Easy Way to Learn Algorithm Techniques is Here! Try this Coursera Program

Ravi Ranjan

06 April 2023

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Course Overview

The Algorithmic Toolbox course covers fundamental algorithmic techniques and ideas for common computational problems encountered in practical applications, such as sorting and searching, divide and conquer, greedy algorithms, and dynamic programming.

It covers a lot of theory, such as how to sort data and how it helps with searching; how to break a large problem into pieces and solve them recursively; when to proceed greedily; and how dynamic programming is used in genomic studies. You will practice solving computational problems, designing new algorithms, and efficiently implementing solutions (so that they run in less than a second).

The instructors for this course are Neil Rhodes, Adjunct Faculty University of California San Diego, and Pavel Pevzner, Daniel M Kane, Alexander S. Kulikov, who are professors in the same institution.

"Taking this course is a great way to challenge yourself and learn as it requires one to design algorithms, then precisely design and test a solution. Besides clearing fundamentals in algorithm, you will also learn to deal with common computational problems."

- Ravi Ranjan

Course Structure

The weekly course structure is as follows:

WEEK 1
- Programming Challenges
- The first module teaches about data structures and algorithms
WEEK 2
- Algorithmic Warm-up
- In this module you will learn that programs based on efficient algorithms can solve the same problem billions of times faster than programs based on naïve algorithms
WEEK 3
- Greedy Algorithms
- In this module you will learn about a seemingly naïve yet powerful class of algorithms called greedy algorithms
WEEK 4
- Divide-and-Conquer
- In this module you will learn about a powerful algorithmic technique called Divide and Conquer
WEEK 5 AND 6
- Dynamic Programming 1
- In this final module of the course you will learn about the powerful algorithmic technique Dynamic Programming for solving many optimization problems.

Insider Tips

To get the best out of this course, I have included some important tips that you might find useful.

Make Notes for Revision

Take note of the algorithm and follow it daily. Revise all topics daily.

Assessment

You can attempt the programming test a maximum of 3 times. The grading is done by an automatic grading system present in the quiz which calculates scores by itself . There is diversity in assignments, and they all can be attempted with the help of the lesson slides. There are 6 programming assignments which have to be passed in order to get the certificate. The difficulty level of assessments progresses gradually.

Final Take

I am an intern at Tata Consultancy Service (TCS). With the knowledge gained about algorithm in this course, I was able to solve more problems in the hackathon and improve my rating in Codechef. I'm a CS intern after starting to work as a software developer.

The course was really amazing, it covered basic to advanced concepts about how algorithms work and how to design algorithms. Thanks to all the expert teachers who taught in this course. I liked the fact that the algorithms taught are not limited to the introductory searching and sorting algorithms.

Even with an engineering background, this course was challenging. You need to think hard when designing algorithms, then precisely design and test a solution.