COM713 Advanced Data Structure and Algorithm Assignment Brief 2026 | Wrexham University

COM713 Assignment Brief

Part 1: Problem Identification (Article Reading) and Use of GenAl (70%)

Team Collaboration and Submission

Students may choose to work individually or in teams of up to four members. Each team must submit one joint report representing the collective effort.

• If working in a team, marks are equally similar regardless on each member's contribution. It is the team's responsibility to manage collaboration effectively and resolve any internal issues without involving the lecturer.
• If working individually, you are expected to take full ownership of the work. Please note that the scope and expectations remain the same as for team submissions. Choosing to work alone is a personal decision, and it should not be attributed to difficulties in finding teammates.
• In this assignment, students are expected to identify a novel problem grounded in a real-world challenge, supported by a recent academic article published between 2024 and 2025. The chosen problem should demonstrate originality and relevance, forming the foundation for your proposed solution.
  You may select from the following example domains:
• Creating an intelligent agent for HR automation
• Designing an algorithm that explores Natural Language Processing mechanisms for medical text analytics
• Developing a rubbish collection algorithm for automatic selection and categorisation of waste.
  These examples are intended to inspire your thinking; you are welcome to propose a different real-world challenge, provided it meets the criteria of novelty and is supported by a recent publication.

Use of Generative Al (GenAl)

You are permitted to use GenAl tools (e.g., ChatGPT) to assist in the development of your work. However, the novelty of your idea must be clearly articulated, and your use of GenAl must be transparent and well-documented.

Your submission must include:

1. A copy of the academic article (2024–2025) that inspired your problem statement.
2. A clear explanation of the problem, including:
   • The limitation or gap identified in the article.
   • How your proposed work addresses this gap.
3. A description of your GenAI usage, including:
   • The prompts you used.
   • The process by which GenAI supported your thinking or creation.
4. An exported transcript of your GenAI conversation, included as an appendix in your final document.

Part 2 (30%) – Individual Work

• For this part of the assignment, each student must work individually. The focus is on designing and implementing a computational solution to the problem identified in Part 1.

Requirements:

• Algorithm Development
  • Write an algorithm that addresses or solves the chosen problem.
  • If you adopt an existing algorithm or method, you must justify its suitability for your specific case.
• Programming and Implementation
  • Write, compile, execute, test, and debug your program.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in a range of data structures, algorithms, and object-oriented programming techniques.
• Computational Complexity Analysis
  • Analyze and calculate the time and space complexity of your program.
  • Provide a brief explanation of how you arrived at your conclusions to help assess the efficiency of your solution.
• Responsible Use of GenAI
  • If GenAI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) were used to assist in algorithm design or coding, you must:
    • Clearly describe the prompts used.
    • Explain the process by which GenAI supported your work.
    • Include an exported transcript of your GenAI conversation as an appendix to your submission.
• Submission Instructions
  • Submit a separate report in PDF format detailing your algorithm, implementation, complexity analysis, and GenAI usage.

Include your executed code, dataset and output results as part of the submission package.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAl) Guidance

Permitted Use of GenAI

• Active Integration: Students are encouraged to use GenAl to support their work, particularly in idea generation, structuring, and drafting. However, the problem statement must be based on a recent academic article (published between 2020 to 2025) which should be attached to the submission.

Assisted Use: GenAl may be used to:

• Refine research questions
• Explore relevant literature
• Draft outlines or summaries
• Generate code or pseudocode (if applicable)
• Suggest frameworks or methodologies
  X Non-Permitted Use
• GenAl must not be used to generate entire assignments without critical engagement.
• Submissions that lack a clear problem statement derived from a recent publication, or fail to demonstrate novelty, will not meet the assessment criteria.

Submission instructions - What should be the format of the submission?/Where should it be submitted?

Required Documentation

Report and results in PDF file and code in .ipnyb (python file). For coding comment in each step is necessary.

Report and Results

Must be submitted as a PDF file only.

• The report should include a clear explanation of your individual contribution, particularly in the discussion section.

Code Submission

• Code should be submitted in .ipynb format (Jupyter Notebook), which is the preferred format for practical work.
• Each step in the notebook must be accompanied by clear and concise comments explaining the logic and purpose of the code.

Code Documentation in Report

• To ensure visibility and clarity, key sections of the code should be copied into the PDF report, with introductory explanations that highlight your contribution and reasoning.
• The entire script should also be included as an appendix in the report.
• Dataset File: Any dataset used in your simulation or analysis must be submitted alongside your assignment.
• Source Reference: You must provide a direct URL link to the original source of the dataset. This ensures transparency and allows verification of the data origin.
• File Naming Convention: The dataset file must be named in a way that clearly corresponds to the script or notebook used in your work. This is essential for reproducibility-your Jupyter Notebook should be able to load the dataset without modification.
• Appendix Inclusion: The dataset reference and usage must be clearly documented in your submission, including:
• The dataset name
• The source URL
• A brief explanation of how the dataset was used
• Failure to submit the dataset or provide a valid source link will result in the work being considered incomplete.
• There will be no side conversations or follow-up opportunities to clarify missing data after submission date and will be considered as late submission.