Throughout the course, the following learning activities will be carried out:

• Theory sessions, in which the instructor will provide students with the theoretical foundations of the course, as well as strategies for acquiring, expanding, and organizing this knowledge. Active student participation will be encouraged, for example through discussions on topics for which multiple technological solutions are possible.
• Problem-solving sessions, in which students will actively participate in consolidating the knowledge acquired by solving, presenting, and discussing problems related to the course content. A distinction is made between problems and exercises, the latter being considered relatively straightforward. Problems will often admit multiple valid solutions and may give rise to discussion among students.
• Laboratory sessions, in which students, working in groups, will be challenged with small practical tasks to analyze and solve. These sessions will have been designed, documented, and prepared in advance by the instructor. Students are expected to prepare for each laboratory session by reviewing the relevant theoretical concepts and the basic technical aspects required for the proposed activities. The laboratory sessions are intended to help students develop the practical skills associated with the course and contribute to the achievement of specific learning outcomes and competencies.
• Individual assignments, consisting of exercises related to the theory and problem-solving sessions, to be completed individually at different points throughout the semester.
• Supervised activities, conducted throughout the course under the guidance of the instructors, aimed at consolidating students’ understanding of the course material and exploring its practical applications.

No differentiated arrangements are planned for students who are repeating the course.

The UAB Virtual Campus (Moodle) will be used as the primary platform for communication between students and instructors, as well as among students. It will also be used for the submission of assignments and for providing access to the course materials.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment Criteria

Assessment is continuous and formative and is based on the evidence of learning generated by students through in-class participatory activities, individual assignments, final examinations assessing knowledge acquisition, and examinations assessing laboratory work.

Assessment activities and instruments

In-class activities

These activities are carried out during theory and problem-solving sessions and are scheduled irregularly throughout the semester. Since they take place during face-to-face sessions, participation is not mandatory (i.e., they are not required to pass the course, although they contribute to the final grade). Examples include: commenting on a short documentary shown in class, describing a role-playing activity conducted during a session, completing multiple-choice questions on the theory or problem-solving session just completed, analyzing the operation of a routing information exchange protocol, etc.

Individual assignments and final examinations assessing knowledge and skills

The individual assignments are written assessments designed to evaluate whether each student is progressively acquiring the knowledge and skills covered up to that point in the course. These assignments do not exempt students from any part of the final examination, and a minimum grade of 0.1/10 is required.

The final examinations assessing knowledge and laboratory work are individual written examinations intended to verify that each student has achieved the minimum required knowledge, skills, and competencies of the course. These examinations reflect the importance placed on ensuring that students attain the knowledge, skills, and competencies expected in an engineering degree. Passing both the final knowledge examination and the laboratory assessment examinations is mandatory in order to pass the course.

Practical case study

Students will complete an individual practical case study in which they will apply the competencies acquired throughout the course. This assessment evaluates the student’s ability to integrate the knowledge and skills learned during the course in order to solve a realistic scenario similar to those that may be encountered in their future professional career.

Laboratory sessions

Laboratory work consists of a series of structured laboratory sessions in which student teams solve predefined challenges designed to develop course-specific knowledge, skills, and competencies. Detailed information regarding the organization of the laboratory sessions (challenges, groups, schedule, grading, etc.) and their assessment (reports, attendance requirements, etc.) will be available on the Virtual Campus. Attendance at laboratory sessions is mandatory. To be eligible for assessment, students must attend at least 80% of the laboratory sessions. Assessment of specific laboratory sessions may be rescheduled only with prior authorization from the Academic Administration Office (for example, in cases of medically justified absence). At the end of each laboratory session, students will complete an individual written assessment to validate the achievement of the corresponding learning outcomes. Passing these assessments is required in order to pass the course.

Assessment criteria

For problem-solving activities and supervised work, assessment will consider individual commitment, cooperation within the group, the quality of the work produced, and the student’s level of participation across the different assessment activities. Quality indicators include the correct use of technical terminology, appropriate written expression, and the logical organization of the submitted work. Consistency and regular engagement throughout the course will also be taken into account. Solutions to problems are expected to be well justified and, where appropriate, properly revised.

For in-class activities, assessment will be based on student participation and any reports or documents submitted.

For the laboratory component, assessment will consider active participation during the laboratory sessions and performance in the final laboratory assessments.

For the individual assignments and the final examinations assessing knowledge and laboratory work, the primary assessment criterion will be the correctness of the answers provided.

Academic integrity: plagiarism, cheating, and other irregularities

Without prejudice to any additional disciplinary measures that may be deemed appropriate, and in accordance with the current academic regulations, any irregularity committed by a student that may affect the assessment of an activity will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for that activity. Assessment activities graded in this manner are not eligible for reassessment.

If passing the affected assessment activity is a requirement for passing the course, the student will automatically fail the course without the possibility of passing it through reassessment during the same academic year.

Irregularities include, but are not limited to:

• copying all or part of a laboratory assignment, report, or any other assessment activity;
• allowing another student to copy;
• submitting group work (from the current or previous academic years) that has not been completed entirely by the members of the group (this applies to all group members, not only those who did not contribute);
• submitting as one’s own work material produced by a third party, including translations or adaptations, or, more generally, work containing elements that are not original and exclusively produced by the student (for example, content generated using generative Artificial Intelligence tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.);
• having communication devices (such as mobile phones, smartwatches, smart pens with cameras, etc.) accessible during individual theory or practical examinations;
• communicating with other students during examinations;
• copying or attempting to copy from other students during examinations;
• using or attempting to use notes or written materials related to the course content during examinations unless their use has been explicitly authorized.

In cases involving academic misconduct during an assessment activity, the final numerical grade recorded for the course will be the lower of 3.0 and the weighted average of the student’s grades. Consequently, it will not be possible to pass the course through compensation.

In future editions of the course, students who have committed academic misconduct during an assessment activity will not receive credit for any previously completed assessment activities.

In summary: copying, allowing others to copy, plagiarism, or attempting any of these actions in any assessment activity will result in a Fail, with no possibility of compensation or recognition of previously completed assessment activities.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools

This course acknowledges the increasing use of generative Artificial Intelligence as a support tool and therefore permits its use to a limited extent.

As a general rule, these tools may only be used to improve the formal aspects of a student’s work, such as writing quality, style, clarity of presentation, language revision, translation, or to obtain occasional assistance with technical issues.

The use of generative Artificial Intelligence to produce content that is subject to assessment is not permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, methodological design, system design, experimental work, analysis or interpretation of results, idea generation, or the formulation of conclusions. These tasks must be carried out entirely by the student, as they constitute the essential intellectual and creative work required to pass the course. Given the diversity of assessment activities, students should consult the course instructor whenever they are uncertain about the permitted use of these tools.

In all cases, students must explicitly state, in every submission uploaded to the Virtual Campus, whether generative Artificial Intelligence tools have been used, specifying which tools were used, for what purpose, and to what extent.

Irresponsible, excessive, or unnecessary use of these tools will negatively affect the assessment. Failure to disclose their use, or inappropriate use of such tools, may result in failing the course.

Final grade

The final course grade, which reflects the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies, will be calculated as the weighted average of the following components:

• 40% – Final knowledge examination. Minimum required grade: 5.0/10.
• 15% – Individual assignments. Minimum required grade: 0.1/10.
• 5% – Practical case study. Minimum required grade: 0.1/10.
• 10% – In-class activities. No minimum grade required.
• 10% – Laboratory coursework. Minimum required grade: 5.0/10.
• 20% – Laboratory skills assessment. Minimum required grade: 4.0/10.

The combined grade corresponding to the individual assignments (15%) and the practical case study (5%), hereafter referred to as ESP, will be adjusted according to the student’s grade in the final knowledge examination. If the ESP grade is 1.5 or higher and the grade in the final knowledge examination is 5.0 or higher, the ESP grade used in the final calculation will be the greater of 5.0 and the original ESP grade. This adjustment reflects the fact that the final knowledge examination assesses the complete theoretical content of the course.

If a student does not pass the course because one or more assessment components do not reach the required minimum grade, the final numerical grade recorded will be the lower of 4.0 and the weighted average of all assessment components.

Students who do not participate in any assessment activity will receive the grade Not Assessed.

As indicated above, in cases of academic misconduct, the final numerical grade recorded will be the lower of 3.0 and the weighted average of the student’s grades.

Honours Distinction (Matrícula d’Honor) will be awarded taking into account active participation throughout the course (for example, contributing to problem solving in the course discussion forum), additional non-assessed merits announced during the semester (such as optional challenges), the final course grade, and the grade obtained in the final knowledge examination.

Only students who have not participated in any assessment activity will receive the grade Not Assessed.

Assessment schedule

• Throughout the semester: in-class activities and laboratory sessions, together with their corresponding assessments.
• During laboratory sessions: assessment of laboratory coursework.
• Throughout the semester: individual assignments and the practical case study.
• At the end of the semester: final knowledge examination and laboratory skills assessment.

Assessment dates will be published on the Virtual Campus and may be modified if necessary due to scheduling adjustments or unforeseen circumstances. Any changes will always be announced through the Virtual Campus, which is considered the official communication channel between instructors and students.

Students who do not pass the final knowledge examination or the laboratory skills assessment at the first attempt will have the opportunity to take a reassessment examination.

Reassessment is not available for in-class activities, individual assignments, the practical case study, or laboratory coursework, as these are integral components of the continuous assessment process and cannot be meaningfully reproduced outside the period in which they take place.

Students are entitled to review all assessed activities.

Recognition of previous assessment activities

No automatic recognition of previously completed assessment activities will be granted, and students repeating the course will not receive any differentiated treatment.

Requests for recognition of previous assessment activities must be submitted explicitly following the procedure that will be explained on the first day of class.

Single assessment

This course cannot be assessed through the University’s single assessment procedure.