Course syllabus

B. Mehlig, Machine learning with neural networks, Cambridge University Press (2021).
Errata for Machine Learning with Neural Networks (October 18, 2022).

The course book is availabe at ChalmersStore and CUP. You can take the printed book to the exam. It is your responsibility to order the book in time if you want to have it in the exam.

Examination

Credits for this course are obtained by solving the homework problems (solutions of examples and programming projects) and by a written examination. There are three sets of homework problems. Each of the three gives at most 3 points. The exam gives at most 15 points, resulting in a maximum of 24 points.

To pass the course,  it is necessary to obtain at least 6 points in the written exam, and to have at > 13.5 points in total.

Passing grades:
Chalmers: 3: >13.5p; 4: >17p, 5: >21.5p
GU: G: >13.5p; VG: >19.5p
ECTS: C: >13.5p; B: >17p; A: >21.5p

OpenTA

This course uses the OpenTA online system for exercises, homework, and exam preparation.

Experimental AI assistant

Use this link to get answers to questions about the course contents, homework tasks, and exam preparation. This is an experimental AI assistant created by Stellan Östlund. It is fed with course-related material. Please try it out and give feedback on piazza.

You can use the AI assistant with a free ChatGPT account. Your ChatpGPT credits are used for these conversations. They are completely private between you and OpenAI, not in any way monitored by the examiner or creator of the GPT.

Rules for homework submissions

Same rules as for written exams apply: it is not allowed to copy any material from anywhere unless reference is given: all sources must be stated in writing (e.g. old solutions, fellow students, internet, ChatGPT).  All students must write their own computer programs and submit their own solutions and program code via OpenTA.

Keep a backup of your solutions to the OpenTA questions, of your submitted PDF files as well as the answers you typed in. The system does not store your answers after December 2026. If you take a re-exam in January or August 2027 you will be asked to re-submit all answers and OpenTA scores.

Your OpenTA points are valid for the two re-exams in January and August 2027. Please contact any of the teachers if you need guidance for your exam preparation, or if you have questions about the coming re-exams. To pass the course in future academic years (for instance 2027/2028) you need to redo the OpenTA problems for that academic year.

For some OpenTA problems, you are asked to submit your answer in the form of a PDF file. It must be a single A4 page with 12pt single-spaced text, and with 2cm margins. LateX template. The page may contain at most one Figure and/or one Table with the corresponding Figure and/or Table caption, in addition to the text discussing the results shown in the Figure/Table. It is not necessary to write a full page, but you must explain/describe what you have done, clearly state your results/answers, your conclusions, and cite the sources used. When necessary, you must discuss possible errors and inaccuracies in your results. If you are asked to plot results/make graphs, you do this in a Figure with legible axis labels and tic labels. All symbols and lines must be explained in the Figure or in a caption. The Figure may consist of separate panels. Refer to them as 'left panel', 'right panel', 'bottom panel', etc. (or alternatively label them 'a', 'b',...).

In addition you need to upload a PDF file with the computer code you used to generate your results. No length restriction applies for this file.

Deadlines are sharp. Late submissions are not accepted.

Rules for homework resubmissions

Most homework tasks are automatically graded. For these tasks, you only get the green light from OpenTA. You can try as often as you want (before the deadline).

Some homework tasks require you to submit a one-page PDF file with your results and discussion. These are manually graded. If we find errors or problems in these solutions you will be notified (text message on OpenTA) and you are allowed to resubmit. The final deadline for resubmissions is to be determined, a few days after the exam. After that date, the system does not accept any resubmissions. If you resubmit before that deadline and your solution is correct, you get full points for that task.

Written exam

Allowed material for exam: course book, only printed by Cambridge University Press, no written annotations (underlining/highlighting allowed).

The exam covers the material presented in the lectures as well as the homework problems. Old exam questions are given in the course book. Solutions.

Old exams with solutions
August 2026
January 2026
October 2025
August 2025
January 2025
October 2024
August 2024
January 2024
October 2023
August 2023
January 2023
October 2022
August 2022
January 2022
October 2021
August 2021
January 2021
October 2020

Note: from October 2022 onwards, students are allowed to have the course book (as printed by CUP) in the exam. 

Date for written exam, deadline for registration for exam. Please follow this link. Course code FFR135.

If date & time of the exam collide with another exam you must take, then you must follow the steps outlined here.

If you don't pass the exam

Your OpenTA points are valid for the two re-exams in January and August 2026. Please contact any of the teachers if you need guidance for your exam preparation, or if you have questions about the coming re-exams. To pass the course in future academic years, you need to redo the OpenTA problems for that academic year.

Changes from last year