Masters Degrees (Speech Recognition)

Programme description

This intensive programme offers an exciting opportunity to learn from world leaders in both informatics and linguistics. Drawing from our cutting-edge research, the programme’s content covers all areas of speech and language processing, from phonetics, speech synthesis and speech recognition to natural language generation and machine translation.

This flexible programme provides research or vocational training and can be either freestanding or lead to PhD study. The modular nature of the programme allows you to tailor it to your own interests.

Taught by leading researchers from Linguistics & English Language, the Centre for Speech Technology Research and the School of Informatics, this programme combines elements of linguistics, computer science, engineering and psychology.

You will develop up-to-date knowledge of a broad range of areas in speech and language processing and gain the technical expertise and hands-on skills required to carry out research and development in this challenging interdisciplinary area.

Programme structure

You study two semesters of taught courses, followed by a dissertation.

Most core compulsory courses have both computational and mathematical content. A few optional courses need a stronger mathematical background. Courses in the second semester can be tailored to your own interests and abilities.

Compulsory courses:

Advanced Natural Language Processing
Computer Programming for Speech and Language Processing
Introduction to Phonology and Phonetics
Speech Processing

Option courses may include:

Advanced Topics in Phonetics: Speech Production and Perception
Automatic Speech Recognition
Introduction to Statistics and Experimental Design
Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition
Machine Translation
Natural Language Generation
Natural Language Understanding
Prosody
Simulating Language
Speech Synthesis
Univariate Statistics and Methodology using R

Learning outcomes

This programme aims to equip you with the technical knowledge and practical skills required to carry out research and development in the challenging interdisciplinary arena of speech and language technology.

You will learn about state-of-the-art techniques in speech synthesis, speech recognition, natural language processing, dialogue, language generation and machine translation.

You will also learn the theory behind such technologies and gain the practical experience of working with and developing real systems based on these technologies. This programme is ideal preparation for a PhD or working in industry.

Career opportunities

This programme will provide you with the specialised skills you need to perform research or develop technology in speech and language processing. It will also serve as a solid basis for doctoral study.

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The content for this programme, which is offered by the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University, is applied closely to the practice of speech and language therapy. The programme gives students a detailed understanding of the changes that occur and difficulties that can arise for the individual who seeks the help of a speech and language therapist.

Speech and language therapists work in hospital wards and outpatient departments, mainstream and special schools, day centres and clients' homes, and courtrooms, prisons and young offenders' institutions. Practice placements are organised to give experience of a number of these settings.

The programme aims to develop speech and language therapists who are autonomous, accountable practitioners, competent and confident to contribute their evidence-based profession-specific skills and knowledge in the delivery of health, education and social care for users of speech and language therapy services and their families.

The programme is structured to maximise opportunities for learning how to work in an interprofessional and multi-agency context and within a changing workforce. A wide range of assessments are used including written assessments, presentations and assessment of placement education.

Please note that there are no tuition fees payable as places are commissioned by the NHS. Eligible students can apply for a means tested bursary for the duration of the programme. For more information please see http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk

The aims of the programme are:

- To acquire and satisfactorily demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to meet the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Standards of Proficiency for Speech and Language Therapists, QAA benchmarks statements and to practise autonomously, interprofessionally, safely, competently and within the scope of practice, Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)

- To develop a range of clinical skills and the confidence to employ them in practice contexts appropriately

- To develop and comprehensively demonstrate critical understanding of a range of communication and other disorders relevant to Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), and the holistic and interprofessional management of these.

Visit the website http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/pg/hsc/slt

Health and Social Care

With over 20 years’ experience as a trusted provider of health and social care training and education, we are committed to providing our students with the knowledge and skills to become valued members of the community and to the continuing professional development of qualified professionals.

We are at the forefront of research and innovation in the field of health and social care and our teaching staff have both practical know-how and academic expertise.

What you'll study

Full time
- Year 1:
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.

Orientation to Speech & Language Therapy (20 credits)
Biological Sciences for Speech & Language Therapy (20 credits)
Developmental Communication Disorders (20 credits)

- Year 2:
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.

Biological Sciences for Speech & Language Therapy (20 credits)
Developmental Communication Disorders (20 credits)
Acquired Communication Disorders (20 credits)
Professional Development Module (20 credits)
Psychological Science and Human Development (20 credits)

Fees and finance

Your time at university should be enjoyable and rewarding, and it is important that it is not spoilt by unnecessary financial worries. We recommend that you spend time planning your finances, both before coming to university and while you are here. We can offer advice on living costs and budgeting, as well as on awards, allowances and loans.

Find out more about our fees and the support available to you at our:
- Postgraduate finance pages (http://www.gre.ac.uk/finance/pg)
- International students' finance pages (http://www.gre.ac.uk/finance/international)

Assessment

Students are assessed through case studies, essays, situational analysis, oral presentation, unseen papers, a portfolio and reflection.

Professional recognition

Graduates from this programme are eligible to register with the Health and Care Professions Council and become members of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Career options

Graduates can pursue careers as speech and language therapists.

Find out about the teaching and learning outcomes here - http://www2.gre.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/643842/Post-Graduate-Diploma-in-Speech-and-Language-Therapy.pdf

Find out how to apply here - http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/apply

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Human Aspects of Information Technology

We live in a time in which more and more automated systems are providing us with access to enormous quantities of information, through search engines, websites, digital helpdesks and speaking computers, for instance. How is it possible to ensure that people can access exactly the information that they require? How can this be organized? What technology do we have at our disposal to achieve this? How can the demands and wishes of users be catered for best? How can all this be translated into smart information systems?

These questions are central to the one-year English-taught Master's specialization Human Aspects of Information Technology (HAIT), a heavily internationally oriented specialization within the Communication and Information Sciences Master's program.

Natural Communication

HAIT's basic point of departure is the way in which people communicate naturally.
•How do people ask questions, and for what purpose?
•What is the meaning of the words that are used and what kind of answers do people expect?
•When does miscommunication occur, and how can it be resolved in a natural way?

With this focus on the human element, HAIT clearly distinguishes itself from comparable programs on offer elsewhere in the Netherlands and abroad.

In the HAIT Master's specialization, you will learn how to organize information systems in such a way that they can communicate with the user in a natural way. In the future, a search engine will need to 'understand' which results an inquirer is looking for, and an automatic telephone helpdesk will need to be able to converse with a caller through speech recognition and artificial speech. By making use of the unique combination of information and language technology, you are actively contributing to the accessibility and the categorization of information.

The program trains the students to be professionals with an excellent understanding and knowledge of the field. A well-balanced combination of theory and skills guarantees the optimal conditions for the acquisition of expertise in the many potential building blocks that advanced information systems are made up of.

We teach you to use these blocks like an architect, with the wishes of clients and/or users in mind. Each problem connected to a specific need for information requires its own approach. You know which specific building blocks need to be combined to arrive at the optimum solution. You know how to use them.

Experiments

In each instance, a firm theoretical basis is the starting point for more in-depth practical applications. For instance, once you know how a search engine is constructed and how it works, you will start focusing on the question of what the system lacks in terms of human interaction. Sometimes the answer will be literally right in front of you. Testing dialog systems (as in talking computers) is not done from behind a desk, but by using experiments that you could get anyone to take part in - fellow students, friends, but also 'members of the general public'.

Career Prospects Human Aspects of Information Technology

On graduating, you will have extensive knowledge of the most modern, state-of-the-art applications in the field of information and language technology. Developments in this discipline are unstoppable, creating a growing need for specialists. At the same time, the number of graduates with a unique HAIT training background is relatively small. As a consequence, it will be easy to find an interesting job, either in the Netherlands or abroad.

In companies and institutions, your position will often be that of team leader. You will be managing programmers, and talking to clients to get a clear view of their problems in making their information available. You will find people who can test a new system, and supervise the whole development process from beginning to end. In some organizations, your job will have some consultancy characteristics, while in others you will be more likely to be engaged in developing long-term solutions.

Further Specialization

After the Master's specialization, you will be able to specialize further as an academic researcher. This means you will predominantly be engaged in new technologies that have not yet been picked up by companies. Your activities will include developing and testing computer models. You may also carry out research on handling bottlenecks, such as speech recognition within speech and language technology. That way, you will help raise the discipline to a higher level.

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The MSc has been designed in conjunction with one of the world's leading forensic speech laboratories, JP French Associates. The director of the laboratory, Professor Peter French, will deliver some of the taught components and will supervise some research projects.

Students are given the opportunity to go on site visits that will allow them to observe the working practices of the laboratory, as well as those of cognate institutions such as courts. They will carry out analyses of recordings from real forensic cases and will have the opportunity to develop expert witness communication skills by undergoing cross-examination from a practising barrister in the University’s moot court.

Areas of the MSc overlap with those central to speech and recording technology and students will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of the latest generation of automatic speaker recognition software used in banking and law enforcement, made available through the Department’s partnership with Nuance.

Aims

The MSc in Forensic Speech Science provides a comprehensive foundation in the aims, practices, and principles of speech analysis for forensic purposes. The course will:
-Provide a thorough grounding in the theoretical underpinnings of forensic speech analysis, especially in phonetics, acoustics, and sociolinguistics/language variation
-Introduce students to the practical techniques used in forensic speech and audio analysis
-Provide students with an appreciation of theoretical and methodological problems in performing forensic speech and audio analysis
-Enable students to apply their skills and knowledge to recorded materials from real criminal cases
-Enable students to perform original research in speaker comparison and speech content analysis
-Impart understanding of the role and responsibilities of the forensic speech scientist as expert witness

Applicants

The course will be of interest to:
-Graduates with a background in linguistics, acoustics, English or other language-based disciplines
-Graduates in law, criminology or psychology
-Professionals in legal practice, government agencies, law enforcement agencies or other branches of forensic science
-Potential practitioners of forensic speech science

Careers

The MSc is not intended as a stand-alone vocational qualification. However, successful completion of the programme will provide students with the requisite skills, understanding, and knowledge to work effectively and increase their employability in forensic domains as well as in related fields such as the police, prison service, emergency call services and security services.

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Fostering critical reflection, specialist knowledge, and joint professional practice between school-based professionals supporting children with speech, language and communication needs.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for school-based professionals who provide support for children with speech, language and communication needs.

It is designed for students looking to gain high level knowledge and analytical skills, share their professional experience and perspectives and access current research in their field.

Students will be aiming to raise their profile as a specialist and leader in speech, language and communication needs in the school setting.

Objectives

The MSc in Speech, Language and Communication Needs in Schools is jointly run by City, University of London and UCL Institute of Education. It brings together speech and language therapists, teachers and other graduate school-based practitioners for collaborative study. The programme is designed to enable students to:
-Understand and critically reflect on research and professional practice across both education and health.
-Develop high level knowledge of educational contexts and children’s language, social, emotional and behavioural development and needs.
-Enhance students’ understanding of research methods and skills.
-Complete a research project in a chosen area under expert supervision.
-Enjoy stimulation and fresh thinking in a community of fellow students, practitioners and research experts.
-Gain recognition as a specialist in the field.

Teaching and learning

Modules are facilitated by experienced clinicians, teachers and leading researchers, using a variety of direct and interactive methods. Some modules take place in large groups supplemented by small group discussion or laboratory sessions that provide hands-on experience of statistical analyses. Specialist modules take place in small groups combining lecturing with student-led discussion and workshop activities often drawing on participants' professional experiences. Moodle, the virtual learning environment at both institutions, provides an online platform for sharing module information and interactive learning. These methods support and are supported by self-directed study.

Assessments

Modules are assessed through a diverse range of assignments that may include essays, literature reviews, oral presentations, poster presentations, case studies, and data analyses. Assessments require critical evaluation of the research on key issues; selective application of theory and research to a particular setting, group or individual in the student's experience; understanding of research methods; and skills in statistical analysis.

Modules

The taught programme comprises:
-Four core modules
-Either one elective module worth 30 credits or two elective modules each worth 15 credits
-A research dissertation.

Teaching takes place in three 10-week terms: autumn, spring and summer. Students will normally take one module per term part-time or two modules per term full-time.

Each module runs over 3-5 whole days, 10 evenings or 10 half days. In addition, students will be expected to spend approximately half a day a week reading around the taught sessions, preparing for discussion, or completing short exercises. Students have up to one year to complete the research dissertation.

Core modules
-Concepts and Contexts of Special and Inclusive Education (30 credits)
-Social, Emotional and Behavioural Development (30 credits)
-Language Learning and Development (15 credits)
-Foundations of Research Methods and Applied Data Analysis (15 credits)

Elective modules - Elective modules are chosen from many available at both institutions and timing depends on module choice. Popular electives at UCL IOE include:
-Literacy Development (30 credits)
-Developmental Language Impairment (30 credits)
-Child and Adolescent Mental Health (30 credits)
-Reading and Spelling Difficulties (30 credits)
-Understanding Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) (30 credits)
-Autism: Research and Practice (30 credits)

At City, University of London:
-Cognitive Communication Impairments (15 credits)
-Developmental Language Impairment (15 credits)
-Dysphagia and Disorders of Eating and Drinking (15 credits)
-Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Early Identification and Assessment (15 credits)
-Promoting Child and Adolescent Psychological Development (15 credits)

Career prospects

This MSc qualification raises graduates’ profile as a specialist and leader in speech, language and communication needs in the school setting. It is an advantage for teachers and clinicians seeking higher grade specialist and managerial posts.

Graduates are also eligible to apply for a research degree (MPhil/PhD) and some research posts.

Please note that this MSc does not lead to professional qualification as a speech and language therapist or teacher.

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About the course

Accredited by the British Computer Society

Speech and language technology graduates are in demand, in areas like machine translation, document indexing and retrieval, and speech recognition. Our world-leading language and speech research staff will help you to develop the skills you need.

Prepare for your career

Our courses give you experience of how real-world projects work. We consult with big employers to ensure that you develop the skills and the personal qualities they’re looking for.

You’ll learn about the issues that matter in global business and industry. Our graduates go into academic and industrial research, the software industry, banking and finance. They work for companies such as Logica, IBM, Hewlett Packard, PWC, Vodafone, the BBC and HSBC.

About us

Our challenge is to use computation to understand all kinds of systems: computer systems, living systems and cognitive systems. Our research areas include robotics, machine learning, speech and language processing, virtual reality, computational systems biology and software verification and testing. It’s work that makes a difference to people’s lives.

Network and hardware

We have our own high-performance network so you can access our advanced computing facilities. There are labs for teaching smaller groups, wi-fi coverage throughout the department, and you can connect your own laptop to the network. Mobile devices and tablets are available for you to borrow for project work.

We also use specialised equipment: an immersive virtual reality facility, robotics hardware and an acoustic booth for speech processing research.

Core modules

Research Methods and Professional Issues; Dissertation Project; Text Processing; Natural Language Processing; Speech Processing; Speech Technology; Machine Learning and Adaptive Intelligence.

Examples of optional modules

Object-Oriented Programming and Software Design; Modelling and Simulation of Natural Systems; Theory of Distributed Systems; 3D Computer Graphics; Computer Security and Forensics; Testing and Verification in Safety-critical Systems; Intelligent Web; Software and Hardware Verification; Software Development for Mobile Devices; Virtual Environments and Computer Games Technology; Java E-Commerce; Network Performance Analysis.

Teaching and assessment

We use lectures, tutorials and group work. Assessment is by formal examinations, coursework assignments and a dissertation.

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Course Outline

The Applied Computing Department is a young department of modest size but is successful in attracting research funding from various sources in the UK and the EU (including industry, research councils and charitable foundations). It supports a significant range of research interest and over the last few years the number of research students has grown steadily. The Department has a history of involvement in EU framework projects. More recently, we were partners in two EU FP6 funded projects: SecurePhone and BroadWan. We have been working and collaborating with many European research institutions including The Technical University Graz, CNUCE, Pisa, Thales, Thomson, TELENOR, RAL, Salzburg, Telephonica – Spain, Atos Origin, The University of Saarbrucken – Germany, INFORMA – Italy, and ENST – France.

The main research areas of interest in the Department cover image / video processing and analysis techniques and applications; wireless mobile network technologies; and biometric-based authentications for constrained devices / environments. In image processing we mainly, but not exclusively, use wavelet transform techniques for facial feature detection and recognition, online image / video compression for constrained devices, visual speech recognition, feature detection in biomedical images, digital watermarking, content-based video indexing for biometric video databases. In the wireless networking area, our research effort focuses on convergence and integration of different wireless technologies and standards, wireless mesh technologies, intrusion detection and prevention, efficiency and stability of ad hoc networks.

Currently the Department has a number of research groups consisting of 5 research active academics, 12 PhD and 3 MSc/MPhil students at various stages of their studies.

Find out more about our Department of Applied Computing on http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/appliedcomputing.

Teaching Method

Candidates spend a considerable part of their studies undertaking supervised research, at the end of which they submit a thesis embodying the results of that research. This thesis must demonstrate familiarity with, and an understanding of the subject, its principal sources and authorities. It should display critical discrimination and a sense of proportion in evaluating evidence and the judgements of others. The subject should be dealt with in a competent and scholarly manner.

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Qualify for the 21st century with a Master of Applied Linguistics. As globalisation expands, so does the demand for people with intercultural communication skills to reach wide audiences. Applied linguistics is one of the fastest-growing fields of study in the humanities. The course offers a competitive advantage to language teachers, interpreters, editors and other people working with language in increasingly multilingual and multicultural societies, such as Australia. Two specialisations are available: General applied linguistics and Teaching world Englishes for international communication. Our program ranked No. 17 in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for 2014.

The Master of Applied Linguistics broadens your knowledge of how language works in the context of globalisation, with opportunities for research and internships. Applied linguistics has become widely recognised for its ability to solve language-related problems at both the micro and macro levels.

Our multilingual and multicultural classes stimulate lively discussion about the differences between languages and language-learning experiences, and how these relate to the theories and issues covered in the unit. Classes are taught by leading scholars in their field. Monash is renowned for its expertise in Japanese applied linguistics, as well as Australian and Austronesian languages.

Applied linguistics at Monash has an international reputation for producing top graduates, particularly in the areas of Japanese applied linguistics, English as an international language, and the study of multilingualism more broadly. Graduates work in mono- and multi-lingual settings, with careers as language teachers, language-education and assessment experts, speech pathologists, interpreters and translators. They work in industries where language and communication are crucial; for example, in the health areas of speech therapy and speech pathology, or in the engineering or computational fields related to language and speech technology, such as speech recognition and synthesis.

Visit the website http://www.study.monash/courses/find-a-course/2016/applied-linguistics-a6001?domestic=true

Overview

Please select a specialisation for more details:

- General applied linguistics
The General applied linguistics specialisation offers an overview of the many areas of applied linguistics, giving you a strong understanding of language structure and use across a variety of languages.

In the core units, you explore the sounds and grammar of Australian English and how these differ from other English varieties and languages. You also learn how we use language differently according to context and how language varies between different social groups. In elective units, you specialise in areas such as literacy, second-language acquisition or language and identity.

- Teaching world Englishes for international communication
By looking at the significance of intercultural communication, the Teaching world Englishes for international communication specialisation gives you a new perspective on the use of English in today's globalised world, in both academic and professional contexts. You will examine the theory and practice of teaching English as an international language. You will also come to understand the implications of the global spread of English and the development of world Englishes.

Course Structure

The course is structured in three parts. Part A. Foundations for advanced applied linguistics studies, Part B. Core Master's study and Part C. Advanced expertise. All students complete Part B. Depending upon prior qualifications, you may receive credit for Part A or Part C or a combination of the two.

[Note that if you are eligible for credit for prior studies you may elect not to receive the credit.]

PART A. Foundations for advanced applied linguistics
These studies will provide an orientation to the field of applied linguistics at graduate level. They are intended for students whose previous qualification is not in a cognate field.

PART B. Core Master's study
These studies draw on best practices within the broad realm of applied linguistics practice and research. You will gain a critical understanding of theoretical and practical issues relating to applied linguistics, including second/foreign language acquisition, language teaching, language contact and intercultural communication. Your study will focus on your choice either of Applied linguistics or Teaching world Englishes for international communication.

PART C. Advanced expertise
The focus of these studies is professional or scholarly work that can contribute to a portfolio of professional development. You have two options.

The first option is a program of coursework study where you select the units to suit your own interests.

The second option is a 24 point research thesis. Students wishing to use this Masters course as a pathway to a higher degree by research should take this second option.

Students admitted to the course, who have a recognised honours degree in a discipline cognate to applied linguistics, will receive credit for Part C, however, should they wish to complete a 24 point research project as part of the course they should consult with the course coordinator.

For more information visit the faculty website - http://www.study.monash/media/links/faculty-websites/arts

Find out how to apply here - http://www.study.monash/courses/find-a-course/2016/applied-linguistics-a6001?domestic=true#making-the-application

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Programme description

Design informatics focuses on designing with data. This programme is run in conjunction with Edinburgh College of Art through the Centre for Design Informatics.

On this programme you will learn how to build computational systems as well as the principles of design thinking and making.

Through case studies of real-life products you will apply your knowledge in a practical way, developing an understanding of what it takes to create, design and take a product to market.

Programme structure

You follow two semesters of taught courses, attending lectures, tutorials and group practicals to acquire the theoretical foundation to enable you to engage in independent research.

Between May and August you will do a major individual research project on which you will write a dissertation.

Design Informatics: designing with data can be explored in most specialist areas of Informatics, but with a focus on entrepreneurial product development.

Compulsory courses:

Case Studies in Design Informatics 1
Design with Data
Design Informatics Project
Histories and Futures of Technology
Dissertation

Option courses include:

Accelerated Natural Language Processing
Computer Graphics
Extreme Computing
Text Technologies for Data Science
Automatic Speech Recognition
Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship

Career opportunities

This degree will put you at the cutting edge of design technology and technology for design, opening a host of opportunities in the commercial sector.

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Programme description

Design informatics focuses on designing with data. This course is run in conjunction with Edinburgh College of Art through the Centre for Design Informatics.

On this programme you will learn how to build computational systems as well as the principles of design thinking and making.

Through case studies of real-life products you will apply your knowledge in a practical way, developing an understanding of what it takes to create, design and take a product to market.

Programme structure

Design Informatics: designing with data can be explored in most specialist areas of Informatics, but Design Informatics emphasises entrepreneurial product development.

In the first year you follow two semesters of taught courses, attending lectures, tutorials and group practicals to acquire the theoretical foundation to enable you to engage in independent research.

In the summer you have a commercial or public semester placement, where you will work on a project that will help you test and reflect on your knowledge and skills.

In the second year, taught courses focus on product design, and you will gain experience in leading a group, before completing a dissertation project.

Compulsory courses:

-Case Studies in Design Informatics 1
-Design with Data
-Design Informatics Project
-Histories and Futures of Technology
-Dissertation
-Placement

Option courses:

-Accelerated Natural Language Processing
-Computer Graphics
-Extreme Computing
-Introduction to Vision and Robotics
-Text Technologies for Data Science
-Automatic Speech Recognition
-Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship

Work placement/internship:
You will work on a project that will help you use your skills and knowledge during a summer placement with a commercial or public sector organisation.

Career opportunities

This degree will put you at the cutting edge of design technology and technology for design, opening a host of opportunities in the commercial sector.

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Learn how to create artificial information systems that mimic biological systems as well as how to use theoretical insights from AI to better understand cognitive processing in humans.
The human brain is a hugely complex machine that is able to perform tasks that are vastly beyond current capabilities of artificial systems. Understanding the brain has always been a source of inspiration for developing artificially intelligent agents and has led to some of the defining moments in the history of AI. At the same time, theoretical insights from artificial intelligence provide new ways to understand and probe neural information processing in biological systems.
On the one hand, the Master’s in Computation in Neural and Artificial Systems addresses how models based on neural information processing can be used to develop artificial systems, probing of human information processing in closed-loop online settings, as well as the development of new machine learning techniques to better understand human brain function.
On the other hand it addresses various ways of modelling and understanding cognitive processing in humans. These range from abstract mathematical models of learning that are derived from Bayesian statistics, complexity theory and optimal control theory to neural information processing systems such as neural networks that simulate particular cognitive functions in a biologically inspired manner. We also look at new groundbreaking areas in the field of AI, like brain computer interfacing and deep learning.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ai/computation

Why study Computation in Neural and Artificial Systems at Radboud University?
- Our cognitive focus leads to a highly interdisciplinary AI programme where students gain skills and knowledge from a number of different areas such as mathematics, computer science, psychology and neuroscience combined with a core foundation of artificial intelligence.

- Together with the world-renowned Donders Institute, the Behavioural Science Institute and various other leading research centres in Nijmegen, we train our students to become excellent researchers in AI.

- Master’s students are free to use the state-of-the-art facilities available on campus, like equipment for brain imaging as EEG, fMRI and MEG.

- Exceptional students who choose this specialisation have the opportunity to study for a double degree in Artificial Intelligence together with the specialisation in Brain Network and Neuronal Communication. This will take three instead of two years.

- This specialisation offers plenty of room to create a programme that meets your own academic and professional interests.

- To help you decide on a research topic there is a semi-annual Thesis Fair where academics and companies present possible project ideas. Often there are more project proposals than students to accept them, giving you ample choice. We are also open to any of you own ideas for research.

- Our AI students are a close-knit group; they have their own room in which they often get together to interact, debate and develop their ideas. Every student also receives personal guidance and supervision from a member of our expert staff.

Our research in this field

The programme is closely related to the research carried out in the internationally renowned Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour. This institute has several unique facilities for brain imaging using EEG, fMRI and MEG. You will be able to use these facilities for developing new experimental research techniques, as well as for developing new machine learning algorithms to analyse the brain data and integrate them with brain-computer interfacing systems.

Some examples of possible thesis subjects:
- Deep learning
Recent breakthroughs in AI have led to the development of artificial neural networks that achieve human level performance in object recognition. This has led companies like Google and Facebook to invest a lot of research in this technology. Within the AI department you can do research on this topic. This can range from developing deep neural networks to map and decode thoughts from human brain activity to the development of speech recognition systems or neural networks that can play arcade games.

- Brain Computer Interfacing
Brain computer interfaces are systems which decode a users mental state online in real-time for the purpose of communication or control. An effective BCI requires both neuro-scientific insight (which mental states should we decode?) and technical expertise (which measurement systems and decoding algorithms should be used?). A project could be to develop new mental tasks that induce stronger/easier to decode signals, such as using broadband stimuli. Another project could be to develop new decoding methods better able to tease a weak signal from the background noise, such as adaptive-beam forming. Results for both would assessed by performing empirical studies with target users in one of the EEG/MEG/fMRI labs available in the institute.

Career prospects

Our Artificial Intelligence graduates have excellent job prospects and are often offered a job before they have actually graduated. Many of our graduates go on to do a PhD either at a major research institute or university with an AI department. Other graduates work for companies interested in cognitive design and research. Examples of companies looking for AI experts with this specialisation: Google, Facebook, IBM, Philips and the Brain Foundation. Some students have even gone on to start their own companies.

Job positions

Examples of jobs that a graduate of the specialisation in Computation in Neural and Artificial Systems could get:
- PhD researcher on bio-inspired computing
- PhD researcher on neural decoding
- PhD researcher on neural information processing
- Machine learning expert in a software company
- Company founder for brain-based computer games
- Hospital-based designer of assistive technology for patients
- Policy advisor on new developments in neurotechnology
- Software developer for analysis and online visual displays of brain activity

Internship

Half of your second year consists of an internship, giving you plenty of hands-on experience. We encourage students to do this internship abroad, although this is not mandatory. We do have connections with companies abroad, for example in China, Sweden and the United States.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ai/computation

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Learning how to build the intelligence used to power the future of the Web.
The Web has provided us with novel ways to maintain our social networks, rapidly search for information, and make purchases from the comfort of our own home. Most of us take these technologies for granted. However, for the Web to function as it does numerous problems had to be solved: which pages should surface given your search query? Which status updates will you enjoy most? Or, how do we make sure you find the products that you where looking for?
These questions are solved using a combination of machine learning, and an understanding of users. As our use of the Web steadily grows, new questions are continuously emerging. Smarter and faster solutions to empower an intelligent Web are needed. In the Master’s specialisation in Web and Language Interaction you’ll learn the building blocks you’ll need to answer resolve future problems that arise on the Web. In this you’ll learn to understand the psychological, technical and statistical aspect of data science and other Web issues.
The key course in this specialisation is the new AI at the Webscale course, in which AI techniques are studied in the context of streaming and massive data. This course is complemented by the App-Lab course, aimed at understanding how Apps are set-up, built and evaluated. Covering human cognition, a choice of courses in psycho-linguistics is offered in line with the broad expertise within the Donders Institute.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ai/web

Why study Web and Language Interaction at Radboud University?

- Our cognitive focus leads to a highly interdisciplinary AI programme where students gain skills and knowledge from a number of different areas such as mathematics, computer science, psychology and neuroscience combined with a core foundation of artificial intelligence.

- This specialisation offers plenty of room to create a programme that meets your own academic and professional interests.

- Exceptional students who choose this specialisation have the opportunity to study for a double degree in Artificial Intelligence together with the specialisation in Data Science. This will take three instead of two years.

- Together with the world-renowned Donders Institute, the Max Planck Institute and various other leading research centres in Nijmegen, we train our students to become excellent researchers in AI.

- To help you decide on a research topic there is a semi-annual Thesis Fair where academics and companies present possible project ideas. Often there are more project proposals than students to accept them, giving you ample choice. We are also open to any of you own ideas for research.

- Our AI students are a close-knit group; they have their own room in which they often get together to debate and develop their projects. Every student also receives personal guidance and supervision from a member of our expert staff.

Our approach to this field

Language Information and Communication Technology lies at the basis of innumerable innovations in our society and has provided remarkable new services (like social media) and new products (like smart phones and tablets). Traditionally, applications of Artificial Intelligence used to be limited to micro worlds and toy systems. The horizon has now been widely extended to distribute mass applications of AI techniques. These developments are supported by a general availability of computation power and connectivity in the form of the web, social media, big data, wireless, and mobile platforms with input and output in many modalities.

Human-human and human-computer communication can be found in natural language applications like in the speech driven free-text systems such as Watson, and Siri, in brand sentiment detection and epidemic monitoring from tweets. But communication is also crucial for web applications and Apps that personalise information and make it accessible with other means. Examples thereof are voter guides, recommendation systems, click stream analysis, crowd sourcing and demand aggregation, e-therapy, e-inclusion, avatars with speech synthesis and recognition, gesture and emotion. Technical issues are e.g. map/ reduce architecture for massive data processing and emerging technologies like the semantic web.

Career prospects

Our Artificial Intelligence graduates have excellent job prospects and are often offered a job before they have actually graduated. Many of our graduates go on to do a PhD either at a major research institute or university with an AI department. Other graduates work for companies interested in cognitive design and research. Examples of companies looking for AI experts with this specialisation: Booking.com, Webpower, Google, Facebook, Philips, Booking.com, Philips, Rabobank. Some students have even gone on to start their own companies.

Job positions

Examples of jobs that a graduate of the specialisation in Web and Language Interaction could get:
- PhD researcher, for example, on enhancing speech recognition using semantic knowledge or in user interaction design for patient doctor communication in a virtual hospital
- Data Scientist in a web start-up
- Developer for Computer Aided Language Learning
- EU R&D programme leader on machine translation of natural language
- Developer of intelligent software for music studios

Internship

Half of your second year consists of an internship, giving you plenty of hands-on experience. We encourage students to do this internship abroad, although this is not mandatory. We do have connections with companies abroad, for example in China, Finland and the United States.

See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ai/web

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This graduate entry master course will develop your understanding of normal communication development, developmental and acquired communication and swallowing disorders, speech pathology, clinical practice, clinical measurement and research. Your studies will be supported by extensive clinical practice.

You will be provided with the skills and knowledge to practise as a speech pathologist, which involves diagnosing, treating and providing management services to people of all ages with communication disorders, including speech, language, voice, fluency and literacy difficulties, or people who have physical problems with eating or swallowing.

The course focuses primarily on four areas

-Behavioural science: understanding human behaviour, including the complex processes involved in speaking, thinking, reasoning and interacting with others.

-Cognitive neuroscience: studying anatomy, physiology and cognitive processes involved in normal and disordered communication and swallowing.

-Rehabilitation science: understanding rehabilitation techniques and principles involved in the treatment of communication and swallowing disorders.

-Speech science: exploring areas such as speech signals, acoustic and physiological measurement, physiological and cognitive processes in speech perception and production, and computer-based speech recognition and synthesis.

Professional recognition

Graduates are eligible for membership of Speech Pathology Australia.

Career opportunities

Speech pathologist

Credit for previous study

Applications for recognition of prior learning (RPL) are assessed on an individual basis.

Other notes

Application Deadline: 31st October

You must complete a Senior First Aid Certificate as soon as possible upon entering this course.
You will be required to participate in clinical practice during vacation periods. At least one of your placements will be in a regional or rural area of Western Australia.

2016 Curtin International Scholarships: Merit Scholarship

Curtin University is an inspiring, vibrant, international organisation, committed to making tomorrow better. It is a beacon for innovation, driving advances in technology through high-impact research and offering more than 100 practical, industry-aligned courses connecting to workplaces of tomorrow.

Ranked in the top two per cent of universities worldwide in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015, the University is also ranked 25th in the world for universities under the age of 50 in the QS World University Rankings 2015 Curtin also received an overall five-star excellence rating in the QS stars rating.

Curtin University strives to give high achieving international students the opportunity to gain an internationally recognised education through offering the Merit Scholarship. The Merit Scholarship will give you up to 25 per cent of your first year tuition fees and if you enrol in an ELB program at Curtin English before studying at Curtin, you will also receive a 10 per cent discount on your Curtin English fees.

For full details and terms and conditions of this scholarship, please visit: curtin.edu/int-scholarships and click on Merit.

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Research profile

Strongly interdisciplinary in nature, the Institute for Language, Cognition and Communication (ILCC) is dedicated to both basic and applied research in the computational study of language, communication, and cognition, in both humans and machines.

As technology focuses increasingly on language-based communication tools, research into the automation of language processing has become vital. ILCC offers you the broadest research scope in the UK, and a strong computational focus.

Our primary areas of research are:

natural language processing and computational linguistics
spoken language processing
dialogue and multimodal interaction
information extraction, retrieval, and presentation
computational theories of human cognition
educational and assistive technology
Much of our research is applied to software development, in areas as diverse as social media, assisted living, gaming and education.

You may find yourself working closely with other departments of the University, particularly the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences.

Many of our researchers are involved in two cross-disciplinary research centres:

Centre for Speech Technology Research (CSTR)

The Centre for Speech Technology Research (CSTR) is an interdisciplinary research centre linking Informatics and Linguistics. Founded in 1984, it is now one of the world's largest concentrations of researchers working in the field of language and speech processing.

CSTR is concerned with research in all areas of speech technology including speech recognition, synthesis, signal processing, acoustic phonetics, information access, multi-modal interaction and dialogue systems.

The Centre is home to state-of-the-art research facilities including specialised speech and language-orientated computer labs, a digital recording studio, perception labs and a meeting room instrumented with multiple synchronised video cameras and microphones. There is also access to high-performance computer clusters, the University storage area network, a specialist library, and many speech and language databases.

Human Communication Research Centre

The Human Communication Research Centre (HCRC) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow that brings together theories and methods from several formal and experimental disciplines to understand better how this happens.

We focus on spoken and written language; we also study communication in other visual, graphical and computer-based media.

Training and support

You carry out your research within a research group under the guidance of a supervisor. You will be expected to attend seminars and meetings of relevant research groups and may also attend lectures that are relevant to your research topic. Periodic reviews of your progress will be conducted to assist with research planning.

A programme of transferable skills courses facilitates broader professional development in a wide range of topics, from writing and presentation skills to entrepreneurship and career strategies.

The School of Informatics holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, in recognition of our commitment to advance the representation of women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. The School is deploying a range of strategies to help female staff and students of all stages in their careers and we seek regular feedback from our research community on our performance.

Facilities

The award-winning Informatics Forum is an international research facility for computing and related areas. It houses more than 400 research staff and students, providing office, meeting and social spaces.

It also contains two robotics labs, an instrumented multimedia room, eye-tracking and motion capture systems, and a full recording studio amongst other research facilities. Its spectacular atrium plays host to many events, from industry showcases and student hackathons to major research conferences.

Nearby teaching facilities include computer and teaching labs with more than 250 machines, 24-hour access to IT facilities for students, and comprehensive support provided by dedicated computing staff.

Among our entrepreneurial initiatives is Informatics Ventures, set up to support globally ambitious software companies in Scotland and nurture a technology cluster to rival Boston, Pittsburgh, Kyoto and Silicon Valley.

Career opportunities

While many of our graduates pursue an academic career, others find their skills are highly sought after in the technology industry. A number of our students serve internships with large UK and international software developers, while others take up positions with major social media companies.

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Are you a graduate who likes working with people? Would you like to become a registered Speech and Language Therapist within two years? If you are keen to become an allied health professional and want to shape the future of speech and language therapy, read on to find out how we can help you achieve those objectives.

Speech and language therapists work with people of all ages who experience communication and swallowing difficulties, enabling them to maximise their independence in their social, academic and working lives. Successful completion of our course leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a speech and language therapist; a pre-registration course is essential to begin a career in this area of therapy.

This is a two-year fast-track programme for graduates with a related degree (psychology; language and linguistics; social science; biological sciences; medical sciences or equivalent). It is a client-focused programme which uses problem-based learning methods to integrate theory and clinical practice. You will undertake day visits and blocks of practice education with speech and language therapists in the workplace.

Our course is continuously developed to reflect contemporary health and social care practice, and clients and voluntary groups, other allied health professionals and speech and language therapy clinicians and service managers continue to be involved, in order to ensure that changes in speech and language therapy practice are incorporated.

You will share some learning experiences with Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Adult Nursing and Mental Health Nursing students on similar two-year accelerated pre-registration programmes. The learning experience at this level includes interprofessional collaboration; studying alongside other health professionals means that you also have the opportunity to gain expert knowledge from them.

Placement Opportunities

In order to prepare you for the workplace, opportunities are provided in practice placements, where you work with speech and language therapists and their teams in a wide variety of settings.

This workplace learning provides essential practical experience of working with service users with communication and swallowing problems, and teams around the clients.

Professional accreditation

We are committed to embedding the NHS Constitution Values (which are strongly reflected in our University values) into everything we do. They define the behaviours and expectations of all our staff and students, underpinning the work we do in the university, clinical arena and other workplaces.

We understand that not all of our students and staff are employed within the NHS, but these values uphold the underlying principles of excellent care as a standard and as such we expect that anyone who has any aspect of their work which ultimately cares for others, will aspire to uphold these values.

For us, involving not only our students but service users, experts by experience, carers and NHS/non NHS professionals in the creation and delivery of all programmes is vital.

Specialist facilities

The School of Health and Human Sciences is located at two sites; in the Kimmy Eldridge building at our Colchester campus and in the Gateway Building at our Southend campus.

Within our School of Health and Human Sciences, we have a range of specialist clinical laboratories and IT facilities to assist you with the effective learning and acquisition of new skills; for students of our MSc Speech and Language Therapy, we have two specialist labs with equipment for researching speech including aided simulations and speech recognition.

We offer excellent physical and online resources in terms of libraries, computer labs, datasets, archives and other research materials. You can take advantage of our links with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), which conducts large-scale survey projects, many for government, EU and other public agencies, and has its own library.

The UK Data Archive is also based at our Colchester Campus and stores national research data.

Your future

We currently have graduates working in both clinical and management positions in local trusts, hospitals and care organisations, as well as in local and county councils.

Although the majority of speech and language therapists are employed by the NHS they are increasingly being employed in a wide variety of contexts including education and health and social care.

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