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Courses

Courses

Explore our wide range of courses, filtered by age, program type, and exam profile. Whether you’re interested in verbal or quantitative subjects, we have something to challenge and inspire you.

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  • Cryptology

    Cryptology is the study of the codes and ciphers used to create secret writing. In this math course, students begin their journey with an exploration of many early techniques for creating secret writing, such as cipher wheels, the Caesar shift, polyalphabetic substitution, and the Vigenère cipher. They move on to learn about modern techniques including RSA public key cryptography, as students explore how data transmitted by computers can be secured with digital encryption. Discussions about the vulnerabilities of each encryption system enable students to attack and decrypt messages using techniques such as frequency analysis and cribbing. Students apply the concepts learn to encrypt and decrypt their own secret messages.

    Though the course’s central focus is on the mathematics of cryptology, the historical context of cryptography and cryptographic devices is provided to further develop an understanding of this branch of mathematics. For example, students examine the design and fallibility of the Enigma Machine, one of the most important cryptographic devices in history.

    Genetics

    Did you know that if one person’s DNA was unraveled and placed end to end, it would stretch to the sun and back at least 60 times? Or that humans and chimps share a surprising 98.8 percent of their DNA? How can we be so similar and yet so different? How does all that relate to having your mother’s eyes, or your father’s nose? Or even your great grandmother’s hair? And how did complex, multicellular organisms evolve from simpler, single-celled ones? We begin with an exploration of Mendelian genetics to determine how simple traits are passed from parents to offspring, delve into more complex concepts such as sex-linked traits and polygenic inheritance, to move towards understanding the genetics of inherited disorders. We will also take a look into the fascinating world of 6 million years of evolution. Furthermore, we learn and practice some of the methods and techniques that geneticists use to explore these concepts, such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, and bacterial transformations. 

    Learning objectives

    • Predict the impact of mutations and the inheritance patterns of different diseases.
    • Utilize biotechnological laboratory skills to determine the genotypes of individuals and explore the process of transformation, a key technique in genetic engineering. 
    • Research and present a genetically inherited disease/syndrome including characteristics such as genetic heterogeneity, penetrance and expressivity.

    More than Just a Game… Video Game Design in Unity (English)

    This course introduces students to the fundamentals of video game design. Utilizing a project-based approach and the Unity Game Engine it aims to teach the basic theory and concepts of video game design from the perspective of a video game designer. At the same time, students learn the core skills of basic computer programing using the C# language as well as visual scripting.

    Designing video games is not only about programming game mechanics but it is also about creating an entertaining experience for the player. This course introduces the concept and theory of “player centric” game design which includes topics like; the essential elements of a game, the structure of a video game, what the core mechanics of a game are and how they work with the user interface to create gameplay. Along with design elements, student learn the different roles of the design team members in the video game industry.

    The programming language C# is introduced along with visual scripting using Playmaker. By the end of the course, students will be able to create interactivity and game play through scripting, using functions, finite state machines, variables, and if statements.

    By the end of the course students should be able to understand video game design theory. They will utilize this theory and scripting skills to design and create a working prototype game that engages and entertains the player.

    Students are expected to be familiar with standard computer operations (e.g., login, cut & paste, email attachments, compressing files, etc.) before enrolling in the course. It is recommended to have completed the ‘Introduction to Java’ or the ‘Scratch’ course. The course will be conducted in English.

    Principles of Engineering Design

    What is the difference between science and engineering? What are the techniques that must be applied for successfully tackling any engineering challenge, from designing and building a bed-side table to conceptualizing and sending a shuttle to space? How can a group of engineers efficiently compartmentalize a multi-system project, allocate tasks and optimize the budget provided to solve a multifaceted constructional problem? This course explores a range of topics from physics and science and bridges the gap between pure theoretical knowledge and its practical application. Through daily doses of lectures, class discussions, problem-solving and plentiful hands-on lab activities, the students will be exposed to an array of concepts, varying from Newtonian dynamics and circuitry to fluid dynamics and thermal physics and through their application, complete engineering tasks of progressively increasing complexity. 

    Learning objectives:

    • Apply concepts from various topics of physics into practical constructional projects with strict requirements, aimed at tackling specific problems of varying complexity and constraints.
    • Train in the engineering design process, practical problem-solving and collaborative teamwork to complete assigned engineering design and production tasks. 
    • Develop and train a variety of technical skills, including detailed technical drawings of projects, precision soldering of electronic components and wood work skills. 

    Taming Randomness

    Chance plays an important part in all aspects of life.

    We take chances every day: will a shot at goal land in the goal or miss? Will we be caught in a sudden shower or not? How long do we need to wait to be served in our favourite burger house?

    Chance or random variation is also a central feature of all working systems: a scientist taking measurements in a lab; a disease spreading through a population; an economist studying price fluctuation. In all these processes some element of chance or randomness are present.  Is it possible to understand and therefore model and analyse such phenomena? If so, what are the tools we need to achieve that? Do we live in a world of randomness, or, as Einstein famously claimed, no one plays dice with the universe?

    During this course, we will attempt to “tame randomness” using mathematics as our compass. 

    Learning objectives:

    • Develop a robust theoretical understanding of the basics of probability theory. 
    • Develop the capability to identify the underlying randomness in real life problems, and decide how to model and quantify it.
    • Gain an in-depth understanding of the basic technical tools needed in applied probability.
    • Make use of random variables and theoretical probability distributions to model simple random processes (Η).