2005 Press Releases
Programming Initative for Secondary Schools at University College Cork (UCC), 18 May
The Department of Computer Science at UCC initiated a programme in
December last called "Munster Programming Training" for secondary
school students from the Munster area. The aim of this programme
has been to offer special training in computer programming to
Transition Year students as preparation for the "All Irish Schools
Programming Competition". The programme consisted of a series of 20
formal and practical lectures delivered by lecturers from the
Department on Saturday mornings between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm.
On 18 May 2005, 24 students from 13 secondary schools graduated from
the programme and received "Certificates of Achievement." The
Graduation Day was attended by teachers, heads of IT departments and
principals from those 13 secondary schools. The special guest of the
event was Mr Donagh Kiernan, Vice-President of IT@Cork who delivered a
speech about the future of the IT industry in the Cork area.
The 20-week programme ended with a computer programming competition
called the "Munster Programming Competition". The students were given
three difficult programming problems to solve in three hours. The
winners of the competition were:
- Gold Medal - Barry Hurley, Gaelcholáiste Colaim Ballincollig and Patrick Dunne, Gaelcholáiste Mhuire A.G., An Mhainistir Thuaidh;
- Silver Medal - John Tabirca, St. Peter's Community School, Passage West and Sean Creagh, Douglas Community School;
- Bronze Medal - Cian O'Mahony, Christian Brothers College and Mark O'Loughlin, Coláiste Chríost Rí.
Graduation Day closed with a panel discussion on the IT curriculum in secondary schools. The panel comprised of Professor Pat Fitzpatrick, Acting Dean of Science Faculty, UCC; Professor Jim Bowen, Department of Computer Science, UCC; Mr Donagh Kiernan, Vice-President of IT@Cork and Mr Tony Weir, Department of Education. The panel and the floor contributions highlighted the anomalies within the current IT curriculum and suggested ways to improve and enhance it.
The Department of Computer Science will also run a Summer Camp for these students for a week in June, with lectures on 3D Graphics for Games and Multimedia.
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