Presentation on the Telecom Forum Course by Henna Suomi

1. Introduction to
Telecommunications Forum
Henna Suomi
Aalto University
Department of Communications and Networking August 20, 2013

2. Telcommunications Forum
• A studia generalia course since 1997
• Responsible professors
– Raimo Kantola 1997-2002
– Heikki Hämmäinen 2003-2011
– Jukka Manner 2012-
• The course handles hot topics regarding Internet and wireless
information technology including
– global and national trends
– product, business and technology strategies
– recent advances in research to the social, economic and legal
impact of the latest technology
• The guest speakers are leaders in their fields including
– Scientists and innovators
– business and technology officers in their companies

3. Objectives
• Targeted for masters students in telecommunications
technology but open to anyone
• The purpose of the course is to
– raise students’ awareness of the innovation opportunities open
to them in the telecommunications
– to encourage the discussion on the direction of technological
change between the industry and the academia
• After the course the students should
– have practical understanding on developments in the
telecommunications industry
– be able to discuss the general strategy and policy issues of
Internet and wireless information technology

4. Lectures
• The key part of the course
• Once per week in the late afternoon
– Number of lectures varies from 8 to 10
– Presentation 45-60 min
– Questions and answers ~30min
• Lecturers are invited by the responsible professor
– Professors use their contact network from the industry and
public institutions
• Typically a certain theme is selected for the seminar
– 2010: Cloud computing
– 2011: Evolution of the Internet

5. Course structure
• Two versions to pass the course
– 2 ECTS
• Attend at least N-1 lectures
• Return an accepted homework
• Fill course feedback form
– 5 ECTS
• Attend at least N-1 lectures
• Return an accepted homework
• Fill course feedback form
• Pass the exam
• Course grading has been PASS or FAIL
• In case of an exam failure, the student will still get 2 ECTS
from lectures and homework

6. Homework
• Part 1
– List three main messages from each speaker using bullet points
– Give a grade for the speaker (1 to 5, 5 is the best)
– You may also give additional comments to speakers or course
staff
• Part 2
– Select the best lectures from three perspectives
1. technical
2. business
3. most entertaining
– 6-10 full sentences for each (i.e., no bullet points)
– Same lecture cannot be selected twice

7. Exam
• Based on the lectures and exam book
– Five questions: one is based on lectures and
four on the exam book
– The focus of exam is rather cross-disciplinary than technical
• Example books
– The Internet Peering Playbook: Connecting to the Core of
the Internet by William B. Norton
– The Nature of Technology by William Brian Arthur
– The New ICT Ecosystem: Implications for Policy and
Regulation by Martin Fransman
– Internet Policy and Economics Challenges and
Perspectives by William Lehr, Lorenzo Pupillo (Eds.)
– Mobile Service Innovation and Business Models by Harry
Bouwman, Henny De Vos, Timber Haaker (Eds.)

8. Video recording
• The lectures from the early days of Telecom Forum have
been recorded
– First by the students
– Thereafter by a group settled up by the faculty
– Since 2012 by COMNET staff
• The permission to record and deliver videos online is
asked from each lecturer

9. Questions?
• Web pages
– https://noppa.aalto.fi/noppa/kurssi/s-38.3001
• Current staff
– Professor Jukka Manner (jukka.manner@aalto.fi)
– Assistant Gautam Raj Moktan (gautam.moktan@aalto.fi)
• Me
– henna.suomi@aalto.fi