Teaching parallel computing concepts using real-life applications

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Date

2016

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Publisher

Tempus Publications

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Organizational Unit
Computer Engineering
(1998)
The Atılım University Department of Computer Engineering was founded in 1998. The department curriculum is prepared in a way that meets the demands for knowledge and skills after graduation, and is subject to periodical reviews and updates in line with international standards. Our Department offers education in many fields of expertise, such as software development, hardware systems, data structures, computer networks, artificial intelligence, machine learning, image processing, natural language processing, object based design, information security, and cloud computing. The education offered by our department is based on practical approaches, with modern laboratories, projects and internship programs. The undergraduate program at our department was accredited in 2014 by the Association of Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs (MÜDEK) and was granted the label EUR-ACE, valid through Europe. In addition to the undergraduate program, our department offers thesis or non-thesis graduate degree programs (MS).
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Organizational Unit
Software Engineering
(2005)
Department of Software Engineering was founded in 2005 as the first department in Ankara in Software Engineering. The recent developments in current technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Blockchains, have placed Software Engineering among the top professions of today, and the future. The academic and research activities in the department are pursued with qualified faculty at Undergraduate, Graduate and Doctorate Degree levels. Our University is one of the two universities offering a Doctorate-level program in this field. In addition to focusing on the basic phases of software (analysis, design, development, testing) and relevant methodologies in detail, our department offers education in various areas of expertise, such as Object-oriented Analysis and Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Software Quality Assurance, Software Requirement Engineering, Software Design and Architecture, Software Project Management, Software Testing and Model-Driven Software Development. The curriculum of our Department is catered to graduate individuals who are prepared to take part in any phase of software development of large-scale software in line with the requirements of the software sector. Department of Software Engineering is accredited by MÜDEK (Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs) until September 30th, 2021, and has been granted the EUR-ACE label that is valid in Europe. This label provides our graduates with a vital head-start to be admitted to graduate-level programs, and into working environments in European Union countries. The Big Data and Cloud Computing Laboratory, as well as MobiLab where mobile applications are developed, SimLAB, the simulation laboratory for Medical Computing, and software education laboratories of the department are equipped with various software tools and hardware to enable our students to use state-of-the-art software technologies. Our graduates are employed in software and R&D companies (Technoparks), national/international institutions developing or utilizing software technologies (such as banks, healthcare institutions, the Information Technologies departments of private and public institutions, telecommunication companies, TÜİK, SPK, BDDK, EPDK, RK, or universities), and research institutions such TÜBİTAK.

Journal Issue

Abstract

The need to promote parallel computing concepts is an important issue due to a rapid advance in multi-core architectures. This paper reports experiences in teaching parallel computing concepts to computer and software engineering undergraduates. By taking a practical approach in delivering the material, students are shown to grasp the essential concepts in an effective way. This has been demonstrated by implementing small projects during the course, such as computing the sum of the terms of a geometric series using pipelines, solving linear systems by parallel iterative methods, and computing Mandelbrot set (fractal). This study shows that, it is useful to provide real-life analogies to facilitate general understanding and to motivate students in their studies as early as possible via small project implementations. The paper also describes an overall approach used to develop students' parallel computing skills and provides examples of the analogies employed in conjunction with the approach described. This approach is also assessed by collecting questionnaires and learning outcome surveys. © 2016 TEMPUS Publications.

Description

Keywords

Flynn's taxonomy, Message-passing interface, Parallel computing, Speed-up factor

Turkish CoHE Thesis Center URL

Citation

15

WoS Q

Q4

Scopus Q

Q2

Source

International Journal of Engineering Education

Volume

32

Issue

2

Start Page

772

End Page

781

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14411/9463

Collections

Scopus