Students
The TSSG provides its PhD students with closer and more intense supervision than they can expect anywhere else in Ireland. Rather than a single supervisor and monthly meetings, the TSSG provides each student with a two man co-supervision team, and a minimum of one meeting every week. Having a team ensures that there are no blind spots in the supervision, providing students with easily accessible advice in every area, from work on particular aspects of the paper, through generic training skills, to assistance with the actual writing of the paper. The TSSG has a strong emphasis on publishing in good conferences and journals. Quantity and quality of publications are paramount; the typical gradeline includes a journal publication as well as three Tier 2 or Tier 1 conferences, and several Tier 3 conferences.
TSSG refocused its graduate programme on PhDs in 2002, TSSG has graduated 28 MSc (research) and 5 PhD students. The current cohort of 20 PhD students has an expected graduation rate of 5 graduates per year for the next four years. TSSG, together with Waterford Institute of Technology has offered, since September 2004, a taught MSc in Computing that specialises in Communications Software. This MSc specifically addresses the major thematic areas of the ICT sector that are perceived to offer best prospects for growth, particularly in an Irish context. These areas include communications management, service development, security and new developments in ubiquitous and pervasive computing. This programme has since graduated 50 students.
Students are carefully trained to become independent researchers, with a quality of work that ensures meeting any European standard. They will know how to identify a research topic and carry it through, as well as get the results published and disseminated. After a PhD is achieved, there is a clean cut with the TSSG – students are encouraged to go out and find work with other projects around the world.
Read Student Life Testimonial – Dr. Alan Davy
Student supervision is unusually intensive at the TSSG – our motto is you must work hard. Weekly meetings with their supervision team, a paper-by-paper plan, readily accessible advice and presentation training: these allow us to produce the best standard PhDs.
Dr. Dmitri Botvich – Chief Scientist
