Interesting summer semester

Even though I promised myself to write more I can't seem to find time.

Well, its my fault. After all, as a grad student in the MSE program you are supposed to take at most 60 unit (a unit is computed as the average hours per week required in the course) but I got greedy and took 72 units. I couldn't help it. Too many interesting course and opportunities to venture into unknown territory.

Ok, here are my courses this semester:

• Studio III(48 units): this is a core course. After 2 semesters or designing and preparing to create a search-and-rescue simulator for our client (DoD L3-Communications). Last semester I was chief architect and this semester I've rotated to the role of Team Lead. The project was delivered on time and exceeding our client's expectations.
• Statistics: (6 units): I took this course mainly as a refreshed to take data mining later on
• Data Mining (6 units): This course, although interesting lacks the depth I was expecting. We are learning classification methods and different techniques of data mining, but it lacks the mathematics in-depth that I was expecting to learn. At least I get a good hands on with some cool tools that I will be able to use later in my life
• Product Management in IT: I took this course so in the future I'm more adept at communicating with this group in a company. I was also curious to see what the responsibilities of a PM are, like building Product Marketing Plans and Strategy Plans...interesting indeed.
• Independent Study-architecture evolution (6 units): this turned out to be pretty cool stuff indeed. A new group within CMU was formed lead by Dr. David Garlan. The group is in its initial phases and we are currently reading possible papers regarding the evolution of an architecture through time. It deals with how to reason about changes and what techniques and method exists to help this transition. This group was interesting not only because of the exposure of the people involved in it, but also because it helped me articulate my thoughts better. As my first splash into academia, I found it to be very challenging and entertaining at the same time.

Next semester I'm going to take it easier, maybe 36 units and audit the rest. No more stress and all nighters. I've been doing this for a year now and my body needs a rest (and the fact that my wife haven't seen me in a while :))

As a glance of what where my past courses:

• Managing Software development
  
• Formal Models
• Methods: deciding what to design
• Software Architecture
• Managing Intellectual Capital Intensive Businesses
• Real-time decision making with ERP
• Developing Star performers
• Analysis
• Studio I & II
  

See you!