Recent graduate Niclas Böhmer (2018, Computer Science) was awarded The Hoare Prize for the best project in the MSc in Computer Science (2019) and The Hoare Prize for best overall performance in the MSc in Computer Science (2019).

The MSc in Computer Science consists of coursework and a dissertation, with an average of 43 students per year. Niclas wrote his dissertation “Algorithmic Analysis of Hedonic Games with Diversity Preferences”, in the area of computational social choice, under the supervision of Prof. Edith Elkind. Niclas will present part of his work at the 34th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence in New York in February. He previously did his undergraduate studies in computer science at RWTH Aachen University and has recently started  a PhD in computer science, inspired by his MSc, in the research group “Algorithmics and Computational Complexity” at TU Berlin under the supervision of Prof. Niedermeier.

Niclas describes how he learnt he won the prizes and how it made him feel: “The department informed me that I won these prizes via e-mail well beyond finishing the program and receiving my final certificate. As the e-mail came completely out of the blue, reading the subject, I was pretty confused. After I understood what the email was about, my confusion turned into surprise.

“Moreover, I felt (again) extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn at one of the oldest universities, which despite its ancient outward appearance is still a vibrant place full of innovative ideas and influential minds. I am also grateful for the opportunity to experience college life and to meet so many inspiring people, for all the support from my family and friends, and for the supervision and close guidance of Professor Elkind, who gave me the opportunity to work on such a fascinating and emerging topic. Moreover, when applying at Oxford, I was unsure whether I would fit in and fulfil the standards, so these prizes also feel like a late confirmation that my decision to apply was correct and that I deserved to study in this magical city.”

Published: 23 January 2020

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