Constraint Technology

This course is about presenting a set of techniques and tools for solving combinatorial problems. For example, a Sudoku puzzle is a combinatorial problem where you need to place distinct digits from 1 to 9 in each row, column and 3x3 squares. Other examples include scheduling, planning, molecular biology, finance, linguistics, and so on.

This course combines theoretical foundations with hands-on experience in modeling and solving combinatorial problems.

You can find this course interesting if you like apply logic, reasoning and optimization. It’s not like any of those backgrounds are necessary for taking the course but it is that kind of course. If you are also interested in research you’ll really enjoy it. On the other hand, if you are more industry-oriented you can also find it useful but you need to give it a try. There are many examples during the course about how this is being used in industry and there is a guest lecture from a company working with CT that will try to attract you to work there.

In order to pass the course you will need to do 2 assignments with a partner and one final project by yourself. There is also a final exam. The assignments can take time if you are playing with them and testing different concepts. I think that really helps to understand better the theory. For the final exam is important that you manage all the concepts in the class. There are not so many concepts and everything is related, but you need to be sure you know how things work. If you go to class, do the assignments and solve some old exams you’ll be fine. But you really need to understand the class! If you feel like nothing makes sense and you don’t start understanding by the time you are working on the second assignment then the exam is going to be really hard!

Notice that it is just my personal opinion mixed with some comments I heard in order to give you an idea. If you like it, don’t let anyone tell you it’s too hard!

Walking around Uppsala

When I decided to come and study in Uppsala University I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into. I have a friend how came few years ago as an exchange student and he’s truly fascinated about this place, so I said to myself: “It has to be a wonderful place”. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to walk a little bit around Uppsala I can understand why. It’s a beautiful city, full of flowers and people walking on the streets. The atmosphere is very refreshing and everywhere you look at you can see young people from around the world. If you pay attention you can hear people talking in a lot of different languages.

There are a lot of pretty places to visit. Sadly I haven’t had the chance to visit them all, but I recommend you to walk close the river, visit the cathedral, and the castle. Anyway, here are some pretty pictures about Uppsala and I hope I can share more with you very soon J

Something worth highlighting is that Swedes are very friendly: almost everyone speaks perfect English and in any case they will ALWAYS try to help you. They might seem timid and reserved, but you just need to give it a try and talk to them.

Flogsta Scream!

I really don’t know why but every day at 10 pm you can hear a lot of people scream from their windows! Most people get scared the first time they hear it, but for me it was quite different: I immediately remember a Gilmore Girls episode when Rory is spending her first night in Yale and the boys are making wolfs sounds. It’s a really funny joining and screaming as much as you can!

Welcome to Uppsala University!!!

The first week in Uppsala University is the Welcome week! During that time you’ll get to know your classmates, some teachers and received a lot of useful information. Also, during this week we all had to select our courses. Everyone in the master program had an individual meeting with someone from the CS department. In my opinion this meeting is an excellent idea. I had the opportunity to talk about the subjects that I like and discuss whether or not it was a good idea for me to take them. You can ask questions about the course syllabus, difficulty, pre requirements and whatever you feel you need to know to make an inform decision. It also shows that teachers really care about what you are learning. It’s also good to know that it’s possible to take few basic courses so you can learn things that you didn’t had the chance to learn during your bachelor degree.

Another activity we had was a BBQ! While enjoying a nice weather, soft drinks and hot dogs I talked to all the other people in the master and tried to get to know them. I started to learn their names and I asked them questions about their home countries and hobbies. I also found out who are going to be my classmates and we made study plans. There were also some old students who kindly talked to us in a very informal situation and asked our questions about living in Uppsala and gave us their opinion about the teachers and courses.

And in case you were wondering, I got my UpUnet account by Thursday so I now can use Internet at home!!!

Where is the Internet? T-4 days

After I arrive at Uppsala, getting Internet wasn’t as easy as I though. Reading my room’s description I found out it has Internet access provided by the University. The catch is that to actually use it you need a UpUnet login and password. Since I decided to be prepared, I for looked information about how to get Internet access there.
In the International Student Guide I read about a coffee place named Café Barista and that it had free wireless. Let’s put it this way: the wireless was pretty much the same as not having Internet. I’m not saying it’s always that way, maybe they had a particular problem that day but none of the people there who were trying to use the wireless could actually get a conection. I probably won’t waste my time carrying my laptop all the way there again. BUT I have to say that the drinks we ordered were actually quite good! So, you can still go there for a nice cup of coffee!

Another place you can have Internet access is the public library, located just in from of the Café Barista. I didn’t try it. It was late and the library was already closed. The Uppsala Student Union was another option. It’s on Ovre Slottsgatan 7 but it closes at 17.00… It was already too late to go there…

Still, I needed the Internet! My boyfriend and I started walking around town to see if there was any other option and we found Uppsala Online. We were very lucky since it had opened just a few days before. The people there were very nice and helpful. The Internet access cost us 20Kr an hour and they had free coffee!

Also, another option is using the computers in the Burger King. You can easily find it and an hour of Internet will cost you 19Kr. The problem is that the computers are limited: you can't use a pendrive, print or anything like that.

Good news is that almost all nations have wireless so, after you join one you won’t have this problem again!

Getting ready! T-14 days!!!

It’s only 2 weeks before the classes start and I’m still in Barcelona, Spain. I’m arriving to Uppsala on the 18^th and I started packing today! I checked the weather and it seems to be getting colder and colder already. So I decided to pack the autumn – winter cloth leaving behind all the shorts and swim suits.

I talked to a very dear friend of mine who was an exchange student in Uppsala University few years ago and he gave me some tips:

· DO NOT forget exchanging money before you arrive to Uppsala.

· There are 2 main ways to go from the Arlanda Airport to Uppsala. The first one is by train. It costs around SEK 90 - 140 and it takes 20 min to arrive. The second one is by bus. It’s a little bit cheaper (SEK 120) but it takes 50 min to get to Uppsala. It’s worth noticing that both train and bus arrive to the same place in Uppsala. Going by taxi to Uppsala would cost you approximately SEK 445 (ask for the fixed price). The taxi can normally be paid with a credit card.

· To activate your student Internet connection you’ll need to go to the Student Office. It’s located in the city center and you can get there in the bus 2 stop Universitetet.

· If you buy a bicycle you should also have the Cykel Karta (bicycle’s route map). Also check the legal requirements for driving a bike: if you don’t the lights and security requirements you could get a ticket (penalty). ALWAYS lock your bicycle or you’ll have to buy more than one…

· Buy an Uppsala Kortet (Uppsala bus card). It works for all the green busses in Uppsala and this way travelling in bus will be cheaper. You’ll find them in a store called Pressbyran. Those stores are located in the bus station and in the town center.