Computing and Computer Science

The applications of computers in the modern world are vast and growing, driving a continued demand for employees with specialised skills in computing and computer science and making postgraduate qualifications in the field an increasingly attractive prospect for students.

Computer science underpins not only many aspects of people’s personal lives and consumer demands, but also almost every aspect of industry from financial services to engineering, construction to travel and tourism.

‘There is no area where ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has nothing to offer,’ explains Dr. Fred Cummins of UCD’s School of Computer Science & Informatics. ‘We emphasise a collaboration with various fields such as finance and health, offering students from a broad range of backgrounds the opportunity to augment their studies with ICT skills.’

Postgraduate courses reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the area and include both taught masters and degrees by research, as well as postgraduate diplomas.

Part and full-time taught masters are offered by a wide range of third level institutions including MSc courses in Mobile Networking & Computing, Intelligent Systems for Business and Manufacturing, Cognitive Science and Multimedia Systems and Computational Science to name but a few. Many colleges support a broad range of degrees by research including Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science, Data Mining and Visualization.

Entrance requirements for MSc courses can be demanding and often require a high second class honours degree at undergraduate level in computer science, or related technical fields such as engineering, as a minimum. There are however, several options for students coming from other fields.

‘You do usually require an undergraduate background in computer science but it is by no means necessary,’ says Dr Cummins. ‘For example in Cognitive science you can do very well with a background in philosophy or psychology and our higher diploma course offers students from a broad range of fields the opportunity to augment their studies with ICT skills.’

A Diploma in Computer Science from Trinity is also open to students from any discipline, particularly those of creative backgrounds such as fine art, design, architecture, or film studies. As with UCD’s diploma, no background in computing is necessary and students who achieve the specified standard have the option of proceeding to the MSc programme, making it an appealing option to candidates who have not studied technical subjects at an undergraduate level.

The variety of options open to students in terms of the courses available and subsequent career paths is demonstrated by the diverse mixture of students who have undertaken courses of study in computer science.

Susan Butler graduated from the MSc in Multimedia Systems, now known as Interactive Digital Media, in Trinity College in 2008. Having studied fashion design in the National College of Art & Design, Susan sought to augment this experience with an understanding of computer science.

‘The course welcomes people with a variety of experience; you don’t even need a degree once you have the relevant experience. Out of the 24 students in the class only seven or eight had undergrads in computer science,’ Susan comments. ‘Over the course of the year I had the opportunity to apply a lot of what I had learnt myself and my lack of knowledge of computers didn’t inhibit my progress, it just meant that I had more to learn. So I got an awful lot out of it.’ Susan now hopes to combine fashion with digital technology such as through the use of interactive displays and marketing tools.

Gordon Leech took a more traditional route to his masters qualification, having completed an undergraduate degree in computer science he opted for a research course in the fascinating and challenging realm of Artificial Intelligence. He now looks forward to a career in the promising field of multimedia indexing with a multinational corporation either in Ireland or abroad. ‘I’d love to work for someone like Google or Yahoo,’ says Gordon. ‘They’re great employers in really exciting fields.’

As with every industry in the current financial climate, employment in computing and computer science is less plentiful than it once was. According to recent research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute only one in 10 IT professionals currently feels secure in their job and over a third of the poll respondents said that their organisation had already frozen recruitment.

However, industry insiders, such as CPL Resources - a top recruitment firm in the sector, predict that new areas of growth will arise from the present turmoil particularly in the regulatory environment and other growth areas such as data solutions on the move. Options for graduates are predicted to be particularly strong for those willing to travel within Europe.

The recruitment firm also highlight the pronounced skill shortage within the industry. This echoes a June 2008 study by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, which focused on the ICT sector and reported that domestic supply of high-skilled ICT graduates is not meeting the immediate demands of the industry in Ireland.

Retooling or upskilling in computing and computer science is therefore an attractive proposal with several distinct advantages, as pointed out by Dr John O’Mullane of the Department of Computer Science in University College Cork. ‘Postgraduate qualifications offer a lot to a student. Coming from a technical background such as computer science or engineering, it allows a focused treatment of a particular area, as opposed to the general overview offered by an undergraduate degree. For those coming from a non-technical background it gives the opportunity of complementing skills or changing direction into a more applied area, building on their strengths.’