First impressions of the three courses I am attending here :-)

Processes for IT Production / PIP, 7.5 EC

When we got the introduction from the departement, we got three sheets with information about courses. We had to choose two of the three. I disregarded ERP-systems and choose this course with a slightly frowned face because of its title. It had the right topics, but something was off. Turns out, they were changing the course and had not updated the description fully yet. The course is a BA/ISE course about development processes and managing them during all phases. The original description hinted a more technical SE course about development models and software patterns/architectures. For those who know me a bit this may not be a surprise, but I really do not like this change. The student assistant however has been very helpful with understanding the waterfall of information that comes with this course, but is new for someone not having Business & IT background. This course is going to be the hardest of the lot and will require external motivation from time to time. But I like a challenge, keeps you sharp.

Introduction to Computer Security / SÄK, 7.5 EC

Now this is a course to my liking. The teacher is someone who knows about his field, but also finds it something to enjoy. He lures students into common traps and helps them out in a way I really like. He can be a bit chaotic, but as long as you can follow his mistakes, you stay engaged and learn faster. In that aspect he reminds me of my Algoritms, Datastructures & Complexity teacher. The subject is quite general, but I will enjoy following this course. He started with reminding us this course was in English and that you should be mindful of the pitfalls of translation. He used the example of the swedish word "säkerhet", which is used for "security". It also means "safety". It's like the dutch word "veilig" which means "safe", but also "secure", but has different conjugations for security and safety (being "beveiliging" and "veiligheid").

Swedish as a foreign language

This course is given closer to home, at the Frescati campus. The teacher is an older man, but witty. He reminds me of my old calculus teacher in Twente. Having fun is part of the method. We're learning Swedish with about 300 people, repeating after him and learning the language from scratch. Every lecture a new tidbit of information about grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary and common constructions. The most interactive lecture with 300 people I know of :-)