6 ECTS credits
153 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1021460ANR for all students in the 1st semester at a (A) Bachelor - preliminary level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Business Technology and Operations
Educational team
Alexandre Thys (course titular)
Mathias Hanson
Activities and contact hours
24 contact hours Lecture
21 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
108 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

In the lectures, various aspects of computer science and business information systems are studied and discussed. The operation and general management of information systems, including the challenges and difficulties involved, are discussed from the perspective of the various parties involved.

The following is an indicative description of what is being taught in the lectures:

  • Introduction: origins of the computer, basic concepts, major issues in the field
  • Data storage: from bits to movies, types of memory and compression
  • Hardware: computer architecture and its internal working
  • Algorithms: pseudo code, algorithmic thinking, iteration and recursion, efficiency
  • Programming languages: historical evolution, paradigms, programming concepts
  • Networks and internet: architecture and its internal working, cloud computing
  • Artificial intelligence: intelligent agents, research domains, impact
  • Foundations business information systems: What are they, components and applications
  • Strategic IT: competition strategies, business process re-engineering, knowledge management
  • Ethics, privacy and social challenges of IT
  • Guest lecture from a leading IT company

In the practical sessions, the basis of algorithmic thinking and programming is learned step by step, making use of the Python programming language.

An indicative list of the main components in the sessions:

  • Introduction to programming concepts through the visual programming language Blockly
  • Programming concepts:
    • Sequences: Performing subsequent instructions in Python.
    • Variables: Saving information in data types (integers, floats, strings, boolean)
    • Control structures: Checking single and multiple conditions via the if statement.
    • Iteration and recursion: The use of repetitions to perform calculations.
  • Algorithmic thinking: completing practical exercises through learned programming concepts, setting up of functions to solve several problem scenarios.
  • Data processing: reading of files and processing of its content.
  • Basics of data analysis: Using functions to analyze data by calculating descriptive statistics

 

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Additional course material (articles, webpages, etc.) will be made available, Canvas
Additional info

Additional course material (articles, webpages, etc.) will be made available through Canvas.

Presence during guest lectures is mandatory, presentations by guest lecturers are an integral part of the course material.

Learning Outcomes

General competences

  • Recognize business information systems and analyze their impact
  • Understanding the collaboration between hardware, software and network
  • Being able to name common abbreviations and terminology
  • Being able to distinguish the historical context and trends in IT
  • Creating simpel data analysis algorithms

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The written exam covers the material discussed during the lectures, the exercise sessions and in self-study. The exam may consist of multiple choice questions, open questions, exercises, etc. Marks on multiple choice questions may be corrected for guessing.

During the semester, intermediate tests can be organized on the practical part. Those tests are intended to ensure that the students sufficiently master the basic concepts of programming with python. A good result on this test can result in a bonus (max. 2 points) for the final exam.

Both the theoretical and practical part of the exam make up 50% of the total mark, but only if the student obtains at least 35% on every part. If not, the lowest partial grade denotes 100% of the total.

Partial results can be transferred to a subsequent exam period only within the same academic year.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Business Economics: Startplan Business Economics
Bachelor of Business Economics: Business and Technology
Bachelor of Business Economics: International Business