Going to lectures on quantum computing and wearable technology, watching a mock admissions interview, doing a programming workshop and touring Cambridge colleges. These were among the activities sampled by the prospective undergraduates who came to our Women in Computer Science residential course last week.
The 20 participating A Level students also visited the Whipple science history museum, and enjoyed a formal dinner and overnight stay at Trinity Hall College. The course concluded with a panel discussion with alumni on what careers are like for women in computing and technology.
Insights into studying Computer Science at university
The Women in Computer Science programme runs over six months. It aims to give female and non-binary students in Year 12 (S5 in Scotland/Year 13 in Northern Ireland) an insight into studying Computer Science at university
After a series of online seminars on a range of topics, the programme concludes with a residential course. And that is very useful, said participant Athulya from Warwickshire. "I'm here because I'm quite strongly considering studying Computer Science at university and I wanted to know what it would be like before I commit do doing it for three years."
She was one of the students who came to Cambridge for the two-day event. They had travelled from locations including Durham, Bradford, Manchester, Luton, London and Bognor Regis.
Among them was Monica from Northamptonshire, who is studying Further Maths, Chemistry and Computer Science at A Level. She is considering which universities she'll apply to this autumn, and says she's been torn between applying to Oxford or Cambridge. "So it's helpful being able to learn more about Cambridge," she said, "and to see some of the colleges." (As well as staying at Trinity Hall, the students also toured Clare College while they were here.)
"Everyone's so friendly and we can ask questions about student life in Cambridge that otherwise I would be shy about asking."
"Everyone's so friendly and we can ask questions about student life in Cambridge that otherwise I would be shy about asking."
"I also enjoyed the taster lectures," she added, "especially the talk about the ZX-calculus (a graphical language for reasoning about quantum computation), because I'm really interested in quantum computing. For me to be able to learn something new and and actually have a conversation about it with the lecturer was really helpful."
Workshops on naieve bayes and lectures on wearable technology
Shifa from Luton also enjoyed the content offered by the residential course. "I really liked the talk on wearable technology and turning earbuds into mobile health sensors," she said. "I'm interested in applying hardware and electronics to healthcare, so it was nice for me to learn about that. And I enjoyed the workship we did on naieve bayes because it links to what I've learned about Bayes theorem in my Further Maths classes, but put it into real world practice, which was good."
Tali from Bognor Regis had joined the Women in Computer Science programme because "I think computers are cool". She added, "It's really interesting to be exposed to things that we wouldn't learn about at school. There, we're focusing on covering what's on the syllabus, so I haven't got the time to explore other things. So attending this residential and learning new things from the taster lectures has been really fun."
"I loved the lectures we had here, and the fact that they ranged from being computer-architecture based to being about high-end technology."
"I loved the lectures we had here, and the fact that they ranged from being computer-architecture based to being about high-end technology."
Milana, originally from Ukraine, is now living in Manchester. She wants to study Computer Science at university, "so when I found out about the Women in Computer Science programme I was really interested," she said. "It's great that it's for women in STEM, and I was excited to come to Cambridge and meet other girls who also want to do the same subject as me, because in my class there are only two girls."
Milana also appreciated that "everyone's so friendly and we can ask questions about student life in Cambridge that otherwise I would be shy about asking." The course has made her decide that she is going to apply to Cambridge this autumn. "Before today, I wouldn't have known how to prepare for the interview, so I was really pleased to watch the mock interview session and see what it was like," she added. "I will now definitely be applying."
A programme that goes into depth
Athulaya too found the residential a highly worthwhile event. "When I go home, I'll tell people that the college I got to stay in was really pretty and that the residential course itself went into some technical content and introduced us to new ideas and topics. Friends of mine have been on courses that didn't go into much depth and felt almost more like a holiday than an academic summer school. Whereas I loved the lectures we had here, and the fact that they ranged from being computer-architecture based to being about high-end technology."
