The Systems Week is a five-day seminar on the principles and practice of software systems. Its goal is to prepare a cohort of 20–25 participants for cutting-edge research in the area of systems. Yearly topics combine recurring systems themes, combined with each year's special theme driven by broader trends in the field. Each topic is co-taught by a faculty pair with combined expertise on the subject, offering a chance to study a problem from multiple complementary perspectives. A key goal of the seminar is to foster collaborations between faculty and students that far exceed the seminar's timeline, ideally into the rest of the summer and beyond.
A typical Systems Week will include five mini-courses, delivered in daily lectures from multiple faculty members. Example topics include automated parallelization and distribution, retrofitting privacy guarantees, automated reasoning for systems, and scalable dataflow and streaming systems. The target audience includes advanced undergraduate or early PhD students with a serious (and broad) background in systems, but not necessarily on any of the seminar's theme topics. An anticipated set of prerequisites and prior knowledge will be made available several weeks prior to the seminar.
The Week's first edition will include a smaller cohort and possibly a small set of courses.
Lectures and corresponding lab sessions fall under (1) a common systems core, and (2) each year's special theme, driven by broader trends in the field. Lectures are provided by a combination of systems faculty at Brown CS and guest faculty from other institutions. The Systems Week additionally includes ample opportunities for interaction with industry participants and several additional social activities.
The Systems Week is organized around five mini-courses, typically delivered in daily lectures from multiple faculty members. Example topics include automated parallelization and distribution, retrofitting privacy guarantees, automated reasoning for systems, and scalable dataflow and streaming systems.
The sessions are non-overlapping, so all participants will have the opportunity to attend all lectures. Each lecture is 80 minutes, including Q&A, and each topic comprises a total of 4 lectures totalling 320 minutes and spread throughout the week. Most lectures will be given between 9am to 5pm during weekdays, during the following windows: Session A (9–10:20am), B (10:40am–noon), C (2–3:20pm), and D (3:40–5pm). Courses will include hacking sessions, with ample opportunities for interactivity, and in-class assignments optionally to be completed at home. Lectures and hacking sessions take place in spaces of the Watson Center for Information Technology (CIT) and the Brown Data Science Institute (DSI).
Background sessions might be offered the weekend preceding the Systems Week and, depending on participant and faculty interest, targeted research opportunities may be explored the weekend following the Systems Week.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: 9–10:20am | ReasonRange | FastNets | RetroPriv | Transforms | SupChain |
| B: 10:40–noon | SupChain | ReasonRange | FastNets | RetroPriv | Transforms |
| C: 2–3:20pm | Transforms | SupChain | ReasonRange | FastNets | RetroPriv |
| D: 3:40–5pm | RetroPriv | Transforms | SupChain | ReasonRange | FastNets |
Minicourses for this year are being finalized as more speakers are confirmed. Below are examples of minicourses currently in the works:
io_uring, etc.
In addition, there will also be a couple of sessions to help participants prepare for the PhD application process.
The Systems Week's two-faculty-per-minicourse setup is intended to enable fruitful interactions between faculty who might not otherwise have the opportunity to collaborate. With 320 minutes of class time and daily research-oriented assignments, each minicourse provides focused time, students, and resources to identify a common research problem—or set of problems— in which to make a serious dent. These interactions are intended to extend beyond the seminar itself.
Attendees have all of their living expenses covered—e.g., accommodation, food, and transportation to various activities—and should be able to engage meaningfully in research soon after the start of the seminar. Attendees are expected to attend all lectures during the day, with limited homework (1–2h) in the evening. Outside lectures and homework, the seminar combines research-oriented activities (e.g., a "Research Highlights" reception) with social activities (e.g., art nights, hikes around Providence) and other organized events.
Among other information, the application process includes:
To apply, please fill out the following form. The deadline for applying is May 15th. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the organizing committee by emailing ioanna_gemou@brown.edu.
An anticipated set of prerequisites and prior knowledge will be made available several weeks prior to the seminar.
Participants are expected to bring their own laptops. As software requirements vary between minicourses, the combined requirements will be announced several weeks in advance—along with a Discord server and mailing list for additional support.
Each participant will be assigned a point of contact out of several volunteers helping with the organization of the Systems Week. Collectively, these volunteers will also organize social events with research groups already at Brown, fostering deeper collaborations and friendships.