Teaching

• Module: Mathematical Foundations to Computer Science (CH-233)
• Semester: Fall 2026
• Prerequisites: None
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder
• Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12:30 (Research I, Room 87)
• TA (Group A): Bobokhidze, Nutsa
• TA (Group B): Hajizada, Leyla
• TA (Group C): Ali, Muhammad
• TA (Group D): Saidi, Zineb
• TA (Group E): Tesfaye, Nahom Tewodros
• TA (Group F): Ullah, Rehmat
• TA (Group G): Zeynalli, Mustafa
• Lecture: Tuesday, 11:15-12:30 (RLH-172)
• Lecture: Friday, 08:15-09:30 (RLH-172)
• Tutorial: Friday, 09:45-11:00 (RLH-172)
• TA Tutorial: TBD
• Dec Exam: TBD
• Dec Exam Review: TBD
• Jan Exam: TBD
• Jan Exam Review: TBD

The module introduces students to the mathematical foundations of computer science. Students learn to reason logically and clearly. They acquire the skill to formalize arguments and to prove propositions mathematically using elementary logic. Students are also introduced to fundamental concepts of graph theory and elementary graph algorithms.

After establishing the concept of algorithms, the first part covers basic elements of discrete mathematics, leading to Boolean algebra, propositional logic, and predicate logic. Students learn how to use fundamental proof techniques to prove (or disprove) simple propositions. The second part of the module introduces students to basic concepts of algebraic structures like groups, rings, and fields and different structure preserving maps (homomorphisms). Students study how these abstract concepts relate to problems in computer science. The last part of the module covers the basic elements of graph theory and the different representation of graphs. Elementary graph algorithms are introduced that have a wide range of applicability in computer science.

• Module: Operating Systems (CO-562)
• Semester: Fall 2026
• Prerequisite: Programming in C and C++ (CH-230)
• Prerequisite: Digital Systems and Computer Architecture (CH-234)
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder
• Instructor: Alexander Tormasov
• Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12:30 (Research I, Room 87)
• TA (Group A): Bhave, Aneesh Archis
• TA (Group B): Chernii, Artem
• TA (Group C): Maghri, Ahmed
• TA (Group D): Mati, Erik
• TA (Group E): Mitov, Rumen Valentinov
• TA (Group F): Znaien, Mohamed
• Lecture: Tuesday, 15:45-17:00 (RLH-172)
• Tutorial: Tuesday, 17:15-18:30 (RLH-172)
• Lecture: Thursday, 15:45-17:00 (RLH-172)
• TA Tutorial: Monday, 18:00-19:00 (East Hall 5)
• Dec Exam: TBD
• Dec Exam Review: TBD
• Jan Exam: TBD
• Jan Exam Review: TBD
• Aug Exam: TBD

This module introduces concepts and principles used by operating systems to provide programming abstractions that enable an efficient and robust execution of application programs. Students will gain an understanding of how an operating system kernel manages hardware components and how it provides abstractions such as processes, threads, virtual memory, file systems, and inter-process communication facilities. Students learn the principles of event-driven and concurrent programming and the mechanisms that are necessary to solve synchronization and coordination problems, thereby avoiding race conditions, deadlocks, and resource starvation. The Linux kernel and runtime system will be used throughout the course to illustrate how key ideas and concepts have been implemented and how application programs can use them.

• Course: System Security (MCSSE-CYB-02)
• Semester: Spring 2026
• Prerequisites:
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder
• Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12:30, R.1-87
• Class: Wednesday, 14:15-15:30, East Hall 7
• Class: Friday, 15:45-17:00, East Hall 7
• May Exam: Friday, 2026-05-22, 12:30-14:30 (East Hall 8)
• Aug Exam: Wednesday, 2026-08-26, 16:00-18:00 (East Hall 3)

This module focuses on system level security aspects of computing systems. The module starts with investigating attacks on the microarchitecture of computing systems, such as attacks to gain information from side channels targeting caches. It then introduces trusted execution environments that use hardware isolation mechanisms to provide protected storage for keys and to bootstrap the integrity of bootloaders and the loaded operating systems. Students learn about the different levels of isolation that can be achieved using various types of hypervisors or sandboxing mechanisms. Techniques that can be used to protect a system against misbehaving code and malware are introduced. Students will gain knowledge how protected data storage components can be provided at the system level and how systems can offer support for collections of (distributed) authentication mechanisms. Finally, the module will discusses how authorization mechanisms are realized in the different system software components and how they can be used to define effective security policies.

• Module: Operating Systems (CO-562)
• Semester: Fall 2025
• Prerequisite: Algorithms and Data Structures (CH-231)
• Prerequisite: Digital Systems and Computer Architecture (CH-234)
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder
• Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12:30 (Research I, Room 87)
• TA (Group A): Babayev, Gazanfar
• TA (Group B): Nuredini, Kejsi
• TA (Group C): Shukhratkhujaev, Abdukhamidkhuja
• TA (Group D): Tsonev, Nikolay Lachezarov
• TA (Group E): Ulziibayar, Dulguun
• Lecture: Tuesday, 14:15-15:30 (ICC-East Wing)
• Tutorial: Tuesday, 15:45-17:00 (ICC-East Wing)
• Lecture: Thursday, 15:45-17:00 (RLH-172)
• TA Tutorial: Wednesdays, 19:00-20:00 (West Hall 2)
• Dec Exam: Thursday, 2025-12-11, 11:00-13:00 (ICC Conference Hall, ICC East Wing, ICC Conference Room)
• Dec Exam Review: Wednesday, 2026-01-21, 13:00-14:00 (Research I, R.1-53 Lecture Hall)
• Jan Exam: Friday, 2026-01-30, 11:30-13:30 (ICC East Wing, ICC Conference Room)
• Jan Exam Review: Tuesday, 2026-02-17, 13:00-14:00 (Research I, R.1-53 Lecture Hall)
• Aug Exam: Thursday, 2026-08-27, 12:30-14:30 (SAC Hall 3)

This module introduces concepts and principles used by operating systems to provide programming abstractions that enable an efficient and robust execution of application programs. Students will gain an understanding of how an operating system kernel manages hardware components and how it provides abstractions such as processes, threads, virtual memory, file systems, and inter-process communication facilities. Students learn the principles of event-driven and concurrent programming and the mechanisms that are necessary to solve synchronization and coordination problems, thereby avoiding race conditions, deadlocks, and resource starvation. The Linux kernel and runtime system will be used throughout the course to illustrate how key ideas and concepts have been implemented and how application programs can use them.

• Module: Bachelor Thesis and Seminar in Computer Science (CA-CS-800)
• Semester: Spring 2025
• Instructor: Joaquin Aguado (concurrency)
• Instructor: Peter Baumann (databases)
• Instructor: Andreas Birk (robotic, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Fangning Hu (embedded systems)
• Instructor: Kirill Krinkin (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Dmitry Kropotov (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Francesco Maurelli (robotic, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder (system security, computer networks)
• Instructor: Jakob Suchan (computer vision, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Dmitry Vetrov (artificial intelligence)
• Prerequisites: 30 CP of advanced modules (core or specialization modules) earned, at least 20 CP from advanced modules in the major

We expect students to take the initiative and to drive the process. How self-organized students work is part of the assessment. In terms of effort, please note that 1 CP equals ~25 hours, i.e., the module has an average workload of 375 hours.

• Module: Mathematical Foundations to Computer Science (CH-233)
• Semester: Fall 2025
• Prerequisites: None
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder
• Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12:30 (Research I, Room 87)
• TA (Group A): Bhave, Aneesh Archis
• TA (Group B): Gherasim, Mihnea
• TA (Group C): Kanapelka, Arseni
• TA (Group D): Maghri, Ahmed
• TA (Group E): Mutaeva, Olesia
• TA (Group F): Tafani, Anja
• TA (Group G): Treshcheva, Olesia
• Lecture: Tuesday, 11:15-12:30 (RLH-172)
• Lecture: Friday, 08:15-09:30 (RLH-172)
• Tutorial: Friday, 09:45-11:00 (RLH-172)
• TA Tutorial: Thursday, 17:30-18:30 (WH-8)
• Dec Exam: Thursday, 2025-12-18, 16:00-18:00 (ICC West Wing, ICC East Wing, IRC Seminar Room II, IRC Seminar Room III)
• Dec Exam Review: Tuesday, 2026-01-20, 13:00-14:00 (Research I, R.1-53 Lecture Hall)
• Jan Exam: Friday, 2026-01-30, 16:00-18:00 (ICC West Wing, ICC East Wing)
• Jan Exam Review: Tuesday, 2026-02-24, 13:00-14:00 (TBD)

The module introduces students to the mathematical foundations of computer science. Students learn to reason logically and clearly. They acquire the skill to formalize arguments and to prove propositions mathematically using elementary logic. Students are also introduced to fundamental concepts of graph theory and elementary graph algorithms.

After establishing the concept of algorithms, the first part covers basic elements of discrete mathematics, leading to Boolean algebra, propositional logic, and predicate logic. Students learn how to use fundamental proof techniques to prove (or disprove) simple propositions. The second part of the module introduces students to basic concepts of algebraic structures like groups, rings, and fields and different structure preserving maps (homomorphisms). Students study how these abstract concepts relate to problems in computer science. The last part of the module covers the basic elements of graph theory and the different representation of graphs. Elementary graph algorithms are introduced that have a wide range of applicability in computer science.

• Module: Master Thesis in Computer Science and Software Engineering (MCSSE-THE-01)
• Semester: Spring 2026
• Instructor: Peter Baumann (databases)
• Instructor: Andreas Birk (robotics, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Dmitry Kropotov (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Francesco Maurelli (robotics, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Bertrand Meyer (software engineering)
• Instructor: Manuel Oriol (software engineering)
• Instructor: Mauro Pezzè (software engineering)
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder (system security)
• Instructor: Jakob Suchan (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Markus Wenzel (artificial intelligence)
• Prerequisites: None

We expect students to take the initiative and to drive the process. This in particular includes being active in finding a thesis topic and a supervisor. In general, A thesis may arise

• from research in the instructor’s research area (research thesis),
• from a collaboration with a company (industry thesis), or
• from a student-driven product development idea for a start-up (start-up thesis).

How self-organized students work is part of the assessment. In terms of effort, please note that 1 CP equals ~25 hours, i.e., the module has an average workload of 750 hours.

• Course: System Security (MCSSE-CYB-02)
• Semester: Spring 2025
• Prerequisites: Cryptography (MCSSE-CYB-01)
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder
• Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12:30, R.1-87
• Class: Wednesday, 14:15-15:30, IRC Seminar Room I
• Class: Friday, 15:45-17:00, IRC Seminar Room I
• May Exam: Monday, 2025-06-02, 12:30-14:30 (East Hall 8)
• Aug Exam: Thursday, 2025-08-28, 17:00-19:00 (East Hall 8)

This module focuses on system level security aspects of computing systems. The module starts with investigating attacks on the microarchitecture of computing systems, such as attacks to gain information from side channels targeting caches. It then introduces trusted execution environments that use hardware isolation mechanisms to provide protected storage for keys and to bootstrap the integrity of bootloaders and the loaded operating systems. Students learn about the different levels of isolation that can be achieved using various types of hypervisors or sandboxing mechanisms. Techniques that can be used to protect a system against misbehaving code and malware are introduced. Students will gain knowledge how protected data storage components can be provided at the system level and how systems can offer support for collections of (distributed) authentication mechanisms. Finally, the module will discusses how authorization mechanisms are realized in the different system software components and how they can be used to define effective security policies.

• Module: Bachelor Thesis and Seminar in Computer Science (CA-CS-800)
• Semester: Spring 2025
• Instructor: Joaquin Aguado (concurrency)
• Instructor: Peter Baumann (databases)
• Instructor: Andreas Birk (robotic, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Mathias Bode (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Fangning Hu (embedded systems)
• Instructor: Kirill Krinkin (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Dmitry Kropotov (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Francesco Maurelli (robotic, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Samaneh Rashidibajgan (network security)
• Instructor: Jürgen Schönwälder (system security, computer networks)
• Instructor: Jakob Suchan (computer vision, artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Dmitry Vetrov (artificial intelligence)
• Instructor: Suhail Yousaf (artificial intelligence)
• Prerequisites: 30 CP of advanced modules (core or specialization modules) earned, at least 20 CP from advanced modules in the major

We expect students to take the initiative and to drive the process. How self-organized students work is part of the assessment. In terms of effort, please note that 1 CP equals ~25 hours, i.e., the module has an average workload of 375 hours.