Contact person: Claudia Maria Cutrupi

E-mail: claudia.m.cutrupi@ntnu.no  

Design practice for gender diversity in the subject Customer-driven project

With funding from Excited, a project at NTNU led by Claudia Maria Cutrupi and Professor Letizia Jaccheri aims to strengthen gender diversity within the software development subject TDT4290 Customer-driven project at NTNU. The main goal of the project is to explore how newly developed practices aimed at diversity can improve the quality of education and address sustainable development as a central aspect of the subject's learning outcomes. To achieve this, the team is working to define and implement active measures that can promote gender diversity in software development teams and academic environments.

Contact person: Hans Alvar Engmark 

E-mail: hans.a.engmark@ntnu.no

Take-home laboratory to enhance student efficiency

With support from Excited, Hans A. Engmark and Morten D. Pedersen, along with three master's students at NTNU, are conducting a project that tests the effect of a take-home laboratory on students' self-driven efficiency within the hardware and software fields. Through the use of a magnetic levitation system, the aim is to enhance practical learning and independence. Central to the project is to ascertain the tool's effect on students' efficiency and to enhance this effect if possible. The project will involve the design of building instructions and training. At the same time, the project will focus on sustainability and AI in IT education.

Contact person: Casandra Grundstrom

E-mail: casandra.a.grundstrom@ntnu.no

How do educators use AI?

The project led by Casandra Grundstrom, Karina Rose Mahan, and Fredrik Mørk Røkenes at NTNU examines how faculty members perceive and use artificial intelligence in higher education. The goal is to map the effect of AI technology on teaching practices, with a special interest in comparisons between the IDI faculty, which has technical AI expertise, and the ILU faculty, which specializes in pedagogy. The study will thus explore the development of new guidelines for ethical and effective use of AI in educational contexts.

Contact person: Chris Hart

E-mail: chris.hart@nord.no

Virtual and mixed reality to visualize previously inaccessible scientific concepts

The project aims to explore how virtual and mixed reality (VR/MR) can create new learning experiences within scientific fields that are otherwise inaccessible, such as the subatomic realm or distant planets. Inspired by a VR experience that simulates the surface of Mars, the project leader aims to create a 'proof of concept' prototype (POC) that demonstrates how particle collisions at a subatomic level can be visualized and shared in a VR/MR environment.

The solution will be compared with traditional teaching methods to assess pedagogical benefits. Success will be measured through surveys to map students' understanding and feelings related to the technology. With collaboration from CERN and support from educational institutions, the initiator hopes to showcase VR/MR's potential as a useful resource in education. The project also includes the development of a multiplayer VR/MR game by SPO students at Nord University, which will provide valuable insights into the POC prototype.

Contact person: Marie Haugli-Sandvik

E-mail: marie.h.sandvik@ntnu.no

Exploring the teaching quality associated with IT security

Marie Haugli-Sandvik and Kjell Inge Tomren at NTNU are exploring active learning in a large ICT security course for engineering students. The goal is to enhance student engagement and collaboration across campuses, in line with national guidelines to integrate security thinking throughout the lifecycle of technological systems. This initiative will contribute to sustainability in education and society by preparing engineering students for security challenges associated with new technology, including artificial intelligence. In this way, the project helps to strengthen the focus on cybersecurity in society at large by ensuring the awareness of future engineers.

Contact person: Lars Krogh Bjerresgaard Kyed

E-mail: lars.k.kyed@nord.no

New production methods in Creative Media

Lars Krogh Bjerresgaard Kyed at Nord University is conducting a project to introduce iterative production methods in the Creative Media course. The main goal of the project is to provide students with hands-on experience with film and pre-visualization production using Unreal Engine, and to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among students from game, animation, and film studies. This initiative is expected to increase artistic freedom and improve educational outcomes by integrating practical, technology-driven approaches into the curriculum. The project includes the development of workshops and tutorials, and will also be evaluated through surveys and interviews to measure its effectiveness and impact on student learning.

Contact person: Jingyue Li

E-mail: jingyue.li@ntnu.no

Use of generative AI in software security

Jingyue Li and Per Håkon Meland at NTNU are leading a project that explores the impact of generative AI on education in software security. The project aims to integrate tools like ChatGPT into the curriculum to improve teaching objectives, design, and evaluation. The main goal is to identify and develop the necessary knowledge about prompt engineering for effective use of AI in software security activities, such as code security and risk analysis. The study will collect data through a hackathon with students from the course TDT4237, to measure the effectiveness of AI tools compared to traditional methods. The results will inform about potential pitfalls and benefits of using AI in software security education, and could possibly be generalized to other software engineering courses.

Contact person: Cogito NTNU

E-mail: styret@cogito-ntnu.no

Comprehensive AI training for students

With support from Excited, Cogito NTNU, a non-profit student organization, is seeking funds to expand its work on competence building through practical use of artificial intelligence (AI). The project aims to promote knowledge and application of AI among NTNU students, with a growing membership base from 30 to 50 active members. The organization plans to carry out between 5 and 8 mini-projects each semester, covering various AI applications. These projects provide hands-on experience to 4-8 students each, from machine learning in the cloud to the robotics project 'Cogitron'.

Contact person: Helga D. Ísfold Sigurðardóttir

E-mail: helga.d.sigurdardottir@nord.no

How can game technology education be improved?

With support from Excited, Helga D. Ísfold Sigurðardóttir and her team at Nord University propose a project called "Alumni, Advancement and AI". The project aims to enhance the understanding of the relevance of the subjects offered in the game and entertainment technology study program by involving alumni who now work in the game industry. Alumni will participate in guest lectures and workshops to share their experiences and provide feedback on the use of generative AI and other current technologies in the industry.

This initiative will also assist in evaluating and potentially updating the curriculum of the study program to ensure it meets the industry's current needs. Research methods include open questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and participant observation. These measures are expected to contribute to a continuous update and improvement of the educational offerings by integrating industry feedback directly into the curriculum.

Contact person: George Adrian Stoica

E-mail: stoica@ntnu.no

Improvement and further development of project-based learning

With funding from Excited, George Adrian Stoica leads a mini-project called "IT1901 Reloaded". The project aims to improve and potentially expand the learning materials for the course IT1901 Informatics Project 1. This includes the development of resources related to development environments, source code modularization, and build tools. The purpose is to adapt learning to the pace of the students and experiment with a flipped classroom model. Insights from the project will be shared internally within the ISSE group and possibly presented at local conferences such as NIKT, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge and methods within educational innovation in IT education.

Contact person: Ali Shariq Imran 

E-mail: ali.imran@ntnu.no

A feedback assessment tool for improving course delivery 

Through support from NTNU Excited, Ali Imran has conducted a research project to facilitate effective feedback and thereby enhance the quality of education.

The project involved building a web application to address the challenges of obtaining feedback from students. This was achieved by facilitating simple, seamless feedback. Within the platform, instructors can request feedback after specific events and utilize sentiment analysis techniques to continuously monitor and gain insight into students' experiences of the course.

The project comprises three main elements: the application allowing students to provide feedback, the integration of sentiment analysis enabling real-time evaluation of the feedback, and a dashboard for instructors to track progress through data-driven visualizations. The tool will be tested in various subjects and application areas at NTNU throughout the autumn semester. If successful, it could become a valuable tool not only locally at NTNU but also for other universities and educational domains.

Contact person: Tonje Jin

E-mail: tonje.jin@ntnu.no

Math video lectures adaptable to pre-knowledge of students 

"Learning mathematics digitally is challenging, especially within STEM education. Through a project funded by Excited, Tonje Jin has explored a learning format where students experience real-time lectures tailored to their individual pre-existing knowledge. In these lectures, students have the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers through dynamic branched videos.

The videos were introduced to engineering students in Linear Algebra at NTNU in the spring of 2023. The feedback from the students was highly positive, and the dynamic videos provided a more seamless learning experience. In addition to accommodating various levels of pre-existing knowledge, the video format also allows students who might not typically ask questions to receive the necessary support they need. Moving forward, more data will be collected on the impact of the video format, both among STEM and economics students. It is not unlikely that dynamic branched videos represent the future of digital education."

Contact person:  Simone Mora

E-mail: simone.mora@ntnu.no

Coding workshop to tackle sustainability challenges with data

"In a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly prominent, IT education programs face the challenge of incorporating this interdisciplinary subject into their curricula. With support from NTNU Excited, Simone Mora and his team delved into this challenge. The solution they arrived at was a hands-on coding activity that provides IT students with firsthand experience working with real environmental data from Trondheim. This included aspects such as air quality, temperature, and noise. By building upon an Open Source project from MIT and utilizing data from the Trondheim municipality, the activity offers a realistic learning experience.

The project's outcomes range from Python coding challenges to a workshop protocol and facilitator guide. After receiving positive feedback in spring 2023, the future looks promising for this approach. With further development and fine-tuning, this method has the potential to become the standard for sustainable education within IT at NTNU and potentially at other institutions."

Contact person: Jostein Engesmo

E-mail: jostein.engesmo@ntnu.no

Emotional Awareness 

In a time where digitization plays an increasingly important role in students' learning, Jostein Engesmo, along with Fay Giæver and Niki Panteli, explored emotional awareness through digital tools to promote better study habits. With the aid of smartwatches and applications, students could delve into their study habits, learn to manage distractions, and enhance their overall learning experience.

The collected data showed how students' daily choices, such as sleep and the use of digital devices, directly impacted their learning experiences. Based on feedback from participating students, it appears that awareness of these habits can lead to more meaningful and effective learning.

Contact person: Damiano Varagnolo

E-mail:  damiano.varagnolo@ntnu.no

Foster reusability of high quality assessment material among teachers 

With support from Excited, Damiano Varagnolo has contributed to a more sustainable IT education. The self-developed portal https://faceit.pythonanywhere.com/ promotes the reuse of assessment material for teachers and simplifies self-assessment for students. Funding from Excited has enabled enhancements in how questions are added to and retrieved from the portal and has also focused on the user experience for both students and instructors through events where users could provide feedback.

Contact person:  Tjerand Silde

E-mail: tjerand.silde@ntnu.no

Developing and evaluating hands-on cryptography training 

Tjerand Silde, through support from Excited, has received funding to develop and test materials for use in a new cryptography course at NTNU. The course involves project-based learning and the use of specialized hardware to conduct side-channel attacks on cryptography. Through the funding provided by Excited, Tjerand has, among other things, had the opportunity to seek assistance from students to evaluate and provide feedback on the academic content before its first-time instruction.

Contact person:  Leonardo Montecchi

E-mail:  leonardo.montecchi@ntnu.no

Planning an Excit-ing Programming Languages Course  

Leonardo Montecchis has led a project aimed at revitalizing the "TDT4165 course to foster greater satisfaction and engagement among students. Previously, the course relied on the Oz/Mozart environment, suffering from a lack of updates and causing frustration among students. Consequently, the project initially focused on identifying suitable, modern programming languages to update teaching materials. Theoretical concepts were adapted to these new languages, and efforts were made to discover new textbooks. The project resulted in a more relevant, practical, and engaging course, emphasizing both theoretical robustness and practical application.

Contact person: Helga Sigurðardóttir

E-mail: helga.d.sigurdardottir@nord.no

Media and Games – History and Culture

Helga D. Isfold Sigurdardottir at Nord University has led a project to transform teaching and evaluation methods in the course "Media and Games - History and Culture." The project involved introducing three different non-digital game development tasks: a quiz game, a board game, and a role-playing game, each associated with different modules in the course. The aim is to provide students with practical experience in game development and a deeper understanding of the history and culture of games. Previously relying on written assignments and a take-home exam, the course now incorporates game development as an evaluation method. This provides a more realistic experience of the game development process and contributes to increased motivation among students. The funds from Excited have been used, among other things, to hire student assistants to conduct workshops, coordinate with students, and assist in evaluation.

Contact person: Oddlaug Marie Lindgaard

E-mail: oddlaug.m.lindgaard@nord.no

Using infographics as a tool for analysis and presentation

Oddlaug Lindgaard, Line Kolås, and Ninni Rotmo Olsen at Nord University have conducted a project that promotes the use of infographics in IT students' research work, addressing challenges many students face when dealing with data analysis. The project, inspired by Line's observations about the need to improve students' analytical skills, utilized Katie A. Lineers' expertise through workshops. This approach resulted in students developing a deeper understanding and clarity for their projects. A teaching program consisting of nine exercises in infographics was developed and is planned to be used as part of future teaching. Support from Excited has made it possible to bring in expertise from external experts and facilitate pedagogical initiatives.

Contact person: Özlem Özgöbek

E-mail: ozlem.ozgobek@ntnu.no

Improving Recommender Systems learning outcomes

Özlem Özgöbek has led a mini-project aimed at improving the learning outcomes in the course "Recommendation Systems," by incorporating sustainability principles and updating the course content in line with the rapid advancements in recommendation systems. This field is becoming increasingly popular and has significant societal implications, particularly in entertainment, e-commerce, and education. Resources from Excited have been used to hire a teaching assistant to revise the learning objectives and enhance the group project in the course, as well as to conduct an assessment of open-source development tools.

Contact person: Adam Palmquist

E-mail: adam.palmquist@nord.no

Make Game Design Documentation Great Again

Adam Palmquist has led a mini-project aimed at providing first-year students in Game and Experience Technology at Nord University with practical experience in game design documentation using the tool LOOPS. Research in game development shows that success relies on continuous game testing and a clear documentation process. Through the project, first-year students have strengthened their understanding of theoretical principles in documentation through practical application.

Contact person: Babak A. Farshchian

E-mail: babak.farshchian@ntnu.no

Identification of threshold concepts in IT3010: Empirical Research Methods in IT and Digitalization

Babak A. Farshchian has received support from Excited to further develop and redesign the course IT3010 - Methods for Empirical Research in IT and Digitalization. Many students found the course challenging, resorting to defining and addressing superficial research projects and paraphrasing existing literature. At the same time, students encounter challenges with teamwork and feedback within the course. Through the support from Excited, Babak conducted a qualitative study using threshold concepts to analyze the course. This serves as a basis for further developing the subject, aiming to make it significantly relevant for IT students in their work with complex issues.

Contact person: Frank Alexander Kraemer

E-mail: kraemer@ntnu.no 

A digital tool for student reflection and feedback from instructors

As one of Excited's mini-projects, Frank Kraemer has led the improvement of a reflection tool for students. The tool is used by instructors and Kraemer as a means to better understand the students' academic experiences. It enables student assistants in the courses to sort and filter feedback, allowing the instructor to capture the most essential information and adjust teaching accordingly. Previously, the tool had been implemented using Microsoft Automation, Forms, and manual transfers. Therefore, the project's focus has been on building an automated tool that manages the entire process and simultaneously makes the tool accessible to multiple instructors by being open-source and hosted on a simple server.

Contact person: Robin T. Bye

E-mail: robin.t.bye@ntnu.no

Sustainable and Meaningful Investments in IoT Technology Fostering Learning

Robin T. Bye led a mini-project exploring various IoT technologies to establish the most suitable ones for use in the course AIS2103 IoT and Network Programming. Through the project, they mitigate the risk of erroneous investments when scaling the equipment to accommodate more than 50 students in the course. The project was carried out by student assistants under guidance and provided valuable learning outcomes in cybersecurity and IoT. Simultaneously, the results can be applied to similar courses, thus contributing to strengthening the university's focus and expertise in the field.

Contact person: Trond Aalberg

E-mail: trond.aalberg@ntnu.no

External Feedback on Project Work as Formative Assessment in IT2810 - Web Development

With support from Excited, the course IT2810 - Web Development at NTNU has taken steps to enhance the assessment process and its connection to the industry.

With approximately 200 participating students annually, providing comprehensive and precise feedback is challenging. The solution has been to involve external stakeholders to evaluate the students' work. Unique to the project is the issue of quantity and the focus on integrating external evaluations into the development process. The direct link between academia and industry practice also allows for new perspectives and strengthens the sense of relevance for the students.

Contact person: Greg Curda

E-mail: gregory.j.curda@nord.no

Professionalization of Students' Audio Editing Tools

With support from NTNU Excited, Greg Curda conducted a project aimed at improving the audio quality in student projects within the fields of Film and TV, CGA, Animation, and Game Technology.

At the core of the project was providing students access to professional "add-on tools" that utilize artificial intelligence to streamline audio editing, particularly dialogue tracks. The motivation behind the project stemmed, among other reasons, from the potential of such tools, which are often beyond students' reach, to enhance students' productivity and the quality of their work.

Contact person: Helga D. Isfold Sigurdardottir

E-mail: helga.d.sigurdardottir@nord.no

Engagement and Industry Relevance for Game Development Students

With support from NTNU Excited, Helga D. Isfold Sigurdardottir conducted a two-year initiative aimed at improving learning outcomes for game development students at Nord University. The core objective of the project was to enhance the understanding of the gaming industry and the requisites for success within the field.

Students in the bachelor's program for game development and experience technology had valuable opportunities to expand their networks and insights into the gaming industry by participating in key conferences such as Konsoll 2022 and Sweden Game Conference. These experiences, combined with visits to gaming and entertainment technology companies in Trondheim, contributed to boosting students' confidence, business understanding, and insights into the startup landscape for gaming in Norway.

Contact person: Kristin Susanne Karlsen

E-mail: kristika@ntnu.no 

Improving Student Collaboration in TDT4120 - Algorithms and Data Structures

At IDI, the course instructor noticed that students in the course TDT4120 Algorithms and Data Structures found the course material challenging. In response, with support from Excited, a structured collaborative platform was established for the students. While the exercises in the course remained individual, students were given the opportunity to sign up for groups through a digital system. These groups met weekly to discuss and better comprehend assignments and course content, emphasizing that the final task solution should remain individual.

Contact person: Baiheng Wu

E-mail: baiheng.wu@ntnu.no

Engineering Practice in Mechatronics and Software for Robotics

With support from Excited, Baiheng Wu and his team conducted a project aiming to systematize and enhance educational practices for engineering studies at the Department of ICT and Natural Sciences. The project's primary focus was to explore how leading institutions like the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University organize their engineering practices. The team also aimed to optimize the use of local resources to enhance students' experiences in engineering practices. A key initiative in the project involved designing modular robotics platforms aimed at engaging younger students and potentially increasing the number of applicants to the department's bachelor's and master's programs.

Contact person: Anne C. Elster

E-mail: elster@ntnu.no

Teaching Parallel Computing from a Sustainable Perspective

With support from NTNU Excited, Anne C. Elster and her team conducted a project aimed at integrating sustainability as a key component in teaching parallel computing.

The main objective of the project was to link the technical aspects of parallel computing with sustainable considerations. This involved analyzing the environmental impact of data processing and the significance of code optimization within a sustainable context.

Contact person: Girts Strazdins

E-mail: gist@ntnu.no

How much do inspiring tasks and real clients contribute to motivation in LtC subjects?

How much do inspiring tasks and real clients contribute to the motivation of students learning system development? In the subject of system development and modeling in Ålesund, Strazdins drew motivation from the Gamelab subject at Nord and studied whether motivation and learning were improved among students when transitioning from generic logistics programs with teachers acting as clients to having elementary school students as clients in a project to create computer games.

Read article about the miniproject

Read the report from the project

Contact person: Øystein Nytrø

E-mail: nytroe@ntnu.no

Interactive lab lectures in Programming Languages

A three-week workshop was conducted to support new students in the technical aspects of game design. By focusing on logic-based programming and constraint reasoning, the workshop used the Swish environment for an intuitive learning experience. Exam results showed that many students achieved proficiency in these areas within this short period, strengthening their technical skills and understanding before taking courses within the study program.

Read the whole report

Read report from project