MEi:CogSci mobility students

Projects
For info on mobility projects/topics at University of Ljubljana see mobility projects/topics.

If students encounter problems regarding projects and supervision, they can turn to our research projects coordinator, Anka Slana Ozimič, or to Maruša Sirk.

Courses (special topic of interest / elective courses)

• Courses carried out specifically for the MEi:CogSci students
  Two to three special topic of interest / elective courses are offered specifically for the MEi:CogSci mobility students each year. These courses are presented at the welcome meeting and students then have a couple of days time to write to the teacher to express their attendance decision (otherwise, no additional application procedures are required). The schedule of these courses is known at the end of September (see below).
• Courses in English offered by the University of Ljubljana for exchange students

University of Ljubljana’s list of courses in English for exchange students can be found at the University of Ljubljana list of courses. Students should inquire about the possibility of attending these courses at the international offices of the respective faculties (the number of places might be limited so students should not wait until the last moment). If it is possible to attend a course, students should apply at the international office of the respective faculty, CC the international office of Faculty of Education (MEi:CogSci students’ Erasmus+ coordinator at the University of Ljubljana), where students should request their enrolment data to be sent to the faculty where they wish to attend the course.

Erasmus+ Learning Agreement
In the Erasmus+ learning agreement (note this is not the MEi:CogSci learning contract) students state the following official third semester courses of the cognitive science programme at University of Ljubljana (they will also be stated on the transcript of records students obtain at the end of semester):

• Trends in Cognitive Science (10 ECTS)
  [lecture, seminar, journal club]
• Interdisciplinary approach to a cognitive phenomenon 1 (10 ECTS)
  [cognitive science courses and/or electives and/or research project, depending on how students structure their 3rd semester curriculum].
• Interdisciplinary approach to a cognitive phenomenon 2 (10 ECTS)
  [research project]

The content of these courses will be specified in more detail in the MEi:CogSci learning contract.

In case of extending mobility, state changes in the same learning agreement.

MEi:CogSci learning contract

•  In the learning contract, students define the structure of their mobility semester (courses and project work).
• Students are required to submit the final e-version of the learning contract to the local (Maruša Sirk) and home coordinators and CC project supervisor (see also instructions in the learning contract) at the latest until the 31st of October. The final version must, among other obligatory elements, include a project plan as structured in part 3 of the learning contract and as agreed upon with a supervisor.
• The supervisor has to confirm that she/he agrees with student’s project plan via email which students have to, when submitting the learning contract, forward to the home and host university coordinators.
• You can find the learning contract form here.
• If students have further questions they are welcome to consultation hrs of Maruša Sirk.

In order to get the learning contract signed by the local coordinator at the host university, students need the following:
a) Project (S-I-PJ Special Topic of Interest (Project) Module):

• Project report (description and results) should be included in the learning contract.
• Signature and grade of project supervisor.

b) Courses (S-I Special Topic of Interest Module and W-D-C Elective Module):

• For courses, not carried out specifically for the MEi:CogSci students, students must provide a transcript of records from the respective faculty.

c) Trends in cognitive science (S-I-CS New Trends in Cognitive Science Module):

• Students do not need any additional documents besides the learning contract.

Students must fill in all the required data on the learning contract (including host and home grades) and get the signature (analog or digital signature) of their project supervisor. Note that learning contracts with missing elements, information, etc. will not be processed. Students then send the learning contract (and transcripts of records, if required) to the local coordinator Maruša Sirk via email with their project supervisor in CC.

The Office for international cooperation at Faculty of Education will send signed and stamped learning contract together with a transcript of records to student’s home institution (CC student) via email. If needed, students can also pick up the documents (learning contract and transcript of records) at the Faculty of Education Office for International Cooperation (room 034). In case students are not in Slovenia anymore and are not able to pick up the documents, they can ask Igor Repac to send the respective documents to the provided address.

Students have to finish their mobility semester by the end of March (i.e., they have to finish their courses/mobility project and submit the final version of their learning contract). Additionally, students should be mindful of the deadlines at their home universities (deadlines at the home universities might be earlier than end of March!). Each student of the joint MEi:CogSci programme has to complete 30 ECTS at a partner university (the mobility semester). Students must thus adhere to the stated deadlines if they are to complete the obligatory mobility semester.

Note that the process of obtaining signatures and of processing the signed learning contracts takes time.

• University of Ljubljana info for exchange students (includes the Welcome guide, University of Ljubljana list of courses in English for exchange students, academic calendar, etc.). Students should inquire about these courses at the respective faculty (the international offices should have the relevant info).
• Faculty of Education info for exchange students
• Schedule of MEi:CogSci courses and contacts of teachers
• Academic calendar in more detail (in Slovene)
• Map of study venues
• Contact to Ljubljana cogsci students
• SACS (Student Association of Cognitive Science – led by MEi:CogSci)

Schedule of courses will be published on student e-system VIS in the second part of September for winter semester and in mid February for summer semester (for MEi:CogSci mobility students: see below).

• Study calendar
• Map of study locations

Winter semester
Info on courses and other mobility mattters will be given at the info meeting for mobility students in the first week of October.

1. Trends in Cognitive Science (10 ECTS)

• Schedule will be available in the second part of September.

2.1. Special Topic of Interest Module (module 1: Seminars in Clinical Neuroscience)

• Lecturer(s) and contacts: prof. dr. Zvezdan Pirtošek, dr. med., Vesna van Midden, dr. med.
• Schedule & location: please turn to the contact stated above.
• Course description:
  • Possible seminar topics: Gait, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Tourette syndrome, Schizophrenia / depression
  • Description: On the first meeting of each seminar students will be introduced to symptoms and conditions of patients they will meet at the end of the week and introduced to related neuroscientific phenomena, its problems and its various dimensions. Main dimensions of the phenomena will be elucidated in a discussion: (i) anatomical brain correlates, (ii) the role of neurotransmitters, (iii) relevant methods with which we can study the phenomena (from phenomenological to TMS and imaging methods), (iv) treatment methods (psychotherapy, neuropharmacology, TMS, DBS…), (v) the role of the society (vi) other important dimensions. Each student will pick one of the broader dimensions of each topic and present it to colleagues after 2 to 3 days. Students have to write a report for the mentor on the specific topic and the discussion they had with their colleagues. At the end of the week the second meeting of each seminar follows with one hour discussion and one hour time with a patient.
  • Schedule will be individually shaped according to the availabilities of patients and clinicians.
  • An example of the schedule: 1 seminar, 1 week, 1 phenomenon:
    • Monday afternoon (3-4 hrs): Seminar, lecture, discussion about a phenomenon → looking for literature in groups about various interdisciplinary aspects of the phenomenon of the week.
    • Wednesday afternoon: independent presentation (peer-to-peer teaching) of what you found about your aspect of the phenomenon of the week.
    • Friday afternoon (3-4 hrs): Report, discussion, patient, reflection.

2.2. Special Topic of Interest Module (module 2: Psychological Theories of Rationality)

• Lecturer(s) and contacts: asist. prof. dr. Borut Trpin
• Schedule and location: please turn to the contacts stated above.
• Course description:
  Rationality is a familiar notion that raises many questions when it is used in models of human reasoning. We will first address what rationality is, look at some influential cases in psychology of reasoning (Wason selection task and the conjunction fallacy) and then review the main positions in the “rationality debate”. We will address the self-interest theory, heuristics and biases tradition, evolutionary psychology in relation to rationality, mental logic and mental models, bounded rationality, and Bayesian rationality and probabilistic approaches to rationality more generally. We will also discuss advantages, limitations and implications (e.g., for economics, public policies) of these various positions. This will provide the students with a good overview of the so-called rationality wars, a heated debate among the modelers of human reasoning from different incompatible methodological schools.
• The course consists of a seminar and a tutorial. In the latter, the students will learn how to assess research papers with scrutiny because the focus will be on discussions of classic and more recent research papers on the topics that will be addressed in the seminar.

2.3. Special Topic of Interest Module (module 3) 

• Lecturer(s) and contacts: asist. prof. dr. Toma Strle
• University of Ljubljana further courses in English for exchange students
  – University of Ljubljana list of courses in English for exchange students – students should inquire about these courses at the respective faculty; the international offices should have the relevant info.

Summer semester

1. Master thesis seminar

• Lecturer(s) and contacts: asist. prof. dr. Toma Strle, prof. dr. Olga Markič
• Schedule: from end February / beginning of March to end May / beginning of June (+ MEi:CogSci conference)
• Location: Vegova 4, big lecture room.