Master’s Programme
Agents and Computational
Intelligence
M ASTER OFFERED
M ATHEMATICS
OF
I NSTITUTE OF I NFORMATION AND C OMPUTING S CIENCES , F ACULTY
C OMPUTER S CIENCE , U TRECHT U NIVERSITY IN THE N ETHERLANDS
BY THE
AND
What is Agents and
Computational Intelligence?
Throughout the history of computer
science, people have been fascinated
with the question whether computers
can be made “intelligent”. During the
early days of the field this was a mainly
philosophical question, but nowadays
intelligent computer systems have
become both possible and necessary in
order to support ever more complex
applications.
Systems not only become more
complex; they also operate in ever more
open environments. Systems from
different organisations are coupled in
order to support commercial transactions
or the efficient exchange of data. Many
systems are connected to the Internet
and can thus be approached by different
people and programs. Consequently, it is
impossible to predict beforehand all
interactions the systems are going to
have. The systems should therefore
become more intelligent and
autonomous, so that they can deal with
unexpected events and circumstances.
In the Agents and Computational
Intelligence (ACI) programme different
aspects of intelligent software are
studied. It includes the development of
agent technology as well as its
application to (cognitive) robotics and
agents for e-commerce applications. It
also includes knowledge technology, such
as expert systems and decision-support
systems. Finally, it covers the newest
techniques for adaptive systems and
intelligent data analysis, such as genetic
algorithms and neural networks.
Applications
The need for intelligent systems arises in
very diverse areas, ranging from robots
operating in the physical world to
softbots on the Internet, and from
programs supporting e-commerce to
systems supporting complex decision
making by professionals. Intelligent
robot agents are being designed for
tasks as playing soccer, rescue
operations or logistics. Intelligent
software agents find applications in fields
as information access, exchange and
integration (e.g. personal assistants,
searchbots on the web), electronic
commerce (e.g. automated negotiation
and contracting), and in computational
modelling of societies (e.g. traffic flow).
Intelligent decision support is useful in
areas as medicine, law, and diagnosis of
complex industrial systems. Finally,
techniques from computational
intelligence can be applied in any area
where large collections of data are
important, such as business-customer
relations, financial transactions,
medicine, computational biology, and
security.
Centre for Agents and
Computational Intelligence
The ACI Master’s programme is offered
by the Centre for Agents and
Computational Intelligence of the
Institute for Information and Computing
Sciences of Utrecht University headed by
Prof. J.J. Ch. Meyer and Prof. L. van der
Gaag. The centre has two foci of
research related to the tracks mentioned
below.
The first focus is on agent technology, in
which new theory is developed for
designing, implementing and deploying
intelligent agents. The second focus is on
computational intelligence. It deals with
new theories to model systems that
adapt efficiently to their environment
and also encompasses theories for data
mining. Researchers of the centre are all
members of the Dutch research school
SIKS of which Prof. Meyer is scientific
director. The agent research is
embedded in the European Network of
Excellence, AgentLink and the
AgentCities network.
We also actively participate in the board
and in the European AgentLink Summer
School. The centre co-operates with
several companies and hospitals for its
more applied research. The data mining
research is embedded in KDNet, the
European Knowledge Discovery Network
of Excellence.
Areas
The ACI programme is divided into two
tracks, one focusing on agent and
knowledge technology, the other centred
on computational intelligence.
Agent and Knowledge Technology
(AKT)
In this track the notion of “agents” plays
a central role. An agent is an artificial
(computer-based) entity that can act
pro-actively, reactively, autonomously
and rationally in a dynamic environment.
This implies that agents should be able
to perform a number of actions
autonomously, such as reasoning about
the situation they are in, planning their
actions, revising their beliefs, learning,
communicating, co-operating, etc.
In this track emphasis is placed on the
logical and symbolical models to describe
and implement agents. Key topics are
agent-oriented software engineering,
theory of agents and multi-agent
systems, e-commerce, robotics,
commonsense reasoning, and learning
(adaptive behaviour).
Computational Intelligence (CI)
Computational intelligence focuses on
reasoning with uncertainty, and on
intelligent analysis of large collections of
data. In this track emphasis is placed on
probabilistic methods and models. Some
application areas are medical diagnosis
and treatment, and computational
biology. Keywords are decision-support
systems, probability and decision theory,
evolutionary computation, statistical
learning, datamining and knowledge
discovery, and neural networks.
The Master’s programme
The ACI programme is a two-year
Master’s programme with a total size of
120 European study points (ects).
Students can choose between a
research-oriented and an industryoriented variant of the programme. The
research-oriented variant prepares for a
PhD position or a research position in a
company, while the industry-oriented
variant prepares for jobs as knowledge
engineer or e-commerce consultant in
industry. The programme depends on the
chosen variant, but the first part is the
same for both variants and students do
not have to choose their variant at the
start of the programme. The programme
consists of the following components.
Deficiency courses (0-15 ects)
At the start of their programme, AKT
students should ideally have a basic
knowledge of logic for Artificial
Intelligence, while CI students should
have a basic knowledge of the areas of
statistics, data mining and adaptive
systems. However, deficiencies in these
areas can be remedied in at most two
courses offered by the ACI programme
(max 15 ects).
AKT students can choose from “Logic
and Set Theory”, “Introduction to
Intelligent Systems”, “Logic for AI” and
“Automatic reasoning”. Students in the
CI track can choose from “Introduction
in CI”, “Data mining” and “Statistics”.
Additional deficiencies should be
remedied in the student’s own time.
Two mandatory courses (15 ects)
Both tracks of the ACI programme have
two mandatory courses. In the AKT track
these are:
• Intelligent Agents. This course
serves as an introduction to all the
specialisation courses in the direction
of agent technology. It covers the
basic theories, architectures and
languages that are studied in the
field of intelligent agents.
• Multi-Agent Systems. This course
is an advanced course on the theory,
design and applications of multiagent systems, and deals with topics
such as agent communication, coordination and negotiation.
And students in the CI track must follow:
•
•
Introduction to Intelligent Data
Analysis. This course covers all
basic techniques that are used for
intelligent data analysis as used in
data mining, probabilistic reasoning
and statistical learning.
Evolutionary Computation. The
course covers stochastical search
methods that make use of
evolutionary strategies (survival of
the fittest solution), such as genetic
programming.
Additional ACI courses (15-30 ects)
Students must choose a selection of
further courses from the ACI programme
(30 ects in a research-oriented master
and 15 ects in a industry-oriented
master). The choice options depend on
the chosen track:
Agent and Knowledge Technology
(AKT):
Multi-Agent Programming, Machine
Learning, Electronic Commerce, Virtual
markets, Cryptography, Commonsense
Reasoning, Decision Theory, Knowledge
Acquisition and Modelling
Computational Intelligence (CI):
Decision Theory, Statistical Learning,
Data Mining Techniques, Probabilistic
Reasoning, Modelling and Complexity,
Knowledge Acquisition and Modelling,
Computational Biology, Machine Learning
Business course or project - industryoriented master (30 ects)
Students following the industry-oriented
track are expected either to follow a
course on “Business and Economics” (30
ects) or to do a practical project with a
company or organisation (30 ects).
Additional options
In addition, students can follow seminars
and courses from the ACI programme as
well as the other Master’s programmes
of the institute, or carry out small-size
research projects. The actual choice of
the student is subject to approval of the
institute. Seminars will be taught in
small groups (2-10) of students. They
will cover varying topics that are closely
related to the research performed in the
centre and form the basis of the thesis
project.
Seminars currently offered by the ACI
programme are legal knowledge
technology, online dispute resolution,
robotics, agent mediated e-commerce,
learning graphical models, and neural
networks.
Final thesis project (45 ects)
In the final thesis project the student
carries out a research project under the
supervision of one of the staff members
of the centre (45 ects). The project is
normally performed in the centre but can
also be done in a research-anddevelopment department of a company.
Colloquium
All students will attend one of the
colloquia offered by the centre (every
time addressing one of the foci of the
centre). These colloquia provide a broad
overview of interesting results in the
chosen area. Students will regularly
contribute to the colloquium in the form
of a presentation about some paper they
read, possibly based on their study of
the literature or (thesis) project.
Supervision and coaching
The student will first discuss his or her
interests with the student advisor for
ACI. Together an individual programme
is chosen that fit the background and
interests of the student. The student is
assigned a mentor who will guide the
student through the programme. During
the final thesis project this role can be
taken over by the supervising staff
member.
The role of the teacher of a course or
seminar is that of a supervisor, rather
than a lecturer. The student is
encouraged to take initiatives, and is
challenged to pose problems, propose
solutions, and perform theoretical and
experimental analyses. The students
give presentations, write papers, do
assignments, etc. The active acquisition
of knowledge and experience is central
to the Master’s programme, for
individual students as well as for groups.
The exams are often in the form of
projects, writing reports, etc.
The final thesis project, when done
within the institute, will be conducted in
close collaboration with researchers. The
student will be assigned a desk in the
research group and actively participate
in the discussions. A thesis supervisor
will monitor the progress and advise the
student. The supervisors will also assist
the students in their further career.
When the final project is done in a
company, both a local supervisor in the
company, and a supervisor in the
institute are assigned who together
monitor and guide the student.
jobs in many different companies, for
example in banking, insurance
companies, government,
telecommunication and consumer
electronics. They may also find
employment in one of the agent-oriented
software companies or companies
specialised in the use of AI techniques.
Their tasks could consist of developing
new products and applications, or
steering such activities. Other possible
jobs are in consultancy, or creating a
start-up company in an emerging
market.
After graduation
Admission and practical issues
Students can choose between a
research-oriented and an industryoriented variant of the programme. The
programme results in a degree Master of
Science in Computer Science.
Admission is open for:
• Dutch university students with a
bachelors in artificial intelligence, or
with a bachelors in mathematics,
information sciences, or computer
science containing a minor in artificial
intelligence
• Dutch HBO graduates with “Hogere
Informatica Opleiding” (HIO)
• Other Dutch HBO students in
computer science (acceptance
depends on the actual programme)
• Graduates with a bachelor in artificial
intelligence or computer science from
other countries (acceptance depends
on the actual programme).
ACI graduates will be able to identify the
complex problems organisations have in
constructing software and will be able to
point at intelligent solutions for such
problems using the most advanced
techniques. We like to emphasise that
the programme does not focus on
specific products or tools from specific
vendors; instead we study the
underlying techniques and methods that
are of a longer lasting value.
For students following the researchoriented variant, the master degree
provides the opportunity to start a PhD
research project, leading to a doctorate
degree, in any of the related topics, at a
university in the Netherlands or abroad.
There are a number of such positions
within the Centre for Agents &
Computational Intelligence of the
institute, and there are many contacts
with other universities, partly through
the countrywide Dutch Research School
SIKS (School for Knowledge and
Information Systems). Some of the
positions are sponsored by companies
and the Dutch research council.
Graduates may also find challenging
positions in research-and-development
departments of companies, government
and the banking- and insurance sector.
The students who follow the industryoriented variant are well qualified for
Practical issues
The Master’s programme is
internationally oriented: the programme
is open to foreign students, and courses
are given in English. Students have the
opportunity to follow courses and do
projects at foreign universities and
institutes. Students can choose between
a research-oriented and an industryoriented variant of the programme. The
programme starts each year in February
and September and has a duration of
two years.
In general, please follow the admission
procedures at the Utrecht University
Masters’ web pages
(http://www.uu.nl/internationalmasters)
for further information.
For application deadlines, tuition fee,
specific grants, visa, accommodation etc.
please refer to the above-mentioned
WebPages or to the general Utrecht
Master’s Programmes brochure.
The City of Utrecht
Utrecht has 30.000 inhabitants, making
it the fourth largest city in the
Netherlands. The city is located within 30
minutes from Amsterdam and a few
hours from major cities in Europe like
London, Paris and Berlin. Located right in
the centre of the country, the city is a
junction where traffic, trade, distribution
and services meet and mingle.
Consequently, it is also a meeting point
of knowledge, art and culture.
Economically, Utrecht is the fastest
growing region in the country,
consequently attracting large numbers of
jobs. The city is a favourite location for
companies, particularly those in
commercial services. This group includes
a large number of international
companies, such as banks, insurance
companies, consultancy firms and
software developers.
The city is also a place where people
meet up at fairs, exhibitions and
conferences. Each year Utrecht
welcomes around seven million visitors
from the Netherlands and abroad.
Utrecht is known as a city of festivals
and has a diverse cultural climate. There
are festivals of music, dance, theatre
and film, such as the Spring Dance
Festival, the Holland Early Music Festival,
and the Dutch Film Festival.
The presence of the university has a
strong influence on the character of the
city. The 23,000 university students and
27,000 students of the various institutes
of higher professional education together
make up one-sixth of the total number
of residents. They play a leading role in
the city’s cultural and social life. The
university and twenty other institutes in
the region together form the Utrecht
Centre of Knowledge, the largest
concentration of knowledge and science
in the Netherlands.
More information
Detailed information about the ACI programme is available on the web, at:
http://www.cs.uu.nl/groups/IS/master/aci.html
Or contact one of the two student advisors of the ACI programme:
Dr. H. Prakken
Student advisor for ACI/AKT
Tel: +31-30-253 2313
Email: [email protected]
Dr. A. Feelders
Student advisor for ACI/CI
Tel: +31-30-253 3176
Email: [email protected]
Other contact persons are
Prof. J.J.Ch. Meyer
Programme leader for ACI
Tel: +31-30-253 4117
Email: [email protected]
Corine de Gee
Student coordinator
Tel: +31-30-2532818
Email: [email protected]
You may also contact us:
Master Agents and Computational Intelligence
Institute of Information and Computing Sciences
Utrecht University
Postal address:
Visiting address:
Phone:
Fax:
P.O. Box 80089
3508 TB Utrecht
The Netherlands
Padualaan 14
3584 CH Utrecht
The Netherlands
+31 (0)30 2531454
+31 (0)30 2513791