Informatics

This program provides students with a good foundation for developing creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Developed ability for teamwork and mastery of specific practical skills needed to perform scientific and research work.

The requirement for enrollment is a previously achieved study volume of at least 300 ESPB points in basic academic and graduate academic studies in the fields of computing, mathematics, and technical sciences. Other conditions are defined by the Statute of the University and the corresponding Rulebook.

The study program of doctoral studies in Informatics lasts three years and carries 180 ECTS. Of these, 90 ECTS are obtained by taking exams in the subjects provided for in the study program. By passing the research work on the entrance paper for the doctoral dissertation, the student acquires 8 ESPB, by preparing and defending the entrance paper for doctoral studies, the student earns 22 ESPB, by preparing study-research paper 1 and study-research paper 2, the student acquires 38 ESPB, and finally by preparing and defending the doctoral thesis dissertation, the student acquires 22 ECTS.

The student is obliged to pass 7 compulsory subjects that are of general importance for scientific and research work in the field of informatics and 5 elective subjects (out of 10 offered), which he chooses depending on the chosen topic for the preparation of the doctoral dissertation in cooperation with the mentor. The DAS Informatics study program consists of 7 compulsory subjects and 4 blocks of elective subjects. In the first elective block 1, the student chooses 1 of 2 subjects, in elective block 2 the student chooses 2 of 4 subjects, in elective block 3 the student chooses 1 of 2 subjects, and finally in elective block 4 the student chooses 1 of 2 subjects.

Compulsory subjects in the first year of study are: Methodology of scientific research work and Selected chapters in mathematics and statistics. Elective block 1 in the first year consists of the following subjects: Multimedia - selected chapters, E-education - selected chapters. The elective block 2 in the first year consists of the following subjects: Semantic Web - selected chapters, Business Process Modeling - selected chapters, Optimization Methods and Numerical Mathematics - selected chapters. Elective block 3 in the second year of study consists of the following subjects: Bioinformatics - selected chapters and Extraction of information from the text. Elective block 4 in the second year of study consists of the courses Natural Language Processing and Theory of Algorithms - Advanced Concepts. In the second year of studies, the Research Work on the Approach Paper for the Doctoral Dissertation is mandatory, as well as the preparation and defense of the Accession Paper for doctoral studies, while in the third year the compulsory subjects are Study Research Paper 1 and Study Research Paper 2 on the preparation of a doctoral dissertation and Preparation and defense of the doctoral dissertations.

Teaching takes place in semesters, two semesters make up an academic year. The total number of ESPB per semester is 30, and for the academic year 60. The total duration of studies is 3 years (6 semesters), during which time the student should achieve at least 180 ESPB, including points for the doctoral dissertation.

Studies in the DAS Informatics study program are organized through lectures, study research work, scientific work, preparation and defense of a doctoral dissertation. At the end of the fourth semester, the student should have obtained 90 ESPB by passing the exam and should then submit an acceptable doctoral dissertation proposal. The student profiles his research interest by choosing the subjects he will study and take, which contribute to detailed knowledge and understanding of the field (topic) of his doctoral dissertation. Elective subjects are chosen from the groups of proposed subjects in the study program itself. Teaching subjects (compulsory or optional) are taught as a group or individual (mentoring).

Before starting the preparation of the doctoral dissertation, the student is obliged to defend the introductory thesis. By defending the entry thesis, the student shows that he has mastered the necessary theoretical knowledge in those areas of intelligent systems that are of interest for the preparation of his doctoral dissertation. When the student defends the entrance thesis, he acquires the status of doctoral candidate. Doctoral studies will ensure the creation of a strategic partnership between the Faculty, the University, the economy and IT companies, and the inclusion of participants in doctoral studies will enable the gradual connection of research and development units in the economy, the establishment of joint research and education based on them between universities, scientific institutes and private and public sector, which are the strategic goals of the development of science in the Republic of Serbia.

The studies are considered completed when the student fulfills all obligations prescribed by the study program, successfully defends the doctoral dissertation and collects 180 ESPB points, he acquires the academic title of Doctor of Science - Computer Science (Ph.D.).

The purpose of the DAS Informatics study program is to enable advanced students to, after completing their master's academic studies in a field of computer science, perfect their previously acquired knowledge and master the methods and procedures of scientific and research work in various fields of computer science.

As informatics and computer science is an extremely developed field and continues to develop intensively, the purpose of the Informatics study program is also to enable students to direct their research efforts towards one of the more specific areas of information systems and technologies. Students can choose such a more specific field through elective courses and the topic of their doctoral dissertation. Successful students of this program will be the backbone for the formation of young scientists at universities, scientific institutes, as well as other institutions and business entities in which the realization of research and development projects involves modeling problems using modern achievements in the field of computer science. This promotes the development of science, as well as the conquest of new information technologies that contribute to the general development of society, and in accordance with the clear orientation of the Republic of Serbia towards strengthening the structure of the information society.

Finally, the purpose of the Informatics study program is to prepare students for independent and high-quality research work in the chosen field of informatics. Therefore, this study program sees its purpose in the development of critical thinking and the education of personnel capable of independently conducting original and scientifically relevant research, as well as critically evaluating the research of others in the field of informatics. Students will be able to do this through training for the development of new information systems and technologies and procedures that will contribute to the general development of society. The intended purpose of the Informatics study program is fully in line with the mission and goals of the University.

The DAS Informatics study program at the Faculty of Informatics and Computer Science aims to educate and train personnel in the current and complex field of computer science, which is essential for the problems and challenges of the 21st century.

The concrete goals of the study program of doctoral academic studies in Informatics are:

1. improvement of scientific-research and professional work in the field of informatics at the University, as well as in other scientific-research organizations where future doctors of science will work in this field
2. achieving superior scientific competencies and academic skills in the multidisciplinary field of informatics
3. development of creative problem-solving skills in the field of informatics and critical thinking skills
4. deepening knowledge in the field of informatics that is aligned with the modern directions of development of these systems in the world
5. training staff to independently conduct original scientific research and develop new technologies in the field of informatics

In addition, the Informatics study program has several general goals, aligned with the modern directions of development of information systems in the world, as well as with the basic tasks and goals of the University as expressed in its Scientific Research Program:

1. developing teamwork skills
2. developing awareness of the need for personal contribution to the development of society as a whole
3. developing the ability to communicate and present original results to the scientific public
4. developing the ability to review contemporary scientific literature and to assess the level of scientific knowledge in the field of the selected doctoral topic, the topicality of the selected topic for research, as well as further directions of development and research.

The DAS Informatics study program provides quality study and education of personnel who will be able to respond to the challenges of modern science through:

1. permanent monitoring of modern scientific trends and achievements and transfer of knowledge to students through modern curricula and programs in the field of computer science;
2. facilitating the transmission of modern knowledge, methods and scientific techniques that are applied in developed European university centers, but also taking advantage of the good achievements of the higher education system in the country.

The main goal of the study program is to enable students to achieve scientific competencies and academic skills in the field of informatics and computer science. Also, the program aims to educate personnel who should provide answers to complex problems in the field of informatics for which there are no known solutions.

Students who complete doctoral academic studies in the Informatics study program are trained to conduct research involving various techniques and technologies of information systems and technologies, as well as to solve real practical problems, including complex problems in a new or unfamiliar environment. The acquired knowledge gives them the opportunity to work in research institutes, centers and faculties, as well as in advanced development departments of various IT companies, companies, organizations and state institutions.

The general competencies of students include, first of all, the ability to think critically, the ability to analyze complex problems, synthesize solutions and predict the behavior of the chosen solution, with a clear idea of its good and bad sides. Specific competencies include the ability to solve problems that do not have a complete specification of input parameters, where there is no complete certainty of data and solutions, as well as those that require the application of heuristic techniques in solving.

The study program of doctoral academic studies Informatics also develops in students competencies such as research skills and methods in the field of informatics, adapting the research process with the necessary degree of academic integrity, the ability to publish research papers at the national and international level, critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas , as well as promoting such ideas in order to improve business and society as a whole. With such competencies, students are able to independently solve practical and theoretical problems and organize and realize development and scientific research, as well as to get involved in international scientific projects related to the development of new technologies in the field of informatics.

Qualifications that mark the completion of doctoral academic studies are acquired by students:

• who have demonstrated systematic knowledge and understanding in the field of informatics that complements the knowledge acquired in graduate academic studies and represents the basis for developing critical thinking and application of knowledge;
• who have mastered the skills and methods of research in the field of informatics;
• who demonstrated the ability to conceive, design and apply research results to concrete life problems;
• who have demonstrated the necessary degree of academic integrity and academic ethics;
• who, through original research and work, achieved an achievement that expands the boundaries of knowledge, which was verified by publication in the appropriate scientific journal and which is a reference at the national and international level;
• who are capable of critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas;
• who can transfer professional knowledge and ideas to colleagues, the wider academic community and society as a whole;
• who are able to promote economic, technological, social and cultural progress in an academic and professional environment

The DAS Informatics study program enables students to have the knowledge, skills, developed abilities and competences to:

• independently solve practical and theoretical problems and organize and carry out development and scientific research;
• they can get involved in international scientific projects;
• they can realize the development of new technologies and procedures within their professions, and understand and use the most modern knowledge in the field of informatics and computing;
• think critically, act creatively and independently;
• respect the principles of the code of ethics and good scientific practice;
• they are able to communicate scientific research results at scientific conferences, publish them in scientific journals, and verify them through new scientific solutions applicable in IT and other companies;
• contribute to the development of the scientific discipline and science in general.

The specific knowledge and skills that the student will acquire at the end of the doctoral studies depends on the elective subjects that the student chooses and the topic of the doctoral dissertation itself. The specific knowledge that the student acquires within this DAS Informatics study program are:

• mastering methods and techniques for independent writing of scientific research work and projects.
• acquiring knowledge about optimization methods.
• acquiring knowledge for solving optimization and implementation tasks in a programming language.
• mastering methods and techniques for extracting information from the text.
• acquiring deeper theoretical and practical knowledge about concrete current problems and methods in the chosen field of bioinformatics.
• application of modern pedagogical approaches in e-education.
• creation and modeling of mathematical models from professional subjects using the material covered from selected chapters of mathematics.
• acquiring practical knowledge for modeling business processes in various fields (industrial engineering, construction, electronic business and other fields).
• mastering existing techniques and technologies in the field of multimedia.
• application of advanced numerical methods and their software implementation. The student is competent to create complex mathematical models using numerical methods in the Matlab programming language.
• understanding the role of individual components that make up natural language data processing systems in such a way that they can be used as independent modules or as parts of more complex systems. recognizing the importance of language resources and understanding the methods of their construction, use, evaluation and archiving.
• mastering the advanced use of concepts and technologies in the field of the Semantic Web, especially for intelligently organizing, finding, connecting and displaying information on the Internet.
• acquiring advanced knowledge about data structures, analysis and construction of algorithms.

Such student competencies are fully in line with the strategic vision of the European Commission known as ET 2020 (Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training ("ET 2020")).