Transcript Designing the Future

Department of Computer Science
Advanced Teaching Group
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Innovation through Collaboration:
Teaching Software Engineering with Industry on-board
Dr Dean Mohamedally
Director for Apps Engineering for UCL
Senior Teaching Fellow in Industrial Software Engineering
[email protected]
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
The previous graduate cycle
• Until 2011, most UK Computer
Science undergraduates were on
the same journey
• E.g. Learn to program, CS theory
modules, group project, selected
advanced modules, dissertation.
• We wanted to innovate and
improve on this!
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
In more detail…
• Fictional coursework scenarios and student projects simply “end”
• Students are without industry peers for evaluation
• Syllabus has assessment constraints – mystical “significant
contribution”
• Slower adoption of new technologies and platforms in universities
• Can students examine what is deployed in the world and what it
took to deploy?
• What would happen if we gave students real-world clients from
year one of study?
• Can we improve on all of the above?
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Envisioning future software
engineering students
• We looked at what companies are asking of modern graduates.
Top answer: visible experience and professionalism.
• We looked at our BSc syllabus, the MSc syllabus and also the
Schools key stages IT syllabus. How to get students experienced
with the world, how to train professionally.
• The reality is – you are missing from the syllabus.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Need to build up our Solvay standards!
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Micro-Software Engineering
• First industry view: 1st years glimpse of a full project
lifecycle working with a client
• Three major milestones to achieve:
1. Scaffolding
2. Discovery
3. Game-Changing
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Next-generation software engineers
1. Scaffolding = breadth of knowledge. Best principles in a
wide range of practices
2. Discovery = depth of knowledge. Going deep into
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engineering with historical observations and existing
success stories to solve real problems in the world
3. Game-changing = creativity in applying knowledge.
Enforces design and architecture, testing correctness and
management of workload in teams, to encourage output
to reach deployed client work
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
1st year CS and MSc CS
• Eliminate all fictional project work. All students are assigned
team roles with access to appropriate technologies.
• Even a form filling app can still be a publishable app! Web
services, graphics algorithms, database solution… for a client.
• We created an App Queue – for companies and research
faculties to engage with MScs and First year CS students.
• We designed a multipurpose Apps Lab on site to facilitate all
small-medium projects.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
2nd year CS and Advanced MScs
• Direct collaborations with R&D tech firms latest works autorefreshes syllabus and activities each year.
• Give the students the nuances of both success and failure
through prototyping.
• We created an industrial and research pathway for students
to make something from the state of the art.
• To better prepare our 3rd year, MEng and MSc candidates for
research instincts!
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
New model: UCL Computer Science
Industry Exchange
• Teaching how IT firms are successful, needs IT firms on board
• Teaching how to deal with clients and users, needs clients and
users on board
• Technology agnostic and abstraction is Problem Based Learning
• CS students should learn to
– Not only solve, but publish software and be visible for it
– Be able to create new technologies like scientists, trial
experiments
– Integrate with existing processes like engineers, make better
use of existing resources
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Industry Exchange
Real world tasks and technologies by real companies and clients.
Industry Exchange is set up for two-way communications from
industry and taught-arena academia.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Building technologies with
Industry Exchange
• 100% real-world client experience for all
students since 2011
• Covers both hardware and software
development
• Over 400 students - publishing apps,
proof of concepts, dissertations and
course projects on Industry Exchange.
• Larger programme of mixed faculty
projects study with UCL Electrical
Engineering, Management Sciences and
others as of 2013.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Tech Soc and Student Special Interest
Groups (SSIGs)
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Programming languages
Wearable Technologies
Big Data and Predictions
Project Management and Consulting
Cloud Systems
Financial and Risk applications
Games and 3D
Security / Protocols
Robotics and Prototyping
HCI and Information Visualisation
Outreach to Schools
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Fastest Robot Racers in London
(this year on June 13th 2014!)
2013 - Sponsored by Morgan Stanley
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
6 Academia–Industry Strategies
1. Matchmaking of student capabilities and motivations with
companies.
2. Matchmaking of syllabus points of interest and teaching staff
with companies specifications.
3. Resourcing hardware, software, platforms to work with.
4. Preparing timelines for both companies and students in
advance to work on collaborations, scheduling and contracts.
5. Preparing students with roles, assessment criteria and project
management disciplines.
6. Creating a workflow and key persons that allows both
companies and students to have low risks – max gains.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Technology Agnostic Curriculum
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Android (all flavours) and Java
C/C++ and Cross Platform development – e.g. OpenGL ES graphics
Visual Studio TFS (C#, F#, .Net platforms) (Windows development)
ObjectiveC with Xcode (Apple & iOS)
HTML5/JavaScript and all web dev languages
Scala and other Financial related languages
Further expansion of Eclipse + plugins and others (Open Source)
In-house Designed PCBs and Arduino devices (Device/Sensor Design)
Azure, SQLite, NoSQL, MongoDB, Hadoop (Database and Cloud access)
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Examples of clients across faculty
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UCL Medical Illustrations
UCL Enterprises
UCL Business Exhibitions
UCL Management Sciences
UCL Generating Genius (Schools Outreach)
UCL ULO Space Observatory
UCL Research Catalogue
UCL Biophysics
UCL Biochemistry
UCL Laws
UCL Scandinavian Studies
UCL Institute of Archaeology
UCL Institute for Global Health
UCL Institute of Child Health
UCL Flaxman Art Gallery
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Examples of medical clients
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UCLH & Heart Hospital – cardiac technique annotations
NICOR – statistics from heart operations
NHS Trust - sleep, dementia and behaviour conditions
Cardio-Thoracic Network – training guides and prosthesis calculations
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital – surgical performance reporting
Compression Advisory – limb injuries in sports
NHS Trust GPs – various health monitoring and auditing tools
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Major Industrial Partners
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Startups, Entrepreneurs,
S, M, L, XL, XXL Companies
• All are welcome at UCL.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Last years 2nd year
Proof of Concepts projects
With Rick Rashid, Jeanette Wing and Andrew Blake, Microsoft Research
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Example proof of concept
GPS data, personal profile sharing, passenger IDs for messaging, on a HUD.
Submitted for a competition by Renault and ATOS
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Connecting organisations through
UCL students
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Collaborations can get big!
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
An “industry projects” teaching
pattern is forming…
Innovation in
technologies
Projects run at UCL,
Companies “check in”
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Students and syllabus
matchmaking
allocation
Companies willing to
support
UCL Systems Engineering
Proof of Concepts
design vision + project management + engineering skills
• Our first mixed faculty projects course.
Engineering
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UCL Computer Science, UCL
Management Science and Innovation,
UCL Electrical Engineering, UCL
Mechanical Engineering, UCL
Advances and others.
Seeking project sponsors for
2014-2015!
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Design and
creative arts
Vision
Realisation
Management and
business planning
Examples: the 2013-14 projects!
• Launched 17th Sept 2013 with special guest, Bill Buxton from Microsoft
• 23 projects sponsored by leading organisations.
• Public Demonstrators Showcase on April 30th 2014, 9am to 2pm, in
Roberts Building Front Engineering Foyer, UCL – you’re all invited! 
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
• “BioIMEI” – A wearable Sim card holding device
(necklace or ring) that over NFC, enables your
unique ID to give your network provisioning and
messaging profile on any compatible connected
device.
• “Psion2013” - Re-engineer the Psion organiser
to feature up to date technologies, direct access
to key apps, long term battery life and high
speed networking.
• “HealthPassport” / NHS Trust – Develop a
wearable “passport” for patients with dementia
and learning disabilities for medical attention
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
• “EngduinoIDE” - Produce an IDE for
our UCL Engduinos
(www.engduino.org) to be sent to
schools, teaching students how to
code.
• “Cloudette” - Develop a wifi-enabled
portable hard drive solution with a
web service for devices to sync whilst
share use of its network connectivity
to the cloud.
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Seeking project collaborations!
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App requests, web services for integration, mashups, new SDK APIs
Dissertation and internship projects for clients
Hackathons and competitions for prototyping with industry awards
Guest lectures, new technology launches and sponsorship of events
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Ethos for Success
‘Students must become visible. They must
demonstrate skills that show that they are
strategic. They must be fearless with new
technology and ideas, and above all – they
must publish to make change.’
Photos from Droidcon UK 2013 showcase by our students
www.cs.ucl.ac.uk / www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk
Thank you!
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses
• [email protected]
Student projects and Industry Exchange
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
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