Activity reference No.3
Year(s) in which the activity takes place: 1996/97
Type of activity: Update of Parallel Programming course

Description of the activity:

The lecture should contain an overview of the different computational models such as the symetric multiprocessing typical of shared memory architecture, the message passing, the only suitable for the cluster and network computing, and those avaliable for massively parallel systems. The particular attention should be put to the programming with threads as the forthcoming technology, that provides support for efficient implementation of many higher level programming concepts such as parallel logic programming languages, and object-oriented distributed systems. The main part of the lecture should concern relation between the algorithm structure, computational model provided by the language and the target computer hardware architecture. Next, methodology of parallel systems debugging, testing and evaluation should be given. This activity will be carried in cooperation with the University of Westminster, which has a profound knowledge and long-term experience in parallel programming and teaching it. The University of Westminster shelters the Center for Parallel Computations which coordinates European Concerted Action within COPERNICUS Projects - 'Software Enginnering for Parallel Processes' and 'High Performance Computing Tools for Industry'. However, the experience of Cambridge University and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven will also be resorted to. At the aim of updating the Parallel Programming course the following steps are going to be taken:
  1. Retraining academic staff A person to lecture Parallel Programming will attend an course (four-month-long) at the University of Westminster in order to update his knowledge and gain experience in how such course should be organized. He will be expected to become acquainted with the newest technology as well as the newest and the most successful teaching methods. One assistant will be sent to the University of Westminster Parallel Programming Laboratory for six-week-long retraining. Two assistants will be sent to the University of Westminster and take part in a four-month-long retraining course.
  2. Comparing diverse syllabuses The lecturer will also pay a short visit to Cambridge University and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. After his comeback, his knowledge will be used to compare different Parallel Programming syllabuses and teaching methods.
  3. Consulting with non-educational cooperants concerning the employee profile they require At this stage consulting will be carried Polish enterprises (including Cuprum 2000 -- an IT company serving the copper mining sector in Poland). It will concern in what direction industry develops and what graduate profile will be in demand in the next few years. This will perfectly fit the UMM's restructuring goals.
  4. Discussing the course subjects and teaching methods with lecturers and professors The best and most suitable ideas will be exploited in the process of designing the new teaching programme. This will be discussed with didactic body of the University of Mining and Metallurgy to be adapted to the UMM's development strategy.
  5. Detailing the course syllabus and coordinating it with other courses The course syllabus will be detailed in cooperation with the University of Westminster teacher as well as the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven teacher during their teaching assignments (four-week-long each). The new syllabus should be coordinated with the Distributed Systems course (activity 2).
  6. Preparing presentations for students and teaching aids
Staff responsible for conducting the Parallel Programming course is going to be selected by the management body of the project based on the merits of candidates. Their experience as well as educational and research activity will be crucial factors. Computer Science students (over 100 each year) will be the main beneficiaries of the course. It is, however, expected that the course will be an advantage for over 50 students (yearly) from other faculties, too.

Outcome of the activity: