Programme Structure

At Radboud University in Nijmegen, you follow science subjects like mathematics and computer science, but also psychology, neurology, logic, linguistics and philosophy. With this knowledge, you develop computer models of the human cognition as well as intelligent computer programs that are able to execute tasks autonomously.

In the first year, you become acquainted with the main subjects giving you an idea about the programme and the field of study. You develop a study attitude wherein taking initiative, logical thinking and creativity occupy the centre stage. If you doubt your choice, at Radboud University it is easy to change to a related programme. As many fields come together in the Bachelor's programme in Artificial Intelligence, you can easily switch to the Bachelor's programme in Psychology with very few or no delay at all. The student advisor can help you making the right choice.

Audience

KaleidoscopeIn this course you will get an idea about recent developments in the research field of Artificial Intelligence.

Mathematics 1AThe Mathematics 1A course is developed especially for Artificial Intelligence students and students of informatics. This course deals with the mathematical areas of calculus (differentiation: production and chain rule. Special functions: exp. Log, sin and cos. Minima/maxima, partial derivative, primitivation and integration, Partial integration and substitution) and enumerative combinatorics (discrete/continuous probability distribution, expected value, dispersion, conditional probabilities, Bayes rule, independence, maximal likelihood and simulation) with applications from the above fields. During the lectures, the teaching material is presented, during the working groups, the solutions of the homework assignments are discussed and new assignments can be elaborated jointly. As it is of great importance for the acquisition of mathematical skills to exercise, submission of homework as well as participation in the working groups is compulsory.

Statistics for AIIn this course, you acquire insight and skills in data analysis and you learn how to report about them using the general linear model and its special cases, as well as related non-parametric tests. Subjects that will come up are: descriptive statistics (univariance, bivariance), fundamental statistics (t-tests, sample theory), Anova (1-factor, 2-factor, repeated measures), GML (Multiple regression, Anova, Manova) and non-parametric tests.

Introduction Cognitive PsychologyThis course gives Artificial Intelligence students a clear insight into the basic concepts of the Cognitive Psychology like: perception, memory and thinking. Research in Cognitive Psychology is very important for them as understanding human intelligence is an important requisite to build intelligent machines.

Introduction Human-Computer-InteractionIt is generally known that during the design of interactive software one systematically needs to take into account the perceptual, cognitive and motor processes of the human user(s). A great amount of research has pursued how this aim can be realised. The book of Preece et al. (2015) contains a clear, up-to-date introduction into this field that finds itself on the border between technology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence. The central theme of this subject concerns the question how interactive software can be developed and how the usability and user experience of this software can be evaluated. Students will program a simple interactive system and assess its usability through so-called human factor experiments. In addition, the lectures will discuss modern developments like smart interfaces, augmented reality, perceptive systems, multi-modality, mobile systems and the consequences of these technologies for usable HCI.

Introduction RoboticsIn the lectures, (1) the basic principles and points of departure of Robotics will be discussed, (2) the three main robotics paradigms (hierarchic, reactive and hybrid approaches) of robotics will be discussed, (3) a number of important robot examples will be examined, (4) the relation between robotics and traditional AI will be indicated and (5), programming skills to program reactive robots will be taught.
During the practicals, students will work in small groups on building and programming a simple LEGO-robot for performing complex tasks, like "safeguard the eggs", "race of the champions", "search and rescue" or "expedition Robinson".
After the course, students will be able to: (1) construct and program a simple robot that is capable of performing a combination of tasks; (2) explain the main paradigms in the field of robotics; (3) explain how perception, cognition and action are interrelated in the production of intelligent behaviour; (4) elucidate the relations between the fields of robotics and (traditional) AI. The course will be finished with the traditional “roboday”, during which the students will demonstrate how well their robots perform.

Introduction Artificial IntelligenceThis course aims at giving a first impression of the field of Artificial Intelligence without entering into technical details. The following subjects will come up: What is Artificial Intelligence?, How can AI techniques be applied in an example of an existing software system?, Fundamental search techniques and their applications in the field of the above example, knowledge representation, the main languages that can be used and their applications in the example, learning through computers, the main techniques to do so, applications in the example and a number of specific applications of AI.

Formal ThinkingThis is an introductory course in mathematical logic and theoretical informatics. Various subjects from these fields of study will be introduced. The course is a preparation for the .course Claiming and Proving.

ProgrammingIn this course, programs are developed using a systematic method and implemented (in C++) using basic data types and (non-recursive) structures. In the lecture, the most important issues are explained. Possible operations and a number of ‘standard-algorithms’ are discussed and analysed for these basic types and structures. Learning to design, implement, test and where necessary, adapt algorithms will be done only in the practicals. This is an important part of this course. Practical assignments must be prepared and worked out in pairs. Assignments are both explained and discussed afterwards, mostly during a seminar.

Object OrientationObjects and their relations supply a conceptual framework that can be used for analysis as well as for design and implementation. Abstraction and Encapsulation are the main properties of the object-oriented paradigm. Through these concepts, a presentation of the behaviour and the structure of an object, independently from its realisation, can be given. This course aims at the development of object oriented programming skills. The programming language uses is Java. In this language ‘class’ is central. A class is a blueprint for the objects that exist of ‘attributes’ (the position of the object), clustered with operations (the so called ‘methods’) by which we can manipulate an object. Besides OO programming, we will also pay attention to the basics of OO analysing (OOA) and design (OOD).

Introduction to Brain and CognitionThe course Brain and Cognition that will be taught at the beginning of the 2nd semester is somewhat of an outsider in the sense that this is a branch of psychology in which – more than in the other disciplines of psychology – we look for an explanation of behaviour and cognition in biological knowledge in general and that of the brain more specifically. The behaviours and cognitions that are studied are: perception, thought, movement, learning, speaking, emotion, sleep, eating and drinking. The point of departure in this course is that cognition, normal and disturbed behaviour as studied and treated by other psychologists and psychiatrists, can be understood mainly from our knowledge about biology – and more specifically about the functioning of the nervous system and the communication within the brain. Neuroanatomic and neurophysiological knowledge are a prerequisite.
This course is well attuned to the first part of the Introduction in Psychology. It is perceived as difficult by students with a deficiency in knowledge about Biology. These students can follow a self-study course in Biology to improve their knowledge to the required level.

Lecturers

Are you interested in broadening your horizons? Radboud University offers you the exciting opportunity to study or do an internship abroad as part of your Bachelor’s programme. Spending time abroad during your studies is a great way to develop yourself, have exciting new experiences, and gain a competitive advantage with future employers. International experience can be valuable in many ways, and we encourage all of our students to look at the possibilities available for going abroad.