Transition Year Students Get Hi-Tech in DCU
The School of Computing, DCU, in conjunction with ADAPT and the HEA, had a full house again this year with their cutting-edge ComputeTY programme for Transition Year students. The programme has continued to be hugely successfully over the last 10 years, and has become more innovative and hi-tech over time. Transition Year students now have the opportunity to study mobile app development for Android phones and tablets; learn how to design and build websites; and also learn the fundamentals of computer programming using the Java language.
The primary goal of ComputeTY is to de-mystify computer programming for Transition Year students and allow them to make a more informed decision about studying computing at University and IT as a career choice. Professor Rory O’Connor the Head of School of Computing at DCU says “transition year students really enjoy the opportunity to come to DCU and participate in this programme. Not only does it give them an opportunity to learn new technical skills, it also gives them a taste of college life which they will not have experienced before”.
Dr. Jennifer Foster, the ComputeTY programme director explains “Global gender diversity figures show the technology arena is still mostly male orientated, so it was great to see a large number of female participants and prize winners in ComputeTY 2016”. Of particular note is the Android mobile app development course using AppInventor which “is a really fun, gentle and creative introduction to the world of Computer Science” according to Gary Conway, DCUs ComputeTY Technical advisor.
Since its launch in 2005, ComputeTY has been completed by over 4,000 Transition Year students and as a direct result of this outreach programme, it is bringing in new students into DCU every year. As a result, ComputeTY won the DCU’s President’s Award for Engagement in 2015.
If you would like more information on next year’s ComputeTY programme, contact the Marketing Officer in DCU Faculty of Engineering and Computing at marketing@computing.dcu.ie or by telephone: (01) 700 5237.