Technical University Berlin

Students gain an overview of the fundamental technologies of the World Wide Web (WWW) and their applications. They study the functionality of the WWW as an overlay network of the Internet and examine the underlying communication infrastructure and protocols. Students also study the different generations of the WWW and the current as well as the future development. They learn to semantically structure, design and link web content, to create dynamic web sites, and to program server-side applications and how to connect them with the front-end via interfaces. Course content includes foundations (the main parts of the WWW and its evolution over the past decades), web pages (the structure and design of web content with HTML and CSS), web applications (an overview of JavaScript, the DOM and AJAX ), architecture and communication (the foundations of the OSI model with the consideration of the IP, TCP and UDP protocol as well as the explanation of the REST architectural style), server-side applications (creation of back-end applications with Node.js), selected APIs and frameworks.

In this course we will explore a wide range of alternative logical systems for modelling different phenomena. We will look at the semantics and proof theory for modal logics (the logic of possibility and necessity), intuitionistic logic (the logic of constructive mathematics), “gappy” logics (where some truth values are underdetermined), the logic of paradox (where paradoxes can be true without the logic being trivial), deontic logic (the logic of actions and obligations), and dynamic epistemic logic (logics for tracking our knowledge in a changing epistemic environment). For each we will look at the philosophical motivations and payoffs that the logic has, as well as strengths and weaknesses of the formalisation.

This course for foreign students is designed to improve students’ language skills and vocabulary. Areas of focus include grammar, conversation, writing exercises, and listening and reading exercises. In addition, excursions are planned to introduce students to German culture. Students work with cultural and historical topics on an academic level and broaden their intercultural knowledge. They are introduced to independent learning methods and familiarize themselves with typical learning situations at German universities. In this class at the A1 level according to the CEFR, students learn basic vocabulary and grammatical structures as well as corresponding competencies in university-specific situations. The class takes intercultural and methodological aspects of foreign language learning into consideration, and students are introduced to German culture and society. The A1 level is split into two courses, the A1.1 course covers the first half of the level and the A1.2 course covers the second half of the level.

After completing this module, the participants have gained practical experience in designing, implementing, and testing of applications for the internet of services within a small team and therefore gained significant knowledge and insights within the areas of mobile devices, communication and services, location-based services, cloud computing and digital communities. Furthermore, the participants have gained important knowledge of how to organize and realize IT projects, including controlling, reporting, planning, and communicating with external partners. 
 

The following topics are covered in this course: computer arithmetic, number formats (place value systems, fixed- and floating-point numbers); basics of digital design ((combinatorial logic, gates, truth tables, storage elements, finite state machines); basic technologies and components of a (secure) computer architecture; assembly programming (MIPS): assembly language, control flow, addressing; structure and operation of a multi-cycle data path (MIPS), structure and operation of a multi-cycle implementation; measuring and evaluating performance (SPEC benchmarks, Amdahl's law); structure and operation of a simple Von Neumann model; introduction to pipelining: concepts, hazards, forwarding, solutions; memory hierarchy, caches, virtual memory; input/output techniques (addressing, synchronization, direct memory access).

This course introduces students to modern programming techniques using the Java programming language as an example. The use of object-oriented concepts enables students to quickly work on complex tasks independently. In the practical exercises, students also learn how to use a development environment and a version management system (git) while programming. The programming language used is Java. -Java basics: * Data types, variables, operators, static methods / functions - Object orientation: * Classes and objects * Polymorphism with interfaces * Generics * Implementation inheritance - Java Collections - Error handling - Input / Output - GUI if necessary.

The German-speaking region was essential for the development of modern antisemitism. While many forms of early Christian and medieval persecution of Jews existed all over Europe, the Protestant reformation in Central Europe, contributed greatly to the proliferation and adaptation of medieval anti-Jewish sentiments into the early modern era. During the Enlightenment and the romantic period, the first major steps towards modernizing anti-Jewish sentiments happened. The class will address important social (middle-class), political (parties), intellectual (race theory) as well as cultural (visual culture) dimensions of the modern antisemitism, primarily during the 19th and early 20th century. Since the 18th century, Jewish Activists and intellectuals engaged in fighting antisemitism which the class will also address. The specific form of Nazi antisemitism will be discussed in its relation to the comprehensive discriminatory policy of the Nazi regime and, later on, the extermination policy during the Holocaust. With the almost complete annihilation of European Jewry, the history of modern antisemitism did not end, but, instead, it caused further fundamental changes in its structure. The final meetings will be devoted to these changes after 1945 and in the contemporary German-speaking world. While the class will insist on studying the specifically German-speaking forms of anti-Judaism and antisemitism, it will also place the ‘German case’ into the wider European context.

The course is for students who want to improve their language skills in a practical context and get to know Berlin better. They will discover very different sides of the city: discussing current topics, exploring the Berlin world of media, looking at the city in film and music and dealing with city history and Berlin notabilities. An important aspect will be the real "discovery": Students explore places and neighborhoods during excursions and get into a conversation with Berliners. In addition, students learn to carefully extract and reproduce information from complex reading and listening texts, videos, and conversations. They also train their skills to discuss, present or write on current topics.
 

Students further expand their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills with authentic texts and communication situations in the fields of everyday life, popular science, culture and society, and literature.

In this course, students learn about a number of key topics in the philosophy of mathematics. It ensure students are familiar with the main views such as Platonism, nominalism, logicism, formalism, intuitionism, and structuralism, as well as the main criticisms of each. Students learn about the philosophical significance of Russell’s paradox and Gödel’s incompleteness theorems. From here, they consider topics in the philosophy of mathematical practice, such as the nature of mathematical proofs, the use of diagrams in mathematical reasoning, explanation and understanding in mathematics, mathematical knowledge, and the ethics of mathematics.