HackMD
Frequently Asked Questions about ACS @ KdG
This document is written by students for prospects. The goal is to objectively answer commonly asked questions that are not covered by the official course page. Suggestions are welcome.
It is currently being reworked, as some answers are a little dated.
About ACS
Is the course?
A student's perception of hard will depend on their individual circumstances, such as with how much related experience they start the course, what are their study habits, etc.
Generally, we can say that the course is not easy, but far from impossible to complete. The theory is superficial compared to a research university's computer science course, and makes it easier than that in this regard. However, because the course is focused on a very practical approach, you will have a lot of assignments to solve, often against tight deadlines, working both alone and in groups. To keep up with the material and complete your deliverables, you will probably have to study every day after your classes end.
You might've heard that there are a lot of dropouts. Two common reasons why a student would drop out are because they underestimated the study load, or because they figured out they aren't very interested in IT after all. If you find the first reason relevant to you, and it looks like you won't be able to catch up, you can decide to follow a custom study path.
Here are somee other answers from students:
When I first joined, I understood that no prior experience was required, and I believe that's true to some extent. They started with the basics during the initial lesson, but it felt as if we were expected to have already had 3-4 years of experience. Every day, we learned something new, and if you didn't practice on the same day, you'd find yourself falling behind because the next day brought more new material. Additionally, we had our integration project, which consumed a significant portion of our time. While the course isn't impossible, I believe that practicing what you've learned on the same day is crucial to success. Personally, I procrastinated and left everything until the end, and it was quite challenging to piece it all together.
Aman
If you have previous experience in one or multiple of the topics taught, then ACS might be an easy course. The tougher part with ACS is the workload and the amount of time you need to spend on projects (especially in the integration group projects). The course is well-balanced in difficulty, and the exams aren't too difficult to pass if you attend class and do the suggesested classwork and reading.
The first year was rather intense. You are thrown into the water you and your classmates do not have any experience in the field. Some courses like The Company are more laid back, whereas courses like Infrastructure or Data can get very information-dense at times, and require a lot of concentration and work at home to make sure you get the concepts right. An upside is the fact that half of the exams in semester 1 and all of the exams in semester 2 are either open book, or oral exams. This takes a huge load off, because if you made good notes and are good with CTRL + F, you can definitely struggle your way through the exam without having to pull all-nighters or something. Regardless, be prepared for an intense year. It really feels non-stop, especially once the project gets going. It can be frustrating and enraging, but hey, that's computer science as a whole. 😛
Feevo, after year 1
It is to be expected that studying is not easy, especially IT. ACS can be difficult, and you will need to dedicate yourself a lot. The amount of dedication will depend on whether you have experience in the area or not.
Pâm, after year 2
Applied Computer Science is definitely not the easiest course to study, and without prior preparation or experience in IT, it can be quite intimidating. Every day is full of new concepts and challenges, so you have to put in a lot of work to keep up. Just to give an example, throughout the first year of studies we are introduced to 5 different programming languages, each with their own syntax and quirks. On top of that we also learn a ton about networking, scripting, databases, electronics, business, and we have to constantly work on a group project. It’s a lot of material to take in and a lot of people drop out or have to redo the exams in the summer or next year. However, I think that with the right amount of determination, passion for the subject and hard work, it’s not difficult to complete the program without major setback. That being said, it’s still a good idea to check first if programming and IT in general is something that you can enjoy doing before you embark on this journey.
Radek, after year 1
The ACS course introduces a lot of new concepts really quickly. Because of the way the subjects are split into 1 per day, you essentially work with new concepts every day. This makes it hard to keep up if you do not spend enough time focusing on it from the get go and learning some concepts on your own. So yes, it is a tough course to get used to, but manageable if you handle your time well and are able to pick up new concepts with some speed.
Roman, after year 1
Is ACS a good course?
To find out if ACS is a good choice for you, you have to think about the career goals you want to achieve in IT. If you feel like you have high ambitions, for example, designing the next generation of self-driving cars, or acquiring a deep theoretical understanding of computer science, then the answer is no. In this case, you should enroll in a research university, where you can pursue a master's degree in computer science. Fortunately, most IT jobs don't demand the level of knowledge that these two examples represent. In fact, many employers seek practice-driven developers, and that's exactly what you learn at KdG.
Now, whether KdG provides a good practical education is up to constant debate among the students. It's no secret that the course is not perfect (like any other), and sometimes there are issues with organization, course material or even with the teachers. However, KdG is constantly making an effort to address these problems, for example, through our Student Council (see the next question for more explanation).
It's a fact that ACS graduates find employment quickly, partly because KdG has a good reputation
Todo: finish answer
Again, here's another answer from a student:
This answer depends on how you measure the quality of a course. If you choose employability, then absolutely! ACS graduates get scooped pretty quickly by Belgian companies. It teaches you common skills you'll need in the industry. I do think it's important to note that the course is designed around the needs of Belgian companies, and thus the technologies and skills taught may be different than what is used in other parts of the industry, nevertheless skills are transferrable. On the other hand, if you measure quality by academic implications, then I'd say that it is less revered than some other places in Belgium and outside of it. Since KdG is a college and not a university, if one wants to do a master's degree they need to go through a "bridge year" after graduating, which is basically a bachelor's program in one year, and they are extremely intense. There aren't research projects in ACS and the courses really are almost purely practical, so a lot of theory is missed out on. Things like math, complex algorithms, and physics for computer science are not the focus of this course. Remember, it's APPLIED computer science, and KdG is very much sticking to solely the APPLIED part.
Feevo, after year 1
What is the Student Council?
The Student Council consists of a few students from each year who meet course coordinator Ann Gielis and teacher Piet Boedt once every period. During these sessions, issues voiced by the other students are discussed for possible solutions.
If you want to join, contact the chairman of the council via our Discord (the person who has the Student Council Chairman tag).
Can I follow a custom study path?
Yes, according to the Education and Examination Regulations, you can follow a custom study path through an Individual Study Track (IST). The IST allows students who do not wish to enroll in a standard study track (SST) to customize their educational path according to their specific needs and circumstances.
Here are some key points to consider when composing your individual study track:
Failed Course Units: If you failed to obtain a credit certificate or received a condoned fail for any course units, you are required to at least enroll in those course units when re-enrolling in the program unless you decide to change specialization or subject.
Credit Requirements: The number of credits you are required to register for depends on your academic situation. If you're subject to a binding condition, you're entitled to register for at least 45 credits during the academic years to which the condition applies. If you're not subject to a binding condition but failed to obtain credit certificates for all course units in a previous academic year, you're entitled to take at least 72 credits every year in the degree program.
Approval Process: The Program Manager approves the composition of the individual study track based on various factors, including your academic track record, organizational feasibility for the university college, limited overlap in classes and face-to-face sessions, study progress measures, and subject requirements of the course units.
Appeal Process: If you disagree with the Program Manager's final decision regarding your individual study track, you have the right to file an appeal according to the procedure outlined in Article 72.
Where can I find the syllabus?
Read the What does this course contain? section on the course website. You can also consult the course catalogue for detailed breakdown, credit scores, etc.
Do I need existing IT or maths skills to take this course?
No previous knowledge is required, but it certainly makes the first year easier. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you are willing to study or not. Having an interest in the field also helps.
There is not much mathematics in the syllabus. In 2021, secondary school level probability theory was taught in the Data and AI class, but the course content could have been changed since.
Honestly, if you have a normal High School education, you should be fine as long as you follow along during the classes. The most important thing I can tell you is, to Ask questions if you don't understand fully. The teachers are great at explaining and would love to help you understand something if you are stuck. In conclusion, you don't need to have advanced math knowledge.
Wannes, after year 1
Do I have to buy books for the course?
No. There are some required or recommended books the lecturers sometimes use and reference, but you don't have to have a physical copy. You can find a Proton Drive link in our link collection, where you can download them in PDF. Arr! 🏴☠️
In period 2, you will have to buy an Arduino kit for Infrastructure 2. Its price fluctuates year by year, in 2024 it costs €59.82 in the KdG shop. Sometimes you can buy it cheaper from students who don't need it anymore.
A calculator can come handy in some of the Infrastructure classes and exams. KdG only lets you use calculators on the exam that were purchased from their shop.
I want to prepare for the classes of the first year, what should I study?
To be updated!
Again, you don't have to be familiar with any of these technologies before you start the course, but if you have some time to spare, it's a good idea to review some concepts. If you do, don't get frustrated if you don't understand something in the beginning. That's normal. Here, we list some materials (compiled based on the course catalogue) for the first year to get started. Pick a class that sounds interesting and dive into it.
Programming 1
In this class, you will learn the basics of the Java programming language.
Read chapter 1.1 to 1.10 of Introduction to Java Programming and Data Structures - 12th edition from Y. Daniel Lang. That's a good, in-depth introduction to the language and programming in general. When you're done with that, start chapter 2 and see how far you get.
At KdG, we use the IntelliJ IDEA development environment to write Java software. To set up your environment, read and follow the official installation guide. If you already have access to your student email, apply for a free education license. Then, log in to the Toolbox app you just installed and download IntelliJ Ultimate. If you don't have a student email yet, you can still download the free community edition, which also has all the features you need to start learning. To write and run your first Java program, you can follow this tutorial (we recommend you to use Java 21). If everything works, you should be able to run code from the book too.
Infrastructure 1
In this class, you will learn about computer networks and Linux.
For the networking part, you can watch this YouTube video to get an idea of some concepts you will encounter in class.
As for Linux, we recommend you read the first section of this Wikipedia article. If you run Windows or Mac, you can download Oracle VirtualBox to host a virtual Linux machine on your main operating system. If you already run Linux or something else, you probably don't need to prepare for this part of the class. In Infra 1, you will use Alma Linux, which is one of the many Linux-based operating systems.
Here's a tutorial on how to install
. If you want to go even further, you can read on shell scripting. There is a decent guide on Tutorialspoint. Look for the GNOME Terminal program on Ubuntu to execute commands.
Virtual machines might not work on an Apple Silicon MacBook (M1). Look into UTM in that case.
Data and AI 1:
Read what is SQL. For more, read the PostgreSQL page on Tutorialspoint or check out PostgreSQL Tutorial.
If you are going to look at only one of these subjects, choose Programming 1 or 2, whichever looks better to you.
These sources are selected because they are of quality and also often referenced by the teachers. Of course, if you want you can also find video tutorials for all topics.
Learn your tools really well! Especially IntelliJ. It will enable you to go faster. And invest a significant amount of time upfront to understand basics of git (personally through the integration in IntelliJ).
The Company 1:
There's not much you can do to prepare for this class, but if you really want, skim over the book The Culture Map by Erin Meyer.
What is the difference between KdG's and Thomas More's applied computer science course?
Thomas More's campus is located in Geel. That alone should be enough not to go there. Jokes aside, KdG has a better reputation and it's a bigger college with more teaching experience.
What hardware is required for the course? Can I use a Mac?
The exact specifications are listed on the course page. It's not mandatory that your laptop meets these requirements, but strongly recommended. Especially the 16 GBs of RAM, because some softwares go heavy on CPU and memory. It says an Intel i5 or i7 processor is necessary. That's a very broad statement, so as long as your laptop has a mid-end CPU that can run close to a max. speed of 3.6GHz, you will be fine.
As for Mac users, here are two answers from Peter:
If youre getting a new macbook even the worst will perform better than the average windows laptop. If its an older model it should still be fine though (ive seen ancient macbooks being used by some students and it worked). For the first year i can say with certainty that all applications are available on mac as well. The only exception is putty (for networking in the first semester, but the screen terminal command had the same functionality.
You're more on your own, when you do run into issues since most teachers wont be able to help you with it, but almost everything is available on mac as well and runs at least as well if not better on a mac in my experience.
More on your own, meaning almost all teachers use Windows or a Linux distribution as their OS, and are not necessarily familiar with Macs.
If you're a Linux user, you must be able to dual-boot (a virtual machine is not sufficient) or use a different laptop for the exams, because the exam tool is only ported to Windows and Mac.
Note: Alternatively you can borrow a Windows laptop for specific exams that require it.
What is the difference between a hogeschool (college) and a universiteit (university) in Belgium?
College courses typically take 3 years to complete, and after graduation you can find a job with your degree, which is a Bachelor of Applied Sciences (BASc) in the case of ACS. Education is somewhat superficial compared to universities, but it has a practical approach. You get to see more concepts in a shorter period of time and work in teams regularly. The study requirements are not as high as in universities, but they're definitely not low.
Universities, on the other hand take about 5 years to complete, and give you a master's degree (or even PhD, if you pursue an academic research carreer afterwards). Education is more in-depth and theoretical. The study load is higher. Interestingly, there is no English-taught undergraduate computer science university course in Belgium yet.
In English, KdG is called a university of applied sciences or a university college, but in Dutch, it's Karel de Grote Hogeschool.
Can I follow a Master's programme after getting a diploma (Professional Bachelor's) from KdG?
You can follow a Master's programme after obtaining a Professional Bachelor's degree in Applied Computer Science from KdG, but in Belgium, this typically requires a bridging programme (either a full year or half a year). Unfortunately, there are no bridging programmes in IT available in English in Belgium, so you would need at least a B2 level in Dutch to access them.
However, it is possible to enter Master's programmes outside of Belgium with a Professional Bachelor's degree in ACS without a bridging year.
These could be good options if you are considering a Master's degree without the extra step of a bridging programme:
Fontys University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands
Örebro University in Sweden
Administrative
For questions about your personal enrollment, tuition invoice, etc. you should contact KdG directly.
Can I receive a scholarship in Belgium?
According to the website of the Flemish government, only if you're a Belgian national, or if you or your parents have lived or worked in Belgium for some time. Here's another detailed breakdown about the conditions you must fulfill. If all this make you confused, schedule an appointment with STIP and they will help you.
Can I pay the tuition fee in instalments?
Yes. Contact KdG and explain your financial circumstances so they can work out a plan for you.
Can I do a master's degree after this course?
It's not the purpose of this course, but in theory, yes. You have to complete a bridge year first to catch up with the university's syllabus. However, I don't know if this course is available in English yet.
Todo: this needs to be researched for changes
How is the academic year structured?
There are 4 periods in a year. Each one lasts 3 sprints, and 1 sprint is 3 weeks. For example, for certain classes, you get assignments at the beginning of each sprint that you have to deliver in the next 3 weeks.
So, you could say that 2 periods are 1 semester.
How do I export my timetable to Google Calendar?
To find your timetable you can navigate to this website then you should select show my schedule.
Then, to export the calendar you will first of all need to select the dates to export by selecting them in the top left corner next to the "Today" label, there you can select the start and end date for the display.
Once you have selected the correct dates you will need to press the subscribe button in the top right corner, change the time dropdown from "Relative 4 weeks" to the selected date range and copy the link.
Finally to add it to your google calendar, you will need to (in Google Calendar) go into: Settings > Add Calendar From URL > Paste in the link you copied.
My admission was denied due to low scores, even though I had my visa and housing arranged. Is there anything KdG can do to reverse this decision?
We're sorry to hear about your situation. Admission policies can vary depending on the program and the country of origin. While KDG generally accepts students as long as they meet the basic entry requirements (such as having a high school diploma and sufficient English proficiency, typically at least B2 level), some applicants may be subject to additional academic requirements based on their country's educational system.
For instance, some countries may have specific minimum scores needed for full admission, especially when different qualifications are involved. If you were denied admission due to not meeting these criteria, we recommend reaching out directly to the admissions office to clarify the exact reasons for the decision. They might be able to provide guidance on whether there’s anything that can be done (such as appealing the decision or providing additional documentation).
We understand that this can be very frustrating, especially when other preparations like visas and housing have already been made. Make sure to contact admissions as soon as possible to explore all possible options.
Housing
What is a kot?
Kot in Flemish means a student room, typically in an apartment where everyone has their own room, but share some common areas such as the kitchen or bathroom.
Does KdG have a dormitory?
Nope.
Where can I find a room?
Finding a room in Antwerp can be challenging.
Kotweb
Immoweb *Filter based on Kot
What does 'no domiciliation' mean when renting a property in Belgium, and how does domiciliation work?
In Belgium, everyone residing in the country for more than 3 months is legally required to register their primary residence with the local authorities. This registration will be verified by a community officer, which could be a police officer or a representative from the local council, through an in-person visit to confirm that you actually reside at the address provided.
If a property specifies “no domiciliation,” this means:
• You are not allowed to register this property as your official primary residence in Belgium.
• You must register another property in the country as your primary residence.
It is important to note that you should not register at an address where you do not actually live (such as a friend’s address). Community officers will conduct random checks to ensure that the registered address is indeed your actual place of residence.
This means that unless you have family in Belgium where you can register your primary residence, you will not be able to rent a property that does not allow domiciliation.
The exception applies to students who are registered at their family’s residence elsewhere in Belgium.
What is a good internet service provider?
If you will live in a kot, you probably won't need to take care of internet connection yourself. In any other cases, Telenet offers a good deal for students. However, you can't combine this subscription with other Telenet services, such as a phone number, because then you lose the student discount.
Student life
What is the cost of living in Antwerp?
Here's a rough estimation for the most common spendings. Note that you can find cheaper alternatives to most items, perhaps sacrificing on quality.
What is a good way to get around the city?
The public transport operator in Flanders is De Lijn. The service is not always reliable in busy cities such as Antwerp, strikes, heavy traffic and cancellations are common. If you will rely on De Lijn to get to your classes, it's best to leave a little earlier.
The easiest, and very often the fastest way to get somewhere in Antwerp is just riding the bike. If you buy a bike, make sure to invest in a good lock as well. Bike theft is very common, even cheap ones (or the seat or unsecured accessories) get stolen if not locked well. An excellent alternative to having your own bike is using Velo. It's not too expensive, and they have stations all around the city.
There are also several scooter sharing companies in the city, for example Bird, Lime or Poppy.
Anwerp has 5 train stations, the busiest being Centraal and Berchem. The train service operator in whole Belgium is SNCB/NMBS. Check the schedule for cancellations are delays when planning your travel. You can do this on the website or in the app. Hint: if you value your mental health, buy your ticket from the locket or the machine. The app is not reliable for purchases.
What is the campus like?
You will have most of your classes at Campus Groenplaats. It's located in the middle of the city, only a few minutes walk away from the historic inner city. The building itself is an average college building. There are some study places, a library, etc. If you're curious, you can just walk in to take a look around.
Todo: campus meir? campus pothoek?
Do I need Dutch in daily life?
Not really. In Belgium, especially in a city like Antwerp, practically everyone speaks English. It is useful for bureaucracy, but KdG can always help with that.
What are some resources for learning Dutch?
Books
Recommended: Routledge Intensive Dutch Course
Books for Learning Dutch
Practice Activities in Antwerp
Find activities to practice Dutch with locals.
Activities in Antwerp
Dutch Courses in Antwerp
Enroll in a Dutch language course with a local school.
Atlas Antwerpen Language Courses
Linguapolis - UAntwerp - Dutch as a foreign language
Online Courses
Introduction to Dutch from the University of Groningen
YouTube
Dutchies to be - Learn Dutch with Kim
Online Practice
Practice Dutch with short videos and quizzes:
Nedbox
Work
Can I work next to this course?
As a student, you're allowed to work 475 hours a year, after which you only pay a small amount of social contribution. If you exceed this limit, your income will be taxed normally. If you already have en eID, here you can check how many hours you have left.
Generally, it is not recommended, because ACS is a full-time course.
Can I easily find a job in the IT sector after graduating?
KdG claims that the vast majority of their IT graduates find a relevant job in no time.
If you have more questions, or just want to talk to ACS students and other prospects, join us in our Discord server.
Good luck!
