The virtual Study Project Agency -
      Our Projects


      • Range of projects
      • How projects are started
      • How projects are run
      • How projects are completed
      • Sample Projects
      • Sorry, no projects are currently up for grabs

      Range of projects

      The scientific scope of the projects is the field of bioinformatics. This includes topics like sequence analysis, sequence databases, visualization, software tools and user interfaces, etc.

      Project tasks can be

      • To prototype a new algorithm
      • To add a user interface to an existing program
      • To review or evaluate software

      Students' skills. Students working for the Agency are typically second year graduates in the Bielefeld bioinformatics curriculum. They have acquired substantial knowledge in computer science (programming, analysis of algorithms, technical and theoretical computer science), biology (molecular biology, genetics), and specific topics from bioinformatics (sequence analysis algorithms, use of network tools and resources). Project work is a curricular requirement preceding the diploma (Master's) thesis.

      External partners for student projects should satisfy the following criteria:

      • They should work in a bioinformatics research or application context.
      • They are willing to experiment with modern ways of tele-cooperation.
      • They can calibrate the project volume consistent with curricular requirements.

      How projects are started

      Step 1. Contact the Agency with your project idea. We'll negotiate about specific goals, the amount of work, necessary prerequisites, desired deliverables and project duration (which should not exceed 6 months).
      Step 2. The Agency will find students to work on the project. Students' prior qualification will be assessed by the Agency.
      Step 3. A project document will be worked out.

      How projects are run

      Generally, electronic mail will be used for problem specification, documentation, progress reports, etc. Interactive sessions at a virtual conference center will be held on demand; from our experience weekly sessions are recommanded in the initial phase. Local guidance by the agency managers will be available to the students. A more detailed time-table will be worked out for each project individually.

      How projects are completed

      The students will write a final report + documentation, and present completed work at the partner's site (upon invitation). A short report on the project will be placed on the Agency's WWW pages. (Details will be treated confidential upon request.) Partners should write a short evaluation statement for the Agency.

      Sample Projects

      Here we list some student projects that are in progress, or have been completed. More to follow soon ! Projects labeled (local) were recently done at Bielefeld. They inspired the Agency.

      • Analysis of cytokine active gene promoters
      • An object-oriented databank for SAGE expression data from Yeast
      • (local) caRNAsta - A tool to compare RNA structures under the tree-edit model.
      • (local) GeneView - A visualization of Genbank entries in Java.
      • (local) The structure in Heparin UTRs.

      New Projects, up for grabs !

      We've recently got 5 new project suggestions, check them out now!



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