Not your average computer camp

“Calling all computer geeks. Your country’s economy needs you.” 
— The Globe & Mail, January 21, 2008

Canada’s hightech sector is facing a significant skills shortage. While industry has rebounded from the dot-com bubble burst almost a decade ago, enrollment in computer science programs across the country has been slower to recover. A recent Conference Board study commissioned by a coalition of Canadian employers estimates there may be as many as 58,000 new jobs in the field in the next year alone, and the economy needs skilled workers to fill them.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for computer science graduates,” explains Denis Riordan, professor with Dalhousie’s Faculty of Computer Science. “The students coming into school right now are going to come out at exactly the right time with extremely good job opportunities.”

That’s the message that Dr. Riordan and his colleagues in the Faculty of Computer Science are going to share with over 60 high school students this Saturday at their third annual Computer Science Day.

“Computer Science Day is a chance for high school students to have some fun and learn about studying computer science,” continues Dr. Riordan, who organizes the open house event featuring workshops in writing computer games, learning new computing languages like Python and programming for the web. “The workshops are all taught in a university-like environment, so that students can see exactly what it’s like taking computer science or informatics at Dalhousie.”

Many of the workshops will be taught by professors, staff and PhD students from the Faculty of Computer Science. The seminar in game design, one of the most popular, will be led by Chris Pink of HB Studios, a Nova Scotia-based video game developer.

Over a dozen of the students have also signed up for the Invitational Software Competition. They will present their own custom-made digital applications to a panel of experts for a chance to win a laptop and a scholarship to Dalhousie. The winners will be announced at the day’s closing ceremony.

For more information on Computer Science Day, visit http://cs.dal.ca/competition