Application of machine learning tools, with an emphasis on solving practical problems. Data cleaning, feature extraction, supervised and unsupervised machine learning, reproducible workflows, and communicating results.
Lectures:
| Day | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tue/Thu | 11:00-12:20 | Zoom |
Tutorials (choose one of these):
| Section | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| T1A | Fri 10:00-10:50 | Zoom |
| T1B | Fri 11:00-11:50 | Zoom |
| T1C | Fri 12:00-12:50 | Zoom |
| T1D | Thu 17:00-17:50 | Zoom |
Office hours: See the calendar.
Instructor: Mike Gelbart
Teaching Assistants:
- Austin Beauchamp
- Qianqian Feng
- Yuxi Feng
- Ammarah Kaderdina
- Kattie Sepehri
- Daisy Zhang
Waitlists: Update 2020-09-06: We recently moved everyone from the waitlist into the course. If you registered on the waitlist since then, the chances are low that you will make it into the course.
The general seats available in this class usually fill up very quickly. Once the general seats are taken, the only way to register for the course is to sign up for the waiting list. For questions about the waiting list policies, see here. You should sign up for the waiting list even if it is long; a lot of students tend to drop courses. Signing up for the waiting list also makes it more likely that we will open up extra sessions, expand class sizes, or offer additional courses on these topics. I have no control over the situation and I cannot help you bypass the waitlist list.
Prerequisites: The official prerequisites can be found here. If you do not meet the prerequisites, see here and here. I was told that students should not visit the front desk in the CS main office about prerequisite issues, because the folks at the front desk do not have the authority to resolve prerequisite issues.
In practice, the prerequisiste is familiarity with Python programming.
Auditing: if the course is full, we cannot accommodate official auditors. If there is space and you would like to audit the course, please contact the instructor. All UBC students are welcome to audit the course unofficially.
The grading scheme for the course is as follows:
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Syllabus quiz | 1% |
| Assignments | 30% |
| Midterm | 19% |
| Final | 50% |
The plan is that most of the assignments will contribute equally towards the overall Assignments grade. However, this is not yet finalized in case, for example, the last assignment ends up particularly short or long due to timing. Furthermore, I will drop your lowest homework grade. Update as of 2020-11-17: I will also drop your second-lowest homework grade.
For the full policy on grades, see this document.
For the grading scheme I wish we could use, see here.
UBC has a policy on academic concession for cases in which a student may be unable to complete coursework. According to this policy, grounds for academic concession can be illness, conflicting responsibilities, or compassionate grounds. Examples of compassionate grounds, from the above policy, include “a traumatic event experienced by the student, a family member, or a close friend; an act of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct experienced by the student, a family member, or a close friend; a death in the family or of a close friend.” If you would like to request an academic concession, please fill out the academic concession form and email it to the instructor as soon as possible. You may be asked for futher documentation. The instructor will evaluate the situation and make a decision on whether to grant the concession and, if so, how to proceed.
The midterm exam will take place on October 22, 2020 during class time. The exam is open book, meaning you are allowed to consult course materials, the internet, etc. However, you are NOT allowed to communicate with anyone else in any way during the exam. The exam will be on Canvas and you will have 75 minutes to complete it.
Missed midterm exam. There is no makeup midterm exam. If you miss the midterm exam, or anticipate missing the midterm exam, please see the Academic concessions section above. In most cases, if you have missed the midterm exam for a justified reason, the weight of the midterm component of the course will be transferred to the final exam.
The final exam will be take-home and will be held before or during the exam period. The exam is open book, meaning you are allowed to consult course materials, the internet, etc. However, you are NOT allowed to communicate with anyone else in any way during the exam. The exam will be distributed via GitHub in the same way as assignments.
- If you plan to engage in non-course-related activity in lecture (Facebook, YouTube, chatting with friends, etc), please sit in the last two rows of the room to avoid distracting your classmates.
- Do not distribute any course materials (slides, homework assignments, solutions, notes, etc.) without permission.
- Do not photograph or record lectures (audio or video) without permission.
- If you commit to working with a partner on an assignment, do your fair share of the work.
- If you have a problem or complaint, let the instructor(s) know immediately. Maybe we can fix it!
We're working together on this course during a global pandemic. Everyone is struggling to some extent. If you tell me you're having trouble, I'm not going to judge you or think less of you. I hope you'll extend me the same grace!
Here are some ground rules:
- You never owe me personal information about any aspect of your health.
- However, you're always welcome to talk to me about things you're going through.
- If I can't help you, I might know someone who can.
- If you need extra help, I'm here to work with you. We're in this together.
Credit: adapted from here.
During this pandemic, the shift to online learning has greatly altered teaching and studying at UBC, including changes to health and safety considerations. Keep in mind that some UBC courses might cover topics that are censored or considered illegal by non-Canadian governments. This may include, but is not limited to, human rights, representative government, defamation, obscenity, gender or sexuality, and historical or current geopolitical controversies. If you are a student living abroad, you will be subject to the laws of your local jurisdiction, and your local authorities might limit your access to course material or take punitive action against you. UBC is strongly committed to academic freedom, but has no control over foreign authorities (please visit http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,33,86,0 for an articulation of the values of the University conveyed in the Senate Statement on Academic Freedom). Thus, we recognize that students will have legitimate reason to exercise caution in studying certain subjects. If you have concerns regarding your personal situation, consider postponing taking a course with manifest risks, until you are back on campus or reach out to your academic advisor to find substitute courses. For further information and support, please visit: http://academic.ubc.ca/support-resources/freedom-expression.