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Computer Science Education Week |
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UNO Celebrates Computer Science Education Week
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The University of Nebraska at Omaha
Department of Computer Science will celebrate
National Computer Science Education Week on December 2-8, 2012*.
Events at UNO kick off with student excellence awards and alumni homecoming on Monday, December 3. To highlight the importance of real-world CS experience, students who were involved in internships will present their internship experiences on December 4. Local businesses will also be able to showcase themselves through the IS&T Career Fair, which will be held on December 4-5. The well-received panel, Beyond Grace Hopper: Women in Computing Careers, will be held again this year on Thursday, December 6. Events culminate with the annual High School Computer Science Bowl on Friday, December 7. This year, in addition to the CS Quiz Bowl, we are also hosting a Java Programming Competition. Teams from Omaha and Council Bluffs area high schools will compete to see who has the best knowledge of computer science and the sharpest programming skills.
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Past celebrations |
| Date | Time | Venue | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 3 | 4:00pm-5:30pm | PKI Atrium | Student Recognition and Awards Alumni Homecoming |
| December 4-5 | all day | PKI Atrium | IS&T Career Fair |
| December 4 | 12:00pm-2:00pm | PKI 250 | Student Internship Presentations (refreshments provided beginning 11:45) |
| December 6 | 12:00pm-1:30pm | PKI Atrium | Panel Discussion: Beyond Grace Hopper: Women in Computing Careers (refreshments provided beginning 11:45) |
| December 7 | 10:00am-4:30pm | PKI Atrium | High School Computer Science Bowl 10:00-12:00 Quiz Bowl 12:00-1:00 Lunch and Quiz Bowl Awards 1:00-4:00 Programming Contest 4:00-4:30 Programming Contest Awards |
All events take place at UNO's Pacific Street location at the Peter Kiewit Institute Building, 1110 S. 67th St. All events are free and open to the campus community and public. For more information, call (402) 554-2423.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following corporate sponsors for supporting this year's celebration:
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Be sure to visit their booths during the IS&T Career Fair on December 4-5!
Background
In recognition of Computer Science as a driver of innovation and economic growth, the U.S. Congress has passed resolution H.Res. 1560 supporting the designation of National Computer Science Education Week. The resolution was meant to raise awareness of the crucial role Computer Science has played as the foundation for today's technological innovations, as well as the need to educate future generations of computer scientists.Importance of Computer Science
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The critical importance of computers in modern-day society cannot be underestimated. More people than ever bank, shop, and make friends online. Software is in everything from cellphones and pacemakers to cars and aircraft.
Education in computer science provides the theoretical understanding and practical mastery of computers necessary to design and engineer such sophisticated software-controlled systems.
In today's high-tech society, technological progress equates to economic progress. Nations that are able to capitalize on such technologies will have a formidable advantage in tomorrow's economy.
The impact of computer science on the world was the focus of a symposium organized by the Computing Research Association titled, Computing Research that Changed the World: Reflections and Perspectives. Here's a video of the opening address. More presentations and videos are available from the symposium website. |
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Challenges facing Computer Science
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Due to the tremendous impact of computer science, it is of vital importance to develop a world-class workforce that can sustain the pace of technological innovations. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer-related jobs are projected to have the highest growth in the next decade, compared to job projections from other STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields. The accompanying bar graph compares job projections for different STEM fields.
The jobs projection data is good news for computer science students. Unfortunately, the graph also indicates a likely shortfall in computer science graduates qualified for these jobs. This is reinforced by the decreasing trend in computer science and computer engineering degree production shown in the accompanying line graph, as reported by the Computing Research Association. (For more data and other details, please visit the website of the ACM Education Policy Committee.) There are several contributing factors to this decline, among them the decreasing interest among students at all levels of education and the disproportionately smaller number of women and minorities entering the field. In light of these challenges facing computer science and the critical importance of educating new generations of technology workers, Congress passed the resolution designating the week of December 9 as National Computer Science Education Week. This resolution supports activities to improve computer science education at all levels and broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in computer science.
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 (Click to view larger image.)
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Why are we celebrating CSEdWeek in December?
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This week was chosen in honor of Grace Hopper, whose birth anniversary is on December 9. She was a pioneer in the field of computer science.
One of the earliest computer programmers, she is credited with coining the term "debugging" for the process of finding software faults.
Her research accomplishments include the creation one of the first programming language compilers and contributions to the design of COBOL, the earliest programming language to come into widespead use for business applications.
She received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Yale and was a U.S. Naval officer.
*Note that National CS Education Week is Dec. 9-15, 2012. We are celebrating it a week early to avoid conflicting with university finals. |
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