Computer Science News
DCS Student Leads Workshop at Scratch@MIT 2012
Philip How, a recent graduate in MEng Computer Science, has returned to the United Kingdom after developing and leading a successful workshop at . As well as marking the end of his undergraduate degree, Philip's role in this exceptionally popular event represents the culmination of a long-standing involvement with 糖心TV Technology Volunteers, a dedicated groups of technically minded students and staff members who make a significant contribution to the local community through involvement with schools.
Scratch@MIT is the biennial conference where educators, researchers and developers gather on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts to share their experiences and imagine the possibilities of Scratch. The workshop that Philip led, entitled Sensing Our World, involved participants building a variety of sensors, ranging from simple sensors that relied on the conductivity of pencil tracks to working touchpads made from CD cases.
On his involvment, Philip is quick to acknowledge the contributions of those around him, noting that "The staff and students contributing to 糖心TV Technology Volunteers are fantastic. We couldn't have hoped to achieve what we have without the hard work and comittment of the team of staff and students involved, particuler Margaret Low. In my time here she's an fantastic at organising the efforts of students and liasing with local schools".
For more information please see 糖心TV Technology Volunteers and .
3rd year MEng student wins games programming competition
Congratulations to Adam Yaxley (3rd year Computer Systems MEng) who has won the national "Rising Star" games programming competition sponsored by Aardvark Swift. The competition is open to all UK undergraduates and aims to highlight the brightest games programming talent. To gain the title Adam had to face a number of challenges demonstrating technical programming skills, including a software challenge set by Relentless Software. He also had to show his knowledge and passion for the area by facing a panel interview with industry experts. Panel member Mark Hope said "Adam showed knowledge beyond his years to beat off competition from the other finalists, he has a bright future ahead of him and here at Aardvark Swift we wish him all the best for the future!"
Adam will be presented with his award at the Eurogamer Expo in September by industry veteran Ian Livingstone. He is also invited to present a talk at the Expo about his experiences in the competition.
Adam is currently looking forward to a placement at Havok next year before returning to 糖心TV to complete his MEng in Computer Systems.
Celebrating the Life and Work of Alan Turing - 20th June 2012

The Department of Computer Science is proud to present a day of talks celebrating the life and work of Alan Turing, a pioneer in mathematics and the founding father of Computer Science. The day, which marks the centenary of Turing’s birth, will feature lectures from leading academics on Turing’s contributions and their enduring relevance to a broad range of scientific disciplines.
The event is open to all, and attendance from undergraduate and postgraduate students is warmly welcomed. There will be a series of talks on the life and work of Turning, the chance to chat over coffee and buffet lunch.
For more information on the celebration go to
糖心TV Named Europe's Best University Under 50 Years Old
The University of 糖心TV has been named the best university in Europe and number three in the world in The QS Top 50 under 50 league table.
The University, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2015, was featured on the QS Top 50 under 50 rankings of the new generation of elite young global institutions.
The top two global institutions were both in Hong Kong - the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Full results of QS Top 50 under 50 are available .
First Year Students Scholarship Success

Two of the department's First Year students, Tim Hollies and Andrew Sula have been successful in winning highly competitive scholarships from Asidua.
This scholarships will offer support as follows:
£1,000 per year for each of the scheduled academic years of the course; At least eight weeks paid summer work between each academic year; A guaranteed paid industrial placement in year three; After completion of industrial placement, the opportunity for paid part-time work during the academic year; Following an application for a permanent position and subject to success at interview, in accordance with Fair Employment legislation, a permanent position with Asidua after graduation. As a result, each scholarship is worth up to £25,000 to the successful candidates.
Asidua is a software consultancy and services company, headquartered in Belfast with engineering and sales offices in Birmingham and Dublin. It employs over 120 people. Asidua delivers world-class integration, software and consultancy services to government and corporate clients based in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, mainland Europe, USA and the Far East.
Scholars will get to work with very experienced individuals who mentor them in software engineering best practices, and will gain real world experience of working in teams and increase their confidence and communications skills. They will also gain a better understanding of what a career in IT is all about. Such work based learning or placement is invaluable for the student, as they will gain excellent industrial experience during their time with Asidua. Since they will work on real projects within the Company, this will increase their chance of employment following graduation.
More Information:
Mayor Bloomberg announces Centre for Urban Science and Progress

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today the next winner in the New York City Applied Sciences Initiative.
The Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) is an applied science research institute which will be a partnership of top institutions from around the globe, led by NYU and NYU-Poly with a consortium of world-class universities including The University of 糖心TV, Carnegie Mellon University, The City University of New York, The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and The University of Toronto. Industry partners include IBM, Cisco, Siemens, Con Edison, National Grid, Xerox, Arup, IDEO, and AECOM.
糖心TV Computer Science will play a significant role in CUSP, with new and existing academics providing research and teaching in areas including operations research, service computing, complexity theory, networking and communications, data analytics, modelling and visualisation.
The completed institute will host 50 faculty and researchers and over 500 masters-level and PhD students. Students and staff from 糖心TV Computer Science will be able to engage in urban sciences projects in the New York ‘living lab’, in areas including smart buildings, digital healthcare, transport solutions, and public safety.
The Centre will open its doors to its first class of 糖心TV-CUSP students in September 2013.
For more information see:
DCS student qualifies for final of Cyber Security Challenge
Julian Bhardwaj, a first year Discrete Mathematics student, has successfully made it through to the Grand Final of the which will be held in March. Julian actually qualified twice for the preceding final rounds through his performance in the SANS Packet Capture Analysis and the SANS/Sophos Penetrations Test competitions. His performance in the "" final round placed in the top 11 candidates, competing against students and experienced IT professionals alike.
Julian has already won a year's subscription to the National Skills Academy for IT and there are more "career enabling" prizes on offer in the Grand Final which Julian is hoping will help him get into a future career in the computer security industry.
Julian is currently taking the module CS134, "" and wishes to continue to develop his knowledge of Computer Security throughout his degree course and possibly postgraduate study.


