Cambridge education providers run 'health check' on computing courses

Press release issued: 16 May 2006



Image of student using computer
Anglia Ruskin University has joined forces with Hills Road Sixth Form College to stage a conference designed to help align computer education requirements to the needs of employers from the region.


Said Martin Roots of Anglia Ruskin University:

"This is a critical conference for anyone involved in the provision of computing education. We are joining forces with top experts from the region to demonstrate the importance of this issue."


The conference, entitled Computing - Matching Education to Requirements, will be staged at Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge on Wednesday 14 June. It will bring together teachers of both A Level students and undergraduates with employers to discuss and debate current trends. Top experts will be looking to see if they can design a curriculum that ensures progression from GCSE to A Level to undergraduate, find out what are the top ten transferable skills that a Computer Science student can bring to any workplace and discover how to teach skills such as innovation and creativity.


Added Simon Humphreys from Hills Road Sixth Form College:

"It is a fact that demand for Computer Science professionals is increasing while recruitment to Computer Science related courses is declining and it is our aim to help correct this imbalance through professional collaboration.

"Cambridge, particularly, needs to make sure that we are providing the right further and higher education opportunities for those students who want to become Computer Science professionals. If we don't run a health-check on our courses now we might find that we have problems in the future providing candidates with the appropriate skill-sets."


The conference will open with a 'Dragon's Den' style session where representatives from various organisations will speak about their vision for Computer Science education and this will be followed by a workshop which will encourage delegates to 'Design their Own Curriculum'.

Expert speakers, selected to help lead the discussion, include:
  • Andrew Herbert, MD Microsoft Research, Cambridge
  • Professor Jon Crowcroft, University of Cambridge
  • Dr Martyn Clarke, University of Leeds
  • Kevin Farrar, Program Manager, IBM Academic Initiative, Europe
  • Helen Gormley, e-skills UK
  • Sylvia Langield, Chief Examiner AQA
  • Professor Gillian Lovegrove, British Computer Society
  • Ken Nathan, Managing Director, PolySpace, UK
  • Alan Moss, National Training Director, Cerco IT Training and Recruitment
  • Vicki Sanderson, Director, The Learning Collaboration
For further information and registration, please email Simon Humphreys at Hills Road Sixth Form College or Martin Roots at Anglia Ruskin University.
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