If you dream of becoming a researcher at a research institution and want to improve your software and hardware development skills, you will gain a lot from this minor. You will work on a case provided by our partners, and you will build a system which will solve their problems!

Students work in groups to build (or modify) an interactive system consisting of software, hardware, or both. The goal is to have a system in place that can be used at the end of the minor to perform applied research to solve a real-world problem. This problem will be provided by an external party such as a company or a university. Students will read relevant literature to find the latest technology available related to the problem that needs to be solved. They will then use state of the art technology to develop (or modify) the interactive system. Students have the freedom to design/build the system as they wish given that it meets the required goals.

The students will learn to manage a big project with external clients using SCRUM. Students will gain experience in developing software/hardware interfaces. They will also gain experience in writing technical manuals for the software they develop.

After following this minor, you have learned the following:

*You can explore potential research possibilities within a research theme set by an external client (university or company) and design a research platform for it . A platform can be an electronic device or a piece of software.

*You can perform a literature study on a specific topic and report on the latest technology available relevant to the topic                    

*You can develop an interactive system which can be used by non-technical researchers as a platform to conduct applied scientific research

*You should be able to provide documentation for the research platform so work can be continued by others.

- Analyze the problem domain & draw up a problem definition                    

- Maintaining applications, data, and technical infrastructure                    

-Effective (International) Communication

Basically, students who complete this minor will have experience in software/hardware development for research goals. It will provide them with the skills to work as developers in research institutions.

Student should have software and/or hardware development skills.

Student can write a scientific research report.

Student has good English reading, writing and speaking skills.

Research. This is it! | 9789001816964 | Ben Baarda.

The students work in groups of 2-4 people.  

The development assignments with external clients are provided by the school. Students can suggest their own development assignments with the condition that it is linked to an external client (company or research group). 

Students have weekly meetings with external client to show demos and discuss progress and alignment 

Students have weekly meetings with course lecturers to discuss progress and give demos  

There are weekly class lectures as well as recorded lectures to provide the needed theory for completing the minor. 

In weeks 2 to 4, there will be daily progress meetings with the lecturer to ensure that the planning stage of the project in weeks 2-3 is completed properly. In week 4, development starts, and the daily meetings ensure that the students have a proper work methodology. 

Students use an online SCRUM board (Trello) monitored by the lecturer to keep track on work progress. 

Students will present their work in weekly presentations + demos.  

Students will have weekly discussions with other groups about the development effort to share ideas and spot problems.

Contact hours per week

The students are expected to be present every day at the HHS location in Zoetermeer for feedback and discussion unless they are required to work elsewhere (e.g. meetings, collecting data, etc.). This is subject to change depending on the CORONA regulations.  

Students will present their progress once a week in weeks 1-7. 

Students will be present for short daily meetings with the lecturer in weeks 2 to 4 

Students meet the client once a week 

Students discuss to build a plan with the lecturer one-on-one before starting the second phase of the minor 

Lecturer monitors the Trello board remotely and contacts the students directly if something can be changed or improved 

Students get a one-on-one detailed review of their product + manual. 

Extra meetings can be scheduled on request by the students or lecture.

Portfolio, build plan 40% of the grade in week 4  

Portfolio, Platform itself and documentation 60% of the grade in week 9 

Student can pass the minor if they have a minimum of 5.5 for each of the portfolios. The second attempt to pass both portfolios is in week 10.

The minor has a strong focus on international research. Skills in reading and writing in English will be useful.

Partners:

Delft University of Technology, Erasmus Medical Center, Leiden University , University of Groningen