Master in Cognitive Systems

The program is geared towards students with a first degree in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), or a first degree in Cognitive Science or Psychology. The program assumes basic knowledge in the field of mathematics (discrete mathematics, formal logic, probability / statistics, calculus), and computing (algorithms, basic programming). This should be demonstrated in the application of a prospective student by listing relevant courses taken in earlier degrees or by offering proof of completion of relevant online courses (e.g., MOOCs).

Highly-motivated candidates from other disciplines are also encouraged to apply, but should expect to put extra effort to complement their prior studies by following additional induction elements linked to individual courses so that they can acquire the required background for these courses.

All candidates need to demonstrate that they meet the University’s English language requirements by submitting the relevant certificates along with their application (minimum grade IELTS 5.5 or any other equivalent). Details of the specific English language requirements can be found here.

This is a distance-learning program taught exclusively on-line in collaboration with the Open University of Cyprus and the Department of Psychology of the University of Cyprus. The program is taught in English.

Cognitive systems form a new generation of systems that aim to collaborate with their users at a level cognitively compatible with a non-computing expert in order to provide personalized and adaptive services, with each party, system and human, learning and adapting to the capabilities of the other. The need for developing such cognitive systems has been widely recognized. The Watson machine opened up the area of Cognitive Computing and we see today the development of the first Cognitive Assistants such as Siri, Cortana, Alexa, Google Assistant and others from every major computing company in the world.

Students are required to take:

• 3 first courses under the Foundations theme (COS511, COS512, COS513), where at least the two introductory courses (COS511, COS512) are expected to be taken during the first semester.
• electives among all other courses, as long as at least one third of the courses comes from Cognitive Psychology (CP), and one third of the courses come from Computer Science (CS).

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME
Since the inception of the computing paradigm, the prevalent metaphor for a computer has been that of a multi-purpose tool, as exemplified by the use of “command lines” and “desktops” at the interface between humans and computers. The unparalleled prevalence of computing-enabled devices in our everyday lives, and the widespread access to information over the Web, suggests a more apt metaphor for a modern computer, that of an assistant. Humans no longer use, but rather collaborate with their devices to solve a cognitive task, with each party learning and adapting to the capabilities of the other. Communication and decision-making happens at a level that is transparent to, and cognitively-compatible with, human abilities and limitations. One no longer speaks of human-computer interaction, but of human-computer symbiosis.

To teach the new paradigm of cognitive computing, the M.Sc. Program in Cognitive Systems brings together two main scientific areas: Cognitive Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence in Computer Science. Aiming, on the one hand, for the prospective students to understand the basis for human cognition, the Program is strongly influenced by Cognitive Psychology and includes learning modules that explore the fundamentals of perception, learning, mental representation, and reasoning in humans. Aiming, on the other hand, for the prospective students to be able to design cognitive systems, the Program places its emphasis on the investigation of computational methods and tools for understanding and designing cognitive systems, and includes learning modules from Connectionist and Symbolic Artificial Intelligence, from Machine Learning, and learning modules on recent developments in Cognitive Computing.

Courses are offered from both Cognitive Psychology (CP) and Computer Science (CS), organized in five main themes: Foundations, Perception, Learning, Reasoning, Systems.

GRADUATES CAN BE EMPLOYED – CAREER PROSPECTS
With a Master’s in Cognitive Systems, graduates have employment opportunities in the two traditional areas of Cognitive Psychology and Computer Science, but also in the new emerging area of Cognitive Systems. Generally speaking, graduates of the program will be qualified to contribute to basic and applied research aiming at the optimization of human-computer interaction and/or the application of computational tools in the understanding of cognition (research, research and development, and research and innovation at public and private centers/companies). In particular, students will be able to work in organizations in the areas of intelligent systems, machine learning, human-computer interaction, and cognitive system development, with large companies such as IBM, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple actively seeking, and offering lucrative salaries for, employees in the emerging areas that are covered by the program of study. Their ability to design and develop systems also offers the opportunity to graduates to work as developers in large software companies, with the ability to incorporate in the traditional software development cycle novel and cutting-edge techniques that are inspired by human cognition. The graduates’ knowledge of cognitive psychology theories and methodologies will further allow them the choice of working in treatment and health facilities, helping people with cognitive disabilities, while exploiting their expertise in the development of cognitive systems to develop novel solutions for patients. Irrespectively of the focus of their studies, graduates will be well-versed in an exciting new area of research that can lead them to pursue a Ph.D. program at Open University of Cyprus, University of Cyprus, or at other competitive Ph.D. programs across the world.

The programme is evaluated and accredited by:
​The Open University of Cyprus (OUC), through its participation in the European project "Liaison Offices with the Labour Market", offers to students of all its programmes of study, the optional and free of charge Thematic Unit (i.e. Module) entitled "Industry Placement". This module provides students opportunities for a placement to gain professional experience in their particular field of study, and the hosting institution can be any public or private organisation operating in the Republic of Cyprus.

Each student has the right to participate in this offering once or twice during his / her studies, provided that s/he meets the required conditions.