EPN-V2

DAVE3710 Academic English Course description

Course name in Norwegian
Akademisk Engelsk
Study programme
Bachelor in Applied Computer Technology
Bachelor's Degree Programme in Civil Engineering
Bachelor's Degree Programme in Software Engineering
Bachelor’s Programme in Electrical Engineering
Bachelor's Degree Programme in Energy and Environment in buildings
Bachelor's Degree Programme in Information Technology
Weight
10.0 ECTS
Year of study
2024/2025
Curriculum
FALL 2024
Schedule
Programme description
Course history

Introduction

The students are to develop written and oral English skills enabling them to communicate in technical and academic situations and contexts that are relevant to their current studies and future professional practice.

The elective course is subject to a minimum number of students.

Required preliminary courses

English from secondary education or similar.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence​.

Knowledge

The student is capable of the following, in English:

  • describing the work of technologists in a chosen field of technology
  • describing research and developments in a chosen field of technology
  • explaining rhetorical mechanisms and argumentation

Skills

The student is capable of the following, in English:

  • using correct terminology for technology-related topics in general and in a chosen subject area in particular
  • presenting and describing technology and related processes
  • planning and authoring technical and academic texts in English according to international.conventions and norms.
  • identifying relevant sources of information, assessing the quality of sources and referring to sources according to established standards.
  • using oral English in academic discussions.

General competence

The student is capable of the following, in English:

  • communicating in written and oral contexts that are relevant to their education and future profession
  • adapting oral and written communication to suit the recipient, situation and purpose
  • planning and carrying out project work alone or together with others

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures, written and oral exercises including presentation and discussions. Students will work both independently and in groups.

Course requirements

The following requirements are compulsory and must be approved before the student can sit the exam:

  • Two oral presentations given at agreed times
  • at least 80% attendance

Assessment

Portfolio assessment subject to the following requirements:

  • two individual written assignments (a review of 300 words and an essay between 1500 and 2000 words)
  • one written group assignment carried out in groups of 2-5 students (a litteraturereview of 2000-3000 words)

One overall grade is given for the portfolio.

The exam result can be appealed.

Permitted exam materials and equipment

All aids are allowed.

Grading scale

Through the work in this course, the students will gain insight into areas of mathematics that are important to the modelling of technical and natural science systems and processes. The topics covered are included in engineering programmes the world over. The topics are necessary in order to enable engineers to communicate professionally in an efficient and precise manner and to participate in professional discussions. Students will practise using, and to some extent also develop, mathematical software in the work on the course, which will enable to perform calculations in a work situation. Such implementations are exclusively motivated by numerical problems solving and understanding mathematical concepts.

Examiners

No requirements over and above the admission requirements.

Course contact person

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.

Skills

The student is capable of

  • using the derivative to model and analyse dynamical systems.
  • explain how the integral may be used in order to calculate quantities such as areas, volumes and work.
  • discussing numerical methods for solving equations.
  • discussing methods for solving systems of linear equations by means of matrix calculations.
  • accounting for the number of solutions a system of linear equations has.
  • solving equations which involve complex numbers.
  • discussing the ideas behind some analytical and numerical methods which are used for solving first order differential equations.
  • explaining key concepts such as iteration and convergence in relation to numerical methods.

Knowledge

This requires that the student is capable of

  • determining exact values for the derivative and the antiderivative using analytical methods.
  • using the definitions as a point of departure for computing approximate numerical values of the derivative and the definite integral and assessing the accuracy of these values.
  • using the derivative to solve optimization problems.
  • calculating sums and products of matrices, inverting matrices and determining determinants.
  • performing calculations with complex numbers.
  • solving equations by implementing numerical methods such as the bi-section method and Newton method.
  • using Taylor-polynomials for approximating functions and determining the error for certain numerical methods.
  • solving separable and linear differential equations using anti-differentiation.
  • finding numerical solutions to initial value problems using the Euler method
  • implementing basic numerical algorithms by means of assignment, for and while loops, if tests and similar.

General competence:

The student is capable of

  • transferring a practical problem into a mathematical formulation, so that it can be solved, either analytically or numerically.
  • writing precise explanations and motivations for using procedures, and demonstrating the correct use of mathematical notation.
  • using mathematical methods and tools in numerical problems solving.
  • using mathematics in communicating engineering issues.
  • assessing the results of mathematical calculations.