Gems of Informatics 3 (IN2176)

This is a special course for gifted students. The aim is to introduce a selected group of students to exciting and advanced topics at an early stage of their studies

Instructors, Time and venue (Winter semester 2021/22)

Schedule: Tuesday 14:30-16:00; Friday 14:30-16:00

Venue : Informatik building. Room 03.09.014

Instructors: Debarghya Ghoshdastidar, Mahalakshmi Sabanayagam

First meeting: Tuesday 19.10.2021, 13:15-14:45 (online)

Content

The contents of the course is intentionally not fixed but is determined by the lecturer, possibly together with the students.
The course is voluntary. There are no credit points. 

For this semester, the topic will be analysis and modelling of real-world graphs or networks.
Modelling and learning from networks is an important research topic in many scientific disciplines. Social network analysis reveals how information spreads among people. On the other hand, study of brain and genetic networks helps in understanding biological processes. This course will provide an overview of the graph properties and fundamental concepts behind analysis and modelling of real graphs. The following topics will be covered:

1. Network properties (degree, motifs, centrality, …) and their uses
2. Spectral graph theory
3. Visualization, and clustering of networks
4. Statistical models for graphs (Small world, Erdös-Rényi)
5. Dynamics in networks (information flow, cascade models)
6. Software for graph analysis (NetworkX or SNAP in Python)

Previous Knowledge Expected

Basic idea about graphs (IN0007) and linear algebra (MA0901). Knowledge of Python, if needed, will be covered in first week

Languages of Instruction

English