Every year, before setting off for the summer holidays, we experience the same excitement and emotions as the students who are going to present their bachelor’s theses. All the more so with those who have invested in us the confidence to let us participate in the coordination of their papers within the Thesis Co-tutoring program provided by Ropardo in collaboration with academics.
This year we were happy to have among us three students, Andreea, Lucian, and Dana who participated in the program. We were impressed with their strong will and the fact that they trusted our senior colleagues who gave a valuable hand in building and finishing up the paper. They all had great papers and great ideas, and we think it’s worth talking about them.
Application for Distributing Tasks in a Team Using the Stable Marriage Algorithm
Andreea’s thesis is a present-day concern for the business environment. She shared with us a few thoughts about her experience in preparing her bachelor’s thesis with guidance and support from Ropardo team.
The biggest challenge was to implement the various modules that I used in the Liferay framework because of the new information I had to accommodate with.
Andreea enjoyed the monthly get-togethers where everyone could ask questions and get help and says:
I received technical support in conceiving the architecture and how the application works. This way, I solved various problems much faster which helped me finish the application and the writing in time.
People counting using Machine Learning and low-cost hardware
Lucian also approached and developed an interesting topic in his thesis: how to count people passing in front of a camera by using machine learning algorithms. Congratulations are well deserved especially since it was his first experience with the learning algorithms for object detection, as he admits. Lucian’s words appreciating the experience he had with the mentors from Ropardo brought us nothing but joy and gratitude and the right dose of good energy.
I felt comfortable with Ropardo team. With their help, I quickly overcame a deadlock. I appreciated getting answers and solutions whenever I had a question or a problem.
Pollution level analysis using an IoT platform
Last but not least, Dana’s paper suits perfectly our tastes in software development since it puts together our favorite mix: tackling current society issues, solutions for the future, innovation, modern technology. The application acquires data from specialized sensors, processes them and provides graphical results via a web interface.
The technical support and the advice I received was very helpful. The fact that I had a contact person assigned for technical support was a great advantage.
Clarity is what Dana appreciated most about our Co-tutoring program.
I organized my activity and received feedback at each meeting, I received suggestions regarding new technologies and how to implement them.
Our colleagues’ share of experience
It was just as interesting to see how the experience was for Paul, our colleague who contributed with technical know-how and guidance at the elaboration of the theses.
It was my first experience of the kind, which is why I was nervous at first since I did not know how the project would unfold. Beside helping coordinate the papers, I also proposed Lucian’s topic, trying to connect the academic environment and the challenges in the real business environment. The collaboration was interesting and the good challenges did not took long before showing up. I think we all ended up with a positive experience with a lot to learn from.
We take this opportunity to wish them all good focus and inspiration at their thesis presentations.
The academics’ point of view
Since the 2022 thesis co-tutoring session has just ended, we also invited Professor Adrian FLOREA, PhD, from the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department and member of the HPI Knowledge Transfer Institute at ”Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, and one of the thesis coordinators, to share his conclusions and perspectives. As for us, we are grateful to have reliable partners on our side with whom we can give useful things back to the student community and look together to a better future.
The thesis co-tutoring experience was auspicious and motivating for al parties: students, professors, and the research team from Ropardo. The meetings were very friendly, non-formal, but the demands and rigor of teachers and mentors were high. Maintaining a monthly reporting rhythm helped the students have a good time-management and avoid inherent “crises”. The support received from Ropardo’s IT specialists was extremely valuable considering that certain software technologies are not currently taught in classes. Getting answers to certain technical questions much faster helped students increase the productivity of their developments. Also, it was a great opportunity for them to document, understand and propose solutions to real-life problems, with a pragmatic character and in various scenarios. We are confident that this thesis co-tutoring endeavor are just a first step of a successful future collaboration between the academic sector and the IT industry in Sibiu with benefits for all stakeholders: students, professors, and the business sector.
About Ropardo programs for students
The Thesis Co-tutoring program is part of a larger endeavor of Ropardo For Students. We truly hope the experience with our team will prove its value long-term and they will step with confidence in their first job. Bringing this kind of shift in young IT passionates is what keeps us going and it’s the whole reason behind Ropardo programs for students .