Elective disciplines – Department of Software Systems and Technologies

Catalog of selective disciplines of the educational and scientific program

The Ph.D. student chooses three elective disciplines with a total of 14 ECTS credits. The catalog below is a proposal of the PST department for thematic areas that correlate with the scientific schools of the department. In addition to it, the applicant can choose any discipline from the university catalog of educational and scientific level.

Core disciplines of the Department

Theory of Possibilities and ((P,N))-Models

Code: BB.PhD.01 | Credits 5 | Lecturer prof. Bychkov O.S.

Expanded axiomatic theory of possibilities with two agreed measures. Zadeh's paradox and its solution in the format of ((P,N))-models. Conditional possibility in the wording of Bychkov and comparison with the Dubois-Pradet form. Application in decision-making tasks with expert-type data.

Hybrid automata and functional stability of software systems

Code: BB.PhD.02 | Credits 5 | Lecturer prof. Bychkov O.S.

Formalism of hybrid automata with discrete and continuous states. Analysis of the stability of hybrid systems in terms of optimal Lyapunov functions. Verification methods (HyTech, SpaceEx, dReach). Applications in cyber-physical systems and robotics.

Multi-agent systems: theory and engineering

Code: BB.PhD.03 | Credits 5 | Lecturer prof. Bychkov O.S.

BDI architectures, no contract, FIPA-ACL. Implementation in the secure Rust system language. Modeling of swarm behavior and coordination. Possible control in conditions of uncertainty. The experimental part is on the AirSim simulator.

Engineering Large Language Models

Code: BB.PhD.04 | Credits 5

Transformer architecture and transformational methods. Distillation of models. Quantization-aware training. Fine-tuning with LoRA, QLoRA. RAG-systems. Possible model of attention. Three-Level Memory for Agents: Model Evaluation.

Formal semantics and verification

Code: BB.PhD.05 | Credits 5

Operational, denotational, axiomatic semantics of programming languages. Hoare's logic. Proving correctness in Coq, Isabelle, Lean systems. Dependent types: Review of verified systems (CompCert, seL4).

Post-Quantum Era Cryptographic Protocols

Code: BB.PhD.06 | Credits 5

Cryptography on lattices, hash functions, isogens. NIST PQC standards (Kyber, Dilithium, SPHINCS+, Falcon). Resilience Analysis: Adaptation to Constrained Environments (IoT). Hybrid cryptosystems of the Transition Period.

General scientific disciplines

Philosophy of Science and Technology (in-depth course)

Code: BB.PhD.07 | Credits 4

Concepts of scientific knowledge in the XX–XXI centuries. Structure of scientific revolutions (Kun). Research Programs (Lakatos): Epistemology of Computational Sciences. Ethics of scientific work in the conditions of AI.

Modern Academic English

Code: BB.PhD.08 | Credits 5

Academic writing genres (IMRaD, conference paper, grant proposal). Stylistics of scientific language. Preparation of publications for Q1/Q2 journals. Presentation of results. Working with reviewers.

Research management and grant activities

Code: BB.PhD.09 | Credits 4

Preparation of projects under the Horizon Europe, MSCA, ERC, Erasmus+ programs. Structuring of the research plan. Project management, budgeting, reporting. Working with consortia.

Open data management and FAIR-practice

Code: BB.PhD.10 | Credits 4

FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Preparing datasets for publication. Metadata, identifiers (DOI, ORCID), repositories. Research data lifecycle management.

Make selection

Enrollment in elective disciplines is carried out after the approval of the individual postgraduate plan (usually during the first month of study). The applicant agrees the list with the supervisor, based on the topic of the dissertation and existing scientific competencies.

The discipline is formed when at least 5 applicants have enrolled in it. In case of a smaller number of applications, the applicant is transferred to a discipline with the closest content, or the discipline is read in the format of individual advisory training.