In August 2008, I have decided to leave the company for which I worked the last year and a half and join the classes of Media Informatics, a high ranked and appreciated master in RWTH Aachen. More about this transition you can read in this article.

As RWTH is a top university, so are the demands from the students. Lots of tasks, tons of homework, even bigger expectations from them. But, in my opinion, I wouldn’t settle with less – the best you prepare, the best you’ll be. Among the classes that I took, there were some of them that I didn’t liked, mostly because of the teachers or their assistants or because the useless or old technologies that we were thought. I said useless because, having some experience, I don’t like too much to learn for example Java, in which I am very sure that I will not work.
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Underneath you can find the original description of the master, as of the time of my registration (please check the excerpt link, it might have changed meanwhile):

Goals of the Programme Whilst a Bachelor degree in Computer Science typically qualifies a person to participate in large software projects, the Master degree provides the skills needed for leadership. Graduates of the programme Media Informatics can be expected to be technically innovative, to work as system architects, and to manage large projects.

[…]General Description of the Program (Excerpt from http://mi.b-it-center.de/)

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The international Master Programme in Media Informatics was introduced in 2002 at the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (B-IT). Media Informatics is offered by RWTH Aachen University and the University of Bonn in co-operation with the Fraunhofer Institutes at Sankt Augustin near Bonn. This interdisciplinary programme will educate the participant to successfully master the novel technical and economic challenges at the crossroads of computer science, software engineering, next-generation communication systems, and media. The programme is distinguished by its international orientation (Till now we had students from 41nations. Within one year group we regularly have students from more than 12 nations.), its focus on IT competence, and its high level of integration of research and teaching. The master’s programme in Media Informatics consists of three main blocks:

• Computer science and mathematical foundations
• Multimedia Technology
• Media science and business aspects

The programme is characterized by a significant proportion of research lab courses embedded in both basic and applied research of the participating Fraunhofer Institutes of Applied Information Technology (FIT), and Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS). Major topics include:

• Internet Infrastructures
• Data Communication
• Digital Interactive Media
• Management of Information
• Computer Graphics/Animation/Visualisation
• Speech/Image/Video Processing and Technology
• Game Design
• Security and Cryptography
• Designing Interactive Systems
• Cooperative Work Environments
• E-Business
• Knowledge Management
• Virtual and Augmented Reality
• Software Engineering

Special courses on modelling of spatial and mobile aspects, and on usage, annotation, and retrieval of spatial data provide for a special focus in the important application domain of Geographical Information Systems. The programme of study also includes methodological aspects of designing media informatics systems from the perspectives of software engineering, usability, media design, and business requirements. The final six months of the programme are dedicated to the master thesis which can be done in co-operation with industry. You may find examples of done master thesis topics at b-it impressions. The course contents is structured according to the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). Media Informatics has been successfully accredited by ASIIN.

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