On the 10th of October, higher and advanced higher Computing Science students had the opportunity to attend an Ada Scotland Computing Science Networking event which was hosted in the school of computing in Robert Gordon University.
The event started off with two wonderful keynote speakers who work in the computing industry. First off was Professor Nirmalie Wiratunga who is affiliated with RGU’s School of Computing, specifically Intelligent Systems. She discussed various fields and applications of computing including Artificial Intelligence and reasoning, machine learning, even the processing of natural languages.
An interesting project that Professor Wiratunga mentioned was selfBACK. SelfBACK is an app that allows a patient to “facilitate, improve and reinforce self-management of low back pain.” The support system analyses the patient’s condition and returns the best treatments and plans. AI does this by comparing the user’s body type to existing data, thus resulting in the most beneficial advice.
We learnt that Computer Science can be useful in many fields. They can support health care and/or increase performance of a company by inspecting their databases. With AI, existing technology can be improved to suit its users so that it is more approachable and easy to use.
Professor Wiratunga ended her talk by sharing with us some of the most amazing female figures in Computing and their outstanding accomplishments. This includes Ada Lovelace, who wrote the first computer program and is also the inspiration for the name of the day’s event. Not to forget Karen Spärk Jones who created the very mechanics of Google’s search engine.
The first section of the session ended on a note for us to find our passion, visualise our ‘success’, and aim high! Computing is such a rapidly developing and important part of the future industry, it would be such a shame for women to be excluded from that.
The second speaker we had the opportunity to listen to was Maria Bell; the co-founder and managing director of 2 companies, Mesomorphic and Silicon Croft. Mesomorphic is a company based in Shetland which creates cutting-edge software for entrepreneurs. Silicon Croft is a company which helps rural schools to get the same opportunities as non-rural schools by supporting the integration of digital skills in the school curriculum.
Maria Bell talked about how she didn’t have a background in computing but wished she had. Her original study was in Marine biology before finding an interest in software development and education and co-founding Mesomorphic and Silicon Croft. Through her talk we learnt to be open minded especially with computing science as it is everywhere and fastly growing. Maria encouraged us to start creating portfolios by capturing our ideas and fleshing them out to create our own projects.
Following the two informative sessions, we had the opportunity to engage in meaningful networking interactions with women at various stages of their computing careers. Our discussions had valuable interactions with computing science students, esteemed faculty members from RGU, the university's career advisor, and successful alumni who have established themselves in the computing industry. Their insights were particularly enlightening, emphasising the importance of pursuing one's interests within the field of computing and actively engaging in self-directed learning, as well as seeking additional extracurricular opportunities to deepen our knowledge.
Jenny and Olutobilola were lucky enough to get their raffle ticket picked and win the prizes.
We had the privilege of interacting with three robotic entities, including Pepper and two NAO robots. Pepper, equipped with an integrated smart tablet, showcased its versatility by displaying an array of computing disciplines. Impressively, when we inquired about a specific degree, Pepper promptly provided a verbal description of the chosen subject. Interestingly, Pepper also exhibited a playful side, as it playfully responded with "stop it" when we interacted with its head.
Moreover, during the networking session, we were also treated to a delightful performance by the NAO robots, who showcased their dance moves and entertained us with a rendition of the famous "Gangnam Style."
Overall this was an amazing event that really opened the student's eyes to the possible careers they could be taking in Computing.
Vanessa & Hana - V Senior