Studiegids

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Stochastische Besliskunde

Vak
2025-2026

Admission requirements

Inleiding Kansrekening en Programmeermethoden

Description

Stochastische Besliskunde (BKA) is an elective course in the second and third year that is being offered third in series of Besliskunde courses. An important aspect of this course is the mathematical modeling and analysis of practical quantitative problems.
In this course, a selection of the following topics is discussed:
1. Markov Processes
2. Queueing theory
3. Markov decision processes

Course objectives

The learning objectives for this course are as follows. After this course, the student:

  • knows the basic concepts of Markov processes, such as transient distributions and limiting probability distributions

  • is able to use these concepts in queueing theory, and compute performance measures such as average number of customers, mean waiting time of a customer
    -knows the basic concepts of Markov decision processes, such as backward analysis, policy improvement, value iteration and linear programming
    -is able to use the corresponding theory for modeling and problem solving in stochastic optimization.

Timetable

In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.

Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.

Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.

Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.

Mode of instruction

The course will be based on lectures (2 x 45 minutes per week) and self-study.

Assessment method

The final grade consists of two parts, being:

homework assignments (10%)
written exam (90%)

In order to pass the course, the weighted average of the two parts needs to be at least 5.5, and the grade for the written exam should be at least 5.5 as well. There is a written retake for the written exam. The homework assignments are considered a practical exam and are therefore not retakable.

Reading list

The lecture notes will be available from the end of January and can also be downloaded from Brightspace.

Registration

As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.

In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.

There are two enrolment periods per year:

  • Enrolment for the fall opens in July

  • Enrolment for the spring opens in December

See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.

Note:

  • It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.

  • Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.

  • Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.

Contact

Odysseas Kanavetas: o dot kanavetas at math dot leidenuniv dot nl

Remarks

none

Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.