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School of Computer Science Newsletter 2013 Find out what Coding challenge success One of our students is in the finals of the student developer challenge you can achieve Distinguished guest lecture Richard Stallman lecture hosted by the school Boosting your career prospects Read about our careers events and opportunities available to you Ben George working in the Atrium of the Computer Science Building on Jubilee Campus. Computer Science @Nottingham

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School of Computer Science Newsletter 2013

Find out what

Coding challenge success One of our students is in the finals of the student developer challenge

you can achieve

Distinguished guest lecture Richard Stallman lecture hosted by the school

Boosting your career prospects Read about our careers events and opportunities available to you

Ben George working in the Atrium of the Computer Science Building on Jubilee Campus.

Computer Science @Nottingham

Welcome to the School of Computer Science

P2 Welcome

Successful careers events

P3 Student profile

P4 Samsung challenge

Real-world research opportunities

P5 Join our club

P6 Boosting your career prospects

P7 Software activist comes to the school

Annual Lovelace conference held at Nottingham

P8 A prize to remember

Our webinars

Visiting us

2 www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs

Welcome

We’re pleased that you’re considering studying one of the most diverse and relevant subjects of the 21st century, and delighted that you’re thinking of studying it at The University of Nottingham.

We offer world-class teaching and a stimulating study environment, and you’ll benefit from up-to-the-minute software and dedicated computer labs. Our connections with employers also open up exciting possibilities for your year in industry or summer internship, if you choose to take this option

Our degrees are designed to equip you with an in-depth knowledge of how computers work and how that knowledge can be applied to design and implement the systems of the future. Coupled with an impressive range of valuable transferable skills such as problem solving, project management and independent research, you will be well positioned to apply for roles with companies such as Adobe, Google, IBM and Microsoft.

Our staff and students are currently exploring areas including mobile computing, the fundamental principles of logic and discrete mathematics, and the application of those principles to gaming, scheduling and driving robots. There are lots of other great things happening in the school, which you can read about over the next few pages.

We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and that we will see you soon, whether it is at one of our visit days or upon you registering for your programme.

Professor Uwe Aickelin Head of the School of Computer Science

Successful careers events

Careers in Computing Fair In February, our latest Careers in Computing Fair, a joint venture between the Careers and Employability Service, the School of Computer Science and the computer science society, Compsoc, took place with great success. The event attracted over 160 students and 14 employers, with big names from major consultancies including Accenture and Deloitte, software development houses such as Amazon, and many more, including Boots and Imagination Technologies.

The fair gives students the opportunity to get the latest tips on successfully applying to graduate roles and internships, as well as discovering new opportunities with employers they may have never before considered.

For more information about the Careers and Employability Service, please visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers

Speed networkingOur speed networking sessions are a great way for our students to talk to employers in an informal setting. They open doors to new opportunities in graduate schemes and internships with employers such as Deloitte, Accenture and ATOS.

Each session with an employer lasts about 15 minutes and takes place in a small group setting; students hear about the opportunities available and ask their own questions, before moving on to the next employer. At the end of the event students get the chance to mingle with employers to ask any further questions.

For more information, please visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers/students/events

Our programme of careers events is proving to be very popular and successful. Here is a taste of what’s on offer.

Student profile“My highlight would definitely be the programming module in the first semester. They assume you know nothing but by the end of it you’re writing big pieces of software. You can see what you’ve made and that’s really great.”Michael CowardBSc Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence

Find out more about Michael’s experience at www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugvideos/michaelcoward

Michael is part of the Computer Science (CS) Guru Scheme, where first-year students can get advice and support from students who excelled in their first year.

Scan the code to watch this video on your smartphone.

Student profile

www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs 3

4 www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs

Student news

Samsung challenge“I found out about the event a few days before it took place and, having only the module called Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming as my Java knowledge, I wasn’t sure how different developing for Android would be. Luckily there were two Samsung developers present who were happy for me to quiz them about how to get started.

Over the two days I managed to get a basic application working, which was enough for me to come joint second. I then continued to work on the project, which evolved into my application today, Handwriter.

Handwriter is an application to help children learn how to write their first letters, using

Samsung’s SPen. It has both upper case and lower case letters, along with numbers zero to nine. The application rewards users with stars, which in turn unlock more games. It has the ability to create multiple profiles and would be ideal for a classroom environment.

Samsung visited again in February as part of their Galaxy Tour, and I was present to showcase a basic version of my application. Samsung supplied the devices and my application received a positive reception from the students that tried it out. It was also a good opportunity to test the application for errors and design features, it provided instant feedback which I later used to improve the layout and interface.

In mid-March I found out that my application had been chosen, along with 10 others, to be part of the grand final at the BAFTA headquarters in London in April. This will be a great opportunity to represent The University of Nottingham for a second year running.”

Adam GaskMSci Computer Science (second year)

See current and future highlights at:www.studentdeveloperchallenge.com

Real-world research opportunities

Two of our fourth-year MSci students, Laurence Herbert and Niall O’Dwyer, visited WoodBlocX in Dingwall, Scotland in March in the final stage of their joint fourth-year project.

WoodBlocX is a young company that manufactures and sells wooden lego-like garden features for use in the garden or playground. The structures, which can range from simple rectangular raised beds to a bespoke dinosaur-like sculpture, are currently designed in a semi-automated fashion using off-the-shelf CAD software.

Laurence and Niall’s project has been to automate the design process, calculating the components that are needed and generating a complete set of diagrammatic instructions to be used by the customer when building a WoodBlocX structure.

Laurence and Niall first visited the company in October 2012, together with their supervisor Roland Backhouse, in order to discuss goals and to gain a better understanding of the current design process.

This second visit is in order to install the software they have developed and to get direct feedback from the company for final revisions. Once thorough testing and evaluation is complete, it is intended that the software will be used for future design work.

As with all software-development projects, it is important to get customer feedback throughout the project and this was a great opportunity for Laurence and Niall to do this. The software was demonstrated to the company for the first time, which gave them an insight into the benefits it could bring when the final version is delivered.

The staff provided Niall and Laurence with feedback on their work and made suggestions for the remainder of the development as it enters its final stages.

Members of the Samsung Student Developer Challenge team visited the School of Computer Science in November, and provided a two-day codeathon for students to work on some brand new Samsung devices.

Laurence and Niall at WoodBlocX.

Adam working on his Handwriter application.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs 5

Student opportunities

Join our club

We welcome involvement from students of all programming experience, from the Dennis Ritchie’s of our age, to the people who don’t understand that reference. We run regular events, and with fast growing membership, hope to offer many more. Our planned events for 2013/2014 include: National events Hackathons and other related events happen all over the country, offering fantastic opportunities to network and learn new skills. HackSoc is helping students connect to these exciting events, providing contacts and group travel. The society was recently invited to Hackin’ the City in London, as well as to more local events such as the Nottingham Trent University 24-hour Game Development contest. HackSpace Nottingham The HackSpace is a group for DIY enthusiasts based in Nottingham. They run classes on all manner of activities, from programming and electronics to leatherworking and carpentry. They have a large space equipped with a workshop and facilities, and host an open evening on a Wednesday. HackSoc organises group trips to the open evening and other events, and is working on providing a group membership for 24-hour access to the facilities.

Casual hackathon Our hallmark social, the Casual Hackathon, is a friendly space in which fledgling and expert programmers alike can gather to share their interests and experience. Each hackathon features several challenges and friendly competitions, but attendees are more than welcome to bring their own projects. Programming team The society works closely with Max L Wilson, who is dedicated to assembling a programming team to attend national and international competitions. The team meets on a Wednesday afternoon to practice; a great alternative to more traditional sports for the more indoor inclined, or just if the weather is a bit iffy. This year we are hosting the first national preliminary for the Northwestern European Regional Programming contest. Industry sponsored events Big names in industry frequently visit the University and offer exciting opportunities to students. Nottingham is a regular stop on Samsung’s ‘Making it ‘appen’ tour which, since its inception, has seen Nottingham give a good showing and put students into the finals every year.

HackSoc is a new society which is aiming to further the exploration of programming and related activities, teach new skills and create awesome software.

Hacksoc is open to students of all programming experience.

6 www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs

Student opportunities

Boosting your career prospects

A year in industry can give you a range of skills highly sought after by employers, including gaining valuable experience in a workplace, a better understanding of how the knowledge learned at University relates to real life, increased independence and a more mature outlook. It can also give you an opportunity to make contacts and possibly secure a job for after graduation. Some recent examples of where students went and the areas they worked in include:

•BT – software engineering•Hewlett Packard – application support•HSBC – systems analysis, development and testing•IBM – software engineering and more•Microsoft – software engineering•NextJump•Ocado – programming/analysis/optimization•Oracle – programming•Rolls-Royce Airlines – Java programming and more•Thomson Reuters – quality engineering, programming

Student profile“The most beneficial and important part of my degree has been my industrial placement. The fact that the school offers industrial placements was a very attractive part of the course for me, and after completing a year of work experience in London working for an ecommerce company, I could not imagine having done anything else.

I have had an invaluable opportunity to accelerate my learning and experience working life; I know what awaits me when I graduate, and my ideas about my goals and ambitions in life have really developed. I have had a chance to make use of everything I learned during my first two years, and it has really helped to cement all that knowledge in my head by actually practising it.

I feel incredibly motivated for my return to complete my final year, and I am really looking forward to getting stuck into studying again.

This year has been amazing, but working definitely makes you appreciate the perks of university life! I would recommend a year in industry to anyone. It could really help you to decide where you want to be when you finish university and even help you to improve your overall grade.” Olivia Graham BSc in Computer Science, on an industrial placement year

Olivia Graham found gaining industrial experience at an ecommerce comapany an invaluable part her degree.

Undertaking a year in industry as part of your degree can provide you with a wealth of benefits that will help you in your future career.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs 7

Events

Software activist comes to the schoolDr Richard Stallman, computer programmer and free software activist, gave a public lecture at The University of Nottingham on 11 March 2013.

The lecture, ‘Copyright vs Community in the Age of Computer Networks’, examined the role copyright law plays in limiting access to technology.

Dr Stallman said: “Copyright developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed to fit with the system of centralised copying imposed by the printing press. But the copyright system does not fit well with computer networks, and only draconian punishments can enforce it.

The global corporations that profit from copyright are lobbying for draconian punishments, and to increase their copyright powers, while suppressing public access to technology. But if we seriously hope to serve the only legitimate purpose of copyright – to promote progress, for the benefit of the public – then we must make changes in the other direction.”

Dr Stallman launched the free software movement in 1983 and started the development of the GNU operating system in 1984. GNU is free software, everyone has the freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without changes. The GNU/Linux system (basically the GNU operating system with Linux added) is used on tens of millions of computers around the world today.

Dr Stallman has received the ACM Grace Hopper Award, a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award, and the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Betterment, as well as several honorary doctorates. He was invited to speak at Nottingham by the School of Computer Science and our computer science society, CompSoc.

Ali Jahanshahi, President of CompSoc, said: “CompSoc is honoured and privileged to have such a respectable figurehead of the computer science community visit Nottingham to give a talk to students and academics at our institution.”

A video of the lecture is available at:www.nottingham.ac.uk/computerscience/news/dr-richard-stallman.aspx

Richard Stallman giving his lecture at Nottingham.

Annual Lovelace conference held at NottinghamThe sixth BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium was held at The University of Nottingham on the 4 April 2013.

The Lovelace is the UK’s national conference for women undergraduate and taught MSc students. It is organised by BCSWomen with support from the local hosting institution, many industrial sponsors, and Aberystwyth University.

The Lovelace has three aims:

•To provide a forum for undergraduate women to share their ideas and network

•To provide a stimulating series of talks from women in computing, both from academia and industry

•To provide both formal (talks) and informal (networking) advice to undergraduate women about careers in computing from a female perspective

The day featured talks from industry and from academia, a panel session on careers, a poster session of student work, a social, and lots of time for networking and sharing of ideas.

The talks were based around subjects including what it’s like to work on a graduate programme in a big company, how tech careers can be rewarding, which included sharing ‘the best moment of your career so far’ and some presenters also talked about their research and the importance of interdisciplinary computer science.

The conference was a huge success and we received very positive feedback. For more information about BCSWomen, visit www.bcs.org/category/8630

The BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium at Nottingham.

News

8 www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs

Undergraduate course information is available at www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy

For further information please contact the Computer Science Admissions Team:

School of Computer Science The University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus, Nottingham, NG8 1PH

t: +44 (0)115 846 6524 e: [email protected] w: www.nottingham.ac.uk/cs

To request this information in an alternative format, please contact us:t: +44 (0)115 951 4591e: [email protected]

Printed April 2013.© The University of Nottingham 2013. All rights reserved.

Josh Carrick.

A prize to remember

In memory of a highly talented University of Nottingham alumnus, who died from testicular cancer at the age of 23, IBM is providing a prize for the top-performing first-year student in the School of Computer Science.

Josh Carrick was diagnosed in September 2010 shortly after graduating from Nottingham with a degree in computer science. He had already landed his dream job as a technology consultant for IBM but died a year later on 3 October 2011, just a week after learning that his cancer was incurable.

So that Josh’s memory may continue to inspire, IBM has provided a £100 prize for the top-performing first-year student in the School of Computer Science, plus a visit to its UK innovation labs for the top five Nottingham students, and the prize will be given for the next five years. To find out more, please see: www.nottingham.ac.uk/computerscience/news/a-prize-to-remember-josh.aspxThe Josh Carrick Foundation

fundraising team.

Visiting usIf you haven’t been able to visit us yet, there are still opportunities to come and see us. It’s a great way for you to see the campus, our facilities and meet our staff and students.

For dates of our visit days, please see www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/visitingus/campustours

Our webinarsWe recently hosted two successful webinar sessions for our offer holders. Thank you if you joined us on the day.

We will keep you informed of any future sessions and you can view one of the webinars online at bit.ly/14R9SQL