Prospectus

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Playful and Creative Science

Course
2024-2025

Admission requirements

Bachelor degree (completed)

Description

For students in the Media Technology MSc program, this course offers a logical continuation of the course "Research Fundamentals". Whereas "Research Fundamentals" is more about commonplace research practices, "Playful & Creative Science" discusses unconventional and playful ways of doing science.

The course is organized along three main steps in the scientific cycle: (i) asking questions; (ii) executing research to answer these questions; and (iii) formulating the answers. It shows how scientists have been playful and creative in those steps, and stimulates students to find their own ways within science and to be playful. To achieve this, it explains that scientists are less restricted to all kinds of rules than is often thought-and-taught, and sometimes produce outputs other than scientific articles. Teaching is based around many inspiring examples of unconventional research questions, methods and output.

Class attendance is compulsory and an active in-class attitude is expected of students. Lectures are combined with class discussions, take-home assignments (including a final project), and student presentations.

Course objectives

After completing the course students:

  • understand the three main steps of the research-cycle, as defined within this course;

  • are exposed to numerous examples of playful and creative science;

  • can identify playful and creative science practices;

  • can reflect on restrictions posed by science, and where such restrictions do, but also don't apply;

  • have gained confidence to find their own ways in science, and dare to be playful.

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

Interactive lectures / seminar. Language: English.

Assessment method

The final grade for the course is established through a smaller (group) project halfway the course, plus a final larger (group) project and presentation. Moreover, class attendance is compulsory. In case the requirements are not met (i.e. a fail for the projects, and/or too many missed classes) the student should do a custom made additional project, for which a deadline will be set.

Reading list

  • Various online available reading materials, communicated via 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

The lectures of this course are Maarten Lamers (m.h.lamers@liacs.leidenuniv.nl) and Bas Haring (mail@basharing.com). Contact them for course specific questions and the programme's coordinator programme's coordinator for questions regarding the programme, admission and/or registration.

Remarks

Elective, external and exchange students (other than Media Technology students) need to contact the Media Technology MSc programme's coordinator due to limited capacity.

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.