Transcript IEEIII 2008

Attracting (more) Students to the
Informatics Discipline
The enrolment problem and the changing nature
of prospective students (and informatics)
J. van Leeuwen
Utrecht University
Informatics Europe
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Informatics was:
 about computing, data processing and process control
 centered once around mainframes and mini’s
Now is:
 about designing and creating processes and systems
and their interactions with the world
 centered around networks, embedded systems and
intelligent (information/software) environments
 critical in everything (science, business, society)
 used by everyone, everywhere
 business domain of many information and software
companies (large and small)
 major factor in economy, innovation and of ICT policies
 challenging future ethics, privacy, security
 major intellectual discipline of this century (cf Constable
2005) and.. a household word!
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Informatics education was:
 focussing on programming languages, datastructures, database
systems, logic (and math..), program construction
 organized in 4-5 year diploma programs
Now is:
 focussing on algorithmic thinking, concepts in context, object/agent/
web/service-oriented programming, algorithms, multimedia, embedded
systems, distributed intelligence, cognition, system architecture
 with amazing software technologies, unleashing/augmenting creativity
 embedded in multidisciplinary contexts (game design, bio-informatics,
technology management, etc.) and experiential learning
 organised in broad 3-year Bachelor and specialised 2-year Master
programs
 more application- than theory-oriented
 using unlimited digital information, changing the face of scholarship in
many fields
 constantly adapting to progress in ICT
 in great demand in all branches of science, business, industry, ...
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The Information Age→ …
 New world
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We are all connected
Digital communities, new forms of communication
Triple play: (mobile) high speed internet, television, telephone
E-skills, smart environments, serious gaming
Everything is informatised
 New economy
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Information technology industries
Company- and society-wide system applications
Networked, with worldwide interchange of data/documents/…
Globalization of production, goods and services, trade, finance
 New science
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Creative tools in learning
Information system structures in all sciences
Programs and computation as most powerful model
Knowledge discovery from massive data
Virtual laboratories, e-journals, digital libraries
Instant dissemination of research and ideas
→…The Informatics Age??
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From the 1960s until 2000, engineering and CS have been
popular, no extra mile had to be taken to attract students to
universities.
AND YET …
While nowadays our youth is using new technologies fluently, the
number of CS students in first-year university has declined
alarmingly in North-America and Europe. Although according to
some (national…) statistics the number of graduating students
increased from 2005 to 2006, enrolments have dropped 49% from
their height in 2001/02. The number of female undergraduate
students in CS is low. The alarming trend of declining enrolment
exists despite a desperate need for computer scientists in industry
and a popular debate on the topic in the media.
Cf. Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop 2009
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“We must provide students an engaging
curriculum that goes beyond programming
and represents the imaginative, creative,
collaborative, and complex character of
Informatics/Computing.”
Cf. Comm. ACM (Nov 2008).
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Do we promote Informatics
effectively?
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Interesting students for Informatics: problems
relate along the whole educational chain:
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Primary education
Secondary education
Bachelor programs
(Vocational programs)
Master programs
PhD programs …
Science, industry, business, services
Challenges at level X: not only a problem of level X-1..
Also distinguish: input, throughput, output
And, what is keeping women out of academic programs in Informatics
cq Computing (in some countries)?
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Example: career motivators for studying
Informatics
Based on external factors and ‘later..’
 Informatics is a fascinating field that brings together software technology,
logic, design, psychology, management science and mathematics, and
drives scientific, technological and societal change `touching every
aspect of daily life’.
 In 2007, Informatics (CS/CE) jobs ranked the top five for average starting
salary offers among graduates.
 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the IT workforce to grow at
more than twice the rate of the overall workforce from 2006-2016.
 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that of the top six fastest
growing occupations, three are computer science-related jobs, such as
computer software engineers, systems analysts, and network systems
and data communication analysts.
 Informatics graduates work in a variety of different areas, such as
healthcare, Internet development, homeland and military security, space
exploration, transportation, robotics, virtual reality, gaming, and more!
Cf. Various University sites
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Example: academic motivators for studying
Informatics …
 Informatics is part of everything we do
 Expertise in Informatics enables you to solve complex challenging
problems
 Informatics enables you to make a positive difference in the world
 Informatics offers many types of lucrative careers
 Informatics jobs are here to stay, regardless of where you are
located
 Expertise in Informatics helps you even if your primary career choice
is something else
 Informatics has space for both collaborative work and individual
effort
 Informatics is an essential part of well-rounded academic
preparation
 Future opportunities in Informatics are without boundaries
Cf. ACM Top 10 Reasons
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Example: one of the most exciting disciplines to study,
where you can have an impact on real world problems
Informatics is:
 a science, based on deep ideas that you will discover, apply and can even
invent as an undergraduate.
 highly suited to people who are creative, enjoy solving puzzles, like to
design and build things.
 an ideal discipline for students who have broad interests, because it can be
applied to so many other fields. […] is an ideal place for interdisciplinary
studies
 open to students with or without programming experience
 one of the most employable degrees you can get, and now is a particularly
great time to be a computer scientist.
Cf. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto.
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Example: Why study Informatics here?
Identify your department’s unique selling points! Illustrate with demos,
videos, and creative web presence.
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Earn a degree from a top-ranked program
Immerse yourself in an excellent curriculum
Explore exceptional non-CS courses
Great academic options: pursue outstanding research opportunities
for undergrad and grad students
Learn in world-class facilities, from excellent teachers
Take advantage of the events and extra-curriculars which the
university has to offer
Live in a vibrant, scenic city
Explore the world through study abroad
Land your dream job
Start your own business through the university’s entrepreneurial
resources
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Cf. CS, U Michigan
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Why students don’t
(seem to ..) choose
Informatics
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Paradox of value
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Version 1: Student interest for majoring/working in science (CS) declines as science and
technology are more developed in a country.
Cf. Schreiner & Sjøberg, Project `ROSE’, Oslo, 2005.
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Version 2: As IT gets embedded in everything and becomes ordinary, the less students see a
challenge in studying Informatics.
Cf. V. Frissen 2008.
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Version 3: Nothing wrong with Informatics but working in IT does not have an attractive image
(`IT work will be boring’).
Cf. BITKOM 2007, CRAC Study 2008.
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Version 4: Students believe that the IT industry will hire them no matter what they have studied.
So, why not study what you like now and learn `computers’ later.
Cf. C. de la Higuera (at IEEIII 2008).
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Version 5: ICT research in `neighboring’ disciplines appears to grow faster than in the ICT
disciplines themselves.
Cf. Technopolis Study 2008.
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Version 6: Unlike other sciences, ICT researchers can pursue certain lines of research only if
somebody else considers them ‘useful’.
Cf. Santini (2006)
What does this tell us?
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Other arguments, often re- and re-discovered:
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It’s the economy.. (e.g. present labor market concerns).
Disappointment with secondary school view of Informatics.
Poor career advice and misunderstanding of the field (incl. job futures) by friends, parents, school
advisors, public perception, etc.
Forced view of later jobs: students are not (very) interested yet in `what’ they will be, but rather in
`whom’ they will be later.
IT issues and e-skills dominate over societally accepted scientific challenges of the field.
Gap between creative and technological aspects of the discipline is felt to be `large’.
Computer science students interested in computers but not in `science’.
Rather study Y (Biology, Math, ..) with a minor in Informatics than Informatics with a minor in Y.
Lack of inspiring role models `in reach’, no understanding of what informaticians cq Informatics
graduates do.
Studying (computer) science is perceived as passive and too much solitary learning and focus on
competition. Cf. Tobias (1990).
Perceptions of the curriculum as being difficult (`too much content’, `too much math’), not inspiring
(‘low sense of relevance’), or too academic (not related to `profession or practice’).
CS programs have not adapted quickly enough. Cf. ICTC Study 2008.
Not an interesting environment (dull building, no gender balance, no view of student projects that
stimulate `exploring and discovering’, no social binding, …).
Not appealing to large communities (women, non-science majors, minorities, …).
Misconceptions (image, `it’s just about tools’, `will become a technologist’, …).
Or, no subject interest: other career options appear to be more interesting or rewarding.
Pieces of the same puzzle. Work needed on every item.
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Cf. J. Margolis
Ten reflections ...
 [Need longer term visions for the field as a science (`why study it’) and
appealing challenges to address that are not just engineering or technologyoriented but aimed at the fundamental understandings of natural or manmade processes.]
 Name the problem you want to solve (`image’, `more (female) students’,
`student retention after year 1’,…) and take it serious: make someone
responsible for results. Campaign widely, involve current students.
 Education follows research: look at all your Informatics research programs
and professors and position (all of) them to inspire potential students. “Sense
of relevance” and “passion for the profession” begin here.
 If it’s a matter of marketing (profiling), decide what you want to market, why
students will (not: should) be interested in it, and how you want to do it. Then
do it and stay closely involved.
 Recognize that Informatics is multi-faceted, thus multidisciplinary: technical
skills and insights, design skills and insights, soft skills, and science (biology,
physics,..) and/or business insights have to be balanced. Make choices but
involve at least three `dimensions’. Cf. ITU Copenhagen.
 Only then: reconsider the curriculum and its pedagogy: it should reflect the
the `reality’ students face after graduation as well as the passions for the
field. Let courses live. `Bind’ students academically (tutors).
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… to attract (more) students
 Recognize that (potential) Informatics students have varied interests and vocations
that follow the changes in the discipline: design `threads’ to offer students their
preferred view of `informatics now’ and their path of interest through the program.
Use the right focus terms that are sure to grab their interest (and that of women etc).
Cf. Georgia Tech CS Program.
 Informatics is a science by itself. Do not let mathematics fill the basics. Expose the
conceptual richness of Informatics itself, with the `eigen’ math of analysis, logic and
reasoning that derive from the discipline. Don’t use what you learned as a student
(and how) as a criterion: students `live’ with systems and software that didn’t even
exist a few years ago and now view them as normal. They want to study what’s next.
 Make Informatics courses engaging and fun: apply a concept-in-context approach,
use real world challenges in programming and architecture, well-motivated CS-theory
rather than just math, group projects, autonomy in choosing advisors, etc.
 Have interesting and living websites, clear procedures (for admission), helpful
administrations, good facilities, software labs, sports accommodations etc: if not,
upgrade them as they are your front office for future students.
 Recognize that students are different every year (more e-skills, less math skills..) and
anticipate this. Bind students `socially’.
 [Upgrade informatics programs and teacher backgrounds and capabilities at all levels
X with X < 3.]
Keep adjusting after every [two] years.
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Why study it II: it is (not) all about programming?
“People have said you don’t understand
something until you’ve taught it in a class.
The truth is you don’t really understand
something until you’ve taught it to a
computer, until you’ve been able to
program it.”
Attributed to G.F. Forsythe by D.E. Knuth, Comm ACM Aug 2008.
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Core subjects of the Information Age
 The Internet
 Packet communications
 Protocols (TCP/IP)
 Web/Mobile code
 Java
 High-level PL’s research
 Exchange languages
 Complexity
 Algorithm design
 Computational complexity
 Cryptography
 Data analysis
 Data mining
 Semantic web
 Multimedia
 Data compression algorithms
 Computational geometry
 Game design
 Web science
 Search engines
 Social computing
 Natural language technology
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 Computational systems
 Algorithmics
 Multi/many-core programming
 Parallel compilation
 E-science
 Virtual laboratories
 Diagnostic systems
 Life science informatics
 Cognitive systems
 Computational theory of mind
 Intelligent systems
 Sensor networks and robots
 Human-computer interaction
 Information systems
 Transaction systems
 Operations research
 Value chain informatisation
 E-business
 Information security
 Enterprise architecture
 E-services
Adapted from R. Constable (2000)
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Cf. Informatik Göttingen
What are the `questions of knowledge’ in
Informatics …
Classical examples (how to use them?):
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How to capture the (natural or man-made) world?
What is information?
What is computable?
What is complexity?
What is intelligence?
What can be (efficiently) automated?
What are the limits of the finite, using current technology?
What are the principles of the web?
How can one build complex systems?
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Specifiability, programmability
Understandability, usability
Maintainability, evolution
Embeddability in industry/business/services
How to serve mankind with them and improve qualities
 What are the information system principles of living cells?
 How to represent the natural world in the digital one?
 More … as far as the imagination can reach.
Need a (new) philosophy of informatics.
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Summary: Attracting students in the Informatics
Age...
 Recognition that the science of information goes deeper than any
science before
 Rethink the orientation and pedagogy of Bachelor and Master
programs (in Informatics)
 Interdisciplinary flexibility (from math to humanities)
 Broad informatics/information science curricula with variety of wellmotivated and modern pathways that are visible upfront
 Up-to-date research programs that appeal to students and that give
room for participation and personal growth for them (not only at the
MSc level).
 Increased funding and sponsoring, e.g. to create (more) research
assistantships and stipends for students.
 More student mobility across (national) boundaries.
 [Female] students!
 Outreach action plan
 And a comprehensive philosophy of informatics...
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