Visual Computing Program
   Has a Huge Potential
   Ranked 7th in Computer Vision and Graphics
   in North America (source: csrankings.org)
   

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6. Media Coverage and Awards
   Vancouver hackathon (2017) RBC Amplify competition (2017)
   RBC Amplify competition (2016)
   Full Article: http://tiny.cc/yt33bz Presentation: http://tiny.cc/pj43bz
   

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7. Our Vision is Moving Closer to Reality
   Promoted to a leadership position Launched a startup
   

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8. Advice For New Students
   • Find Your Job
   Career
   • Organize meetups/industrial visits
   • Contribute to open-source projects
   • Write technical blog posts on Medium
   • Form a study group to help others to grow
   • Going For Grades
   Beyond
   • Find what you passionate about
   • Pursue a lifelong goal
   

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