July 2017


Issue Home >>

We live in a world surrounded by technology. Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) are foundational fields in every 21st century industry, career or field of study. Software powers our economy, drives innovation and research, and supports every aspect of our lives. There is a great shortfall of CS and IT professionals globally as more jobs are being created than can be filled. CS education is not at the forefront of the curriculum in our schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Many schools do not even offer computer programming classes, and students are not encouraged to consider career paths in CS or IT despite the worldwide dominance of the field.

The Department of Computing and Information Technology (DCIT) is preparing to take on this challenge through a variety of programmes and events aimed at educating, engaging, and inspiring the region’s youth to get involved in CS and IT. The first of these initiatives is the Annual Computing Boot Camp which targets secondary school students from Forms Four to Six. The third edition of the camp will be held at UWI St. Augustine from July 17-21, 2017, and the theme this year is “Code: The Glue that Connects Everything.”

Research has shown that CS education promotes the development of problem-solving skills and fosters innovation and creativity in students. These are the core principles behind the vision of the camp. From 9am to 4pm, the camp’s participants will be introduced to the power of CS via interactive sessions on Python programming, physical computing, robotics, and web design. The programme is specifically designed to immerse the students in the foundational aspects of computational thinking in practical and interesting ways. Students will have hands-on access, from the first day, to programmable robot cars and will work in small groups throughout the camp, mentored by undergraduate and research students, on exciting projects featuring the Raspberry PI microcomputer.

In addition, the participants will have direct access to faculty members and research students from the DCIT, and industry experts from local and international companies for discussions on career guidance, undergraduate CS and IT degree programmes at The UWI, and real-world experiences from the field. Some of the speakers include Dr. Permanand Mohan, Head of the DCIT, who specializes in research on advanced technologies for education and health; Mr. Dylan Marin, from the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago, who will speak on Computer Forensics; and Ms. Wendy Sang from Medullan, an IT consulting firm. Several PhD and Master’s students will also be there as instructors and mentors. Participants will therefore have the opportunity to explore the details of a wide variety of CS research areas through one-on-one discussions with their instructors and mentors during breaks. Some of these areas include Artificial Intelligence in Education, Adaptive Video Streaming, Steganography/Information Hiding, Machine Learning, and Social Network Analysis. Leading-edge research project demonstrations, on-campus tours to the DCIT Data Centre and the Alma Jordan Library, and a full afternoon of social activities, competitions and games round off the programme.

No prior knowledge of programming is necessary as the camp is open to any student interested in learning about the CS and IT fields. The cost of the camp is $1300 and covers all camp material, a welcome kit, tee-shirt, lunch and snacks. Scholarships covering the complete cost of the camp are also available for those who require financial assistance. Limited spaces are available, and students can apply for entry to the camp online at <https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/dcit/DCIT_Bootcamp_2017.asp>. Applications must be received by July 11, 2017.

The DCIT offers undergraduate (BSc) and postgraduate (MSc, MPhil, PhD) degree programmes in Computer Science and Information Technology. Some ongoing DCIT activities are the DCIT Runtime competition, Student Research Symposium and the Meet and Greet Student Workshop for prospective undergraduates. For more information, please visit <https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/dcit/> or contact the secretariat directly at 662-2002 Ext. 83098/83640 or via email at dcit@sta.uwi.edu. For more information on the Computing Boot Camp, emails can be sent to DCIT.Bootcamp@sta.uwi.edu.

This article was compiled by Phaedra Mohammed and Diana Ragbir-Shripat, PhD candidates in Computer Science, and Dr. Permanand Mohan, Head of the Department of Computing and Information Technology. Phaedra’s research is on artificial intelligence applied to culturally-aware educational technologies, Diana’s is on creative technologies for learning, and Dr. Mohan’s is on mobile technologies for learning and e-health