How would you describe the cooperation with the MSE students you supervise?
«It is a collaborative effort between my MSE students and me to ensure that my students are able to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in Data Science.»
What do you enjoy most about advising in the MSE?
«I enjoy most if I manage to help students select projects in partnership with our industry partners that align with my student’s interests and skills while also providing valuable learning and potential career opportunities.»
What are some lessons you've learned as an MSE advisor?
«I have learned to communicate clearly with my students about major expectations for the project, including the timeline, deliverables, and grading criteria. Defining milestones and early scheduling of milestone meetings organized together with our industry partners have turned out to be very helpful. Besides these goals, it is very important to give my students the freedom to explore and work independently and let them follow their interests and curiosity to come up with their own story.»
How do you keep your students motivated?
«If my students get the opportunity to present their work to project leaders of our industry partners, they will realize that their work may have an impact and create value for our industry partners. I motivate my students by showing the relevance of their work to them. Any relevant project obviously progresses with periods of struggles – that is normal.»
What’s your main reason to recommend the MSE degree program?
«The MSE degree programme offers a unique combination of high quality lectures attended by students from all over Switzerland with heterogeneous backgrounds, a very personal relationship with the advisors, and in-depth interactions with our industry partners to work on challenging and relevant projects.»
Prof. Dr. Mirko Birbaumer, MSE Advisor