Updates on Academic Affairs 0/25

21.2.2025

Hello everyone! I'm Samuli and I'm the Head of Academic Affairs this year. The goal has been to increase the transparency in the guild and as part of this I will be publishing summaries of the meetings I attend and other relevant topics related to studies. As head of academic affairs, I sit on a number of SCI governing bodies as a student representative and these summaries report on the topics discussed and decisions made at these meetings. This summary also includes general decisions and topics related to studies at the university level.

This summary is a new concept, so it is still taking shape. I welcome feedback and suggestions on what kind of content you would like to see in these and in what way. The goal is for guild members to have easy and informative access to the topics of the meetings.

• Discussed the Bachelor-Master's transition:
  The problem has been that a few missing credits from the Bachelor degree make it significantly more difficult to enroll in master's courses and can, at worst, delay graduation. The situation has been acknowledged and solutions are being considered.
• The language guidelines for the Master's programme were discussed:
  the aim is to create a Finnish-language study path, where e.g. some of the courses can be completed in Finnish
• Approved several Master's thesis'
• The AllWell? survey and its promotion were discussed
• Approved the proposal for course changes (see section Course changes)

• Discussed AI and its impact on courses and assessment; there has been a relatively high incidence of cheating which requires changes to courses; for example, an exam has been introduced in many courses
• Discussed the pilot being launched at TiK where the Maturity demonstration for the Bachelor's thesis will be done in Exam; the change is intended to address the challenges of AI
• Discussed changes to good academic practice and their implications for teaching planning (see Guild info, Aalto info, full guidelines)
• Approved the changes to the curriculum proposed by the CCIS Degree Committee (see section Course changes)

• Discussed the fifth period and the courses offered there: talked about the problems the fifth period causes in finding a summer job
• Examination of statistics on SCI majors, including discussion of gender imbalance and how to improve the situation
• Artificial intelligence was a major topic at almost every meeting
• Preparation of a new curriculum for this year: the timetable for its preparation and preliminary objectives were discussed

All the following changes concern the CCIS major

All tracks

• CS-E400210 Special Course: Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning for Computer Scientists
  No longer taught in 2025-26, replacing CS-E4700 Logic and Hard Computational Problems.
• CS-E4700 Logic and Hard Computational Problems
  Moves from Track compulsory courses to Computer Science core courses

Security-track

• CS-E4350-Security Engineering D
  Not taught in 2024-25 and 2025-26; replaced by CS-E433003 Special Course in Information Security D: Mobile Phone Forensics

Period changes

• CS-E4510 Distributed Algorithms D
  2024-25 Fall II → 2025-26 Fall I-II
• CS-E4390 Cybersecurity Management D
  Spring III → Spring III-IV

Other changes

• CS-E4530 Computational Complexity Theory D
  Change of responsible teacher, changes in method of completion
• CS-E4565 Combinatorics of Computation D
  Change of responsible teacher, changes in content and assessment criteria

Is there something wrong with a course? Annoyed by the practical arrangements of a course? Having a bad day?

Tell us about it here: https:/​/​forms.gle/​ceAk6r8C5JdrE1WPA

This new form is designed to collect experiences of courses and identify problems. Individual cases can sometimes be challenging to address, but this form can be used to gather wider evidence of potential problems. Responses to this form will be treated confidentially. If you wish, you can leave your TG handle for contact purposes.

As usual, you can also contact the head of academic affairs at opinto­vastaava​@tietokilta.fi or ​@YliSamuli on Telegram.

Talking points

• Artificial intelligence, its impact on courses and cases of cheating
• Transition from bachelor's to master's, and the difficulties of enrolling in master's courses due to a few missing credits
• Implementation of a Finnish study path in Master's programmes

Decisions

• Changes in the CCIS major courses
• Aalto University Code of Academic Integrity in Studies - guideline updated 1.1.2025
• Graduates to receive e-diplomas as of August 2025

Other takeaways

• Maturity demonstration for the Bachelor's thesis will be done in Exam, pilot at TiK
• Preparation of the new 2026-28 curriculum begins
• New anonymous academic affairs complaint form has opened

Thank you for reading the first Updates on Academic Affairs! Feedback is welcome. You can contact the Head of Academic Affairs via email opinto­vastaava​@tietokilta.fi or Telegram ​@YliSamuli

Samuli Yli-Salomäki
Head of Academic Affairs '25