Studying at the University of Verona

Here you can find information on the organisational aspects of the Programme, lecture timetables, learning activities and useful contact details for your time at the University, from enrolment to graduation.

Academic calendar

The academic calendar shows the deadlines and scheduled events that are relevant to students, teaching and technical-administrative staff of the University. Public holidays and University closures are also indicated. The academic year normally begins on 1 October each year and ends on 30 September of the following year.

Academic calendar

Course calendar

The Academic Calendar sets out the degree programme lecture and exam timetables, as well as the relevant university closure dates..

For the year 2015/2016 No calendar yet available

Exam calendar

Exam dates and rounds are managed by the relevant Science and Engineering Teaching and Student Services Unit.
To view all the exam sessions available, please use the Exam dashboard on ESSE3.
If you forgot your login details or have problems logging in, please contact the relevant IT HelpDesk, or check the login details recovery web page.

Exam calendar

Should you have any doubts or questions, please check the Enrollment FAQs

Academic staff

A B C D F G L M P S

Accordini Simone

symbol email simone.accordini@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 8027657

Belussi Alberto

symbol email alberto.belussi@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7980

Bicego Manuele

symbol email manuele.bicego@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7072

Bombieri Cristina

symbol email cristina.bombieri@univr.it symbol phone-number 045-8027284

Bombieri Nicola

symbol email nicola.bombieri@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7094

Cicalese Ferdinando

symbol email ferdinando.cicalese@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7969

Combi Carlo

symbol email carlo.combi@univr.it symbol phone-number +390458027985

Constantin Gabriela

symbol email gabriela.constantin@univr.it symbol phone-number 045-8027102

Cristani Marco

symbol email marco.cristani@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7841

Daducci Alessandro

symbol email alessandro.daducci@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 8027025

Delledonne Massimo

symbol email massimo.delledonne@univr.it symbol phone-number 045 802 7962; Lab: 045 802 7058

Franco Giuditta

symbol email giuditta.franco@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7045

Giugno Rosalba

symbol email rosalba.giugno@univr.it symbol phone-number 0458027066

Laudanna Carlo

symbol email carlo.laudanna@univr.it symbol phone-number 045-8027689

Liptak Zsuzsanna

symbol email zsuzsanna.liptak@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7032

Malerba Giovanni

symbol email giovanni.malerba@univr.it symbol phone-number 045/8027685

Manca Vincenzo

symbol email vincenzo.manca@univr.it symbol phone-number 045 802 7981

Marcon Alessandro

symbol email alessandro.marcon@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7668

Menegaz Gloria

symbol email gloria.menegaz@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 802 7024

Perduca Massimiliano

symbol email massimiliano.perduca@univr.it symbol phone-number +39 045 8027984

Sala Pietro

symbol email pietro.sala@univr.it symbol phone-number 0458027850

Salvagno Gian Luca

symbol email gianluca.salvagno@univr.it symbol phone-number 045 8124308-0456449264

Study Plan

The Study Plan includes all modules, teaching and learning activities that each student will need to undertake during their time at the University.
Please select your Study Plan based on your enrollment year.

The Study plan 2015/2016 will be available by April 2nd. While waiting for it to be published, consult the Study plan for the current academic year at the following link.

Legend | Type of training activity (TTA)

TAF (Type of Educational Activity) All courses and activities are classified into different types of educational activities, indicated by a letter.




S Placements in companies, public or private institutions and professional associations

Teaching code

4S004556

Credits

6

Language

English en

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

INF/01 - INFORMATICS

Period

II sem. dal Mar 1, 2017 al Jun 9, 2017.

Learning outcomes

In this course we study data structures and algorithms for textual data (strings, sequences). The recent explosion of the amounts of data available ("big data") is one of the major challenges for computer science today. Much of this data is in form of text (or can be easily rendered in textual form): genomic sequences and other biological sequences, webpages, emails, scanned books, musical data, and many others. In order to be able to efficiently store, process, and extract information from this data, we need dedicated data structures and algorithms, i.e. data structures specifically developed for strings, also referred to as text indices.

In the recent progress of research in computational biology, the use of these data structures has been decisive, while the methods can be, and are being, applied to all other kinds of textual data.

The course will provide:

- an understanding of the fundamental challenges and issues in processing textual data,
- knowledge of the most common computational problems on strings in applications (pattern matching, repeat finding, string statistics, etc.),
- familiarity with the most important text indices.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student:

- will be able to choose the right data structure for an application on textual data,
- will be able to solve new problems using the data structures studied,
- will be aware of what issues to pay attention to when choosing an algorithm or data structure (e.g. alphabet size, storage space, compressibility).

Program

Following an introduction to strings (sequences), their basic properties and fundamental issues (alphabet size, character comparison, string sorting), the course covers basics of the following text indices:

- tries
- suffix trees
- suffix arrays, enhanced suffix arrays
- Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT)

For each of these, we will study their properties, efficient construction, and applications to specific string problems.

We will also cover (or recall, as appropriate) some classical exact pattern matching algorithms that are not index-based.

Main textbooks:
1) Enno Ohlebusch, Bioinformatics Algorithms, 2013
2) Dan Gusfield, Algorithms on Strings, Trees, and Sequences, 1997

Reference texts
Author Title Publishing house Year ISBN Notes
Dan Gusfield Algorithms on Strings, Trees, and Sequences Cambridge University Press 1997 0 521 58519 8
Enno Ohlebusch Bioinformatics Algorithms 2013 978-3-00-041316-2

Examination Methods

Final exam: written and oral. In the written exam, both theoretical questions will be asked (running times and storage space of algorithms, properties of the data structures studied), and concrete examples will have to be solved (compute the suffix tree, suffix array, BWT etc. of a given string, apply certain algorithms). In the oral exam, the student will have the opportunity to explain in detail his/her solution and show to what extent he/she has understood the topics studied.

The exam will show that the student
- has acquired sufficient understanding of the most important issues with respect to handling large textual data (alphabet type, comparison of strings, string sorting, size of textual data)
- can apply, explain, and analyze the algorithms studied for string sorting
- can apply, explain, and analyze the data structures studied, in particular construction algorithms for and storage space required by these data structures (inverted index, trie, suffix tree, suffix array, BWT)
- can apply, explain, and analyze some applications of these data structures to problems on strings, such as pattern matching, matching statistics, palindromes, etc.

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD), who intend to request the adaptation of the exam, must follow the instructions given HERE

Type D and Type F activities

Training offer to be defined

Career prospects


Module/Programme news

News for students

There you will find information, resources and services useful during your time at the University (Student’s exam record, your study plan on ESSE3, Distance Learning courses, university email account, office forms, administrative procedures, etc.). You can log into MyUnivr with your GIA login details: only in this way will you be able to receive notification of all the notices from your teachers and your secretariat via email and soon also via the Univr app.

Graduation

Deadlines and administrative fulfilments

For deadlines, administrative fulfilments and notices on graduation sessions, please refer to the Graduation Sessions - Science and Engineering service.

Need to activate a thesis internship

For thesis-related internships, it is not always necessary to activate an internship through the Internship Office. For further information, please consult the dedicated document, which can be found in the 'Documents' section of the Internships and work orientation - Science e Engineering service.

Final examination regulations

Upon completion of the Master’s degree dissertation, students are awarded 24 CFU, which equates to no more than 4-5 months of full-time work. The dissertation may be written and presented in English or Italian, also using multimedia tools such as presentations and videos.

Goals
The primary goal of a dissertation is to develop an original study that may include an application project or a theoretical topic related to specific design issues, or a critical review of the most recent developments in a given field of study. During the preparation of the dissertation, under the guidance of the Supervisor and co-supervisors (if any), the student is expected to conduct an in-depth study of the chosen topic, while gaining the ability to summarise and creatively apply the knowledge acquired. The dissertation should focus on topics of bioinformatics and medical informatics, or closely related areas of study. The work shall consist in the written presentation of activities that may be structured as follows:

  • design and development of applications or systems;
  • critical analysis of contributions from the scientific literature;
  • original research contributions.

The dissertation may be written either in English or in Italian, and can be presented either in English or in Italian, also relying on multimedia tools such as presentations and videos. Should the dissertation be written in Italian, the work will need to include an abstract in English.

Assessment methods and examination procedures
The final examination consists in writing a Master’s degree dissertation, which will engage the student in a work of research, formalisation, design or development, thus contributing to complete their technical and scientific training. Each dissertation can be either internal or external, depending on whether it is carried out at the University of Verona or in collaboration with another institution. For each dissertation a Supervisor, one or more co-supervisors (optional) and an Examiner will be appointed. The Examiner is appointed by the Computer Science Teaching Committee at least 20 days before the presentation of the dissertation, once the student's eligibility to take the Master's degree examination has been verified. With regard to the legal aspects related to the dissertation and its scientific outcomes (e.g. intellectual property of research outcomes), please refer to the relevant legislation and the University Regulations.

Evaluation of the dissertation
The Supervisor, the co-supervisor/s (if any) and the Examiner will evaluate the dissertation based on the following criteria:

  1. level of in-depth analysis carried out, in relation to the most recent developments in the areas related to information technology, with a focus on medical and biological applications;
  2. scientific and/or technological outcomes of the dissertation;
  3. student’s critical thinking;
  4. student’s experimental and/or formal development;
  5. student’s ability to carry out independent work (this point will not be assessed by the Examiner);
  6. value of the methodologies used;
  7. accuracy in planning and writing the dissertation.

Graduation mark
The graduation mark (based on a 110-point scale) is a whole value between 66/110 and 110/110 and is calculated by adding together the following elements (then rounding the result to the nearest whole number, e.g. 93.50 => 94; 86.49 => 86):

  • 1) the average of the marks gained in the modules, weighted according to CFU, converted to a 110-point scale;
  • 2) evaluation of the dissertation and the oral presentation during the final examination, based on the following methods:
    • a) each of the points 1-7 listed above will be assigned a coefficient between 0 and 1 (fractional coefficient with one decimal place);
    • b) the quality of the presentation will be assessed by awarding a coefficient between 0 and 1 (fractional coefficient with one decimal place);
    • c) the sum of the points resulting from (a) and (b).

The Graduation Committee may award one extra point in the following cases: cum laude honours obtained in the exams taken during the degree programme; participation in internships officially recognised by the Computer Science Teaching Committee; taking extra modules; and the achievement of the degree in a time that is shorter than the normal duration of the degree programme. If the final score is 110/110, the Graduation Committee may award cum laude honours by unanimous decision.

External dissertations
An external dissertation is a work carried out in collaboration with an institution/body other than the University of Verona. In this case, the topic of the dissertation must be agreed in advance with a Supervisor from the University of Verona. In addition, the student must indicate at least one co- supervisor belonging to the external institution/body, who will support the student during the work on the dissertation. The Supervisor and the co- supervisors must be indicated in the online graduation application. The insurance aspects relating to the student's stay at the external institution are regulated by the regulations in force at the University of Verona. If the dissertation involves a period of training at the external institution/body, then it is necessary that the University of Verona enters into a specific agreement with such institution/body. The scientific outcomes of the dissertation will be available to all parties involved. In particular, the contents and results of the dissertation are to be considered public. For all matters not strictly scientific (e.g. agreements, insurance) the resolution of the Academic Senate of 12 January 1999 shall be taken as a reference.

Supervisor, co-supervisors, examiners
The dissertation presentation is introduced by the Supervisor. Professors belonging to the Master’s degree programme in Medical Bioinformatics, the Department of Computer Science, and any associated departments may be appointed as Supervisors, as well as any lecturers from the University of Verona whose area of interest is included in the Scientific-disciplinary Sectors (SSD) ING/INF/05 and INF/01. In addition to those who have the above requirements to be appointed as Supervisor, the following individuals may be appointed as co-supervisors: researchers working in external research institutes, research grant holders, post-doctoral fellowship holders, PhD students, technical staff of the Department, external experts appointed by an Italian University, corporate officers who have a remarkable experience in the field relevant to the topic of the dissertation. Examiners may be appointed among professors of the University of Verona, working in the Scientific- disciplinary Sectors (SSD) included in the educational offer of the Master’s degree programme in Medical Bioinformatics, and experts in the specific field of the dissertation topic.

Procedures and deadlines
The student who is about to complete their studies must identify a dissertation topic, proposed or approved by a Supervisor or co-supervisor/s (if any). When the work is nearing completion, the student must submit to the Teaching and Student Services Unit the graduation application, which must contain the title of the dissertation (even provisional), the name of the Supervisor, co-supervisor/s (only for external dissertations) and Examiner. Subsequently, on dates established by the Teaching and Student Services Unit, and in any case no later than 20 days before the graduation, the student must submit the graduation application form with the final title of the dissertation, which must be signed by the Supervisor. These documents must be delivered in accordance with the terms established by the Teaching and Student Services Unit.

The student will need to:

  • i) upload a copy of their dissertation on ESSE3;
  • ii) send a copy of their dissertation in PDF format to their Examiner.

In order to be admitted to the final examination, the student must have acquired the CFU in the SSD (Scientific-Disciplinary Sectors) set out in the Master’s degree regulations and teaching plan, and be up to date with the payment of their tuition fees. The Teaching and Student Services Unit of the Master's degree programme will invite all the Supervisors and co-supervisors involved, providing them with information about the date and time of the final examination.

Graduation Committee
The Graduation Committee shall include five members, of which at least four are professors in the Master's degree programme in Medical Bioinformatics. Based on the number of graduates, the Computer Science Teaching Committee will identify the most appropriate organisational methods for administering the examination, and it shall make available the calendar of tests at least one week before the examination itself. The procedures and deadlines for the submission of the graduation application are established by the Computer Science Teaching Committee and by the relevant offices.


Attendance

As stated in the Teaching Regulations for the A.Y. 2022/2023, attendance at the course of study is not mandatory.
Please refer to the Crisis Unit's latest updates for the mode of teaching.


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