12
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 9 JULY, 2017
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.
CODEGLUE
Boot camp hopes to boost interest in computer science
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
/
or contact the
secretariat directly at 662-2002 Ext. 83098/83640 or
via email at
.
For more information
on the Computing Boot Camp, emails can be sent
to
CAMPUS NEWS
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 3rd 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 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. 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 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, t-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 <
/
fst/dcit/DCIT_Bootcamp_2017.asp>. Applications must be
received by July 11, 2017.
This robot car, aka Bob, is
powered by a Raspberry Pi
microcomputer. Throughout
the camp, participants will write
Python programming code to
control the movement of the
car. This will be done using
autonomous instructions and
sensors to detect and react to
the world.
“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.”
