It seems in this country we often mistake privilege for talent. I was just listening to two brothers on the radio who were clearly priviliged but not nearly so obviously talented - although they and their interviewer were assuming that they were. It actually must be a particular burden on the children of the talented - there is an expectation that talent is inherited, when often it is not
There was a great buzz on Campus this week when the final year students from the Faculty of Engineering and Computing participated in a hugely successful event in the Helix. The Expo 2012, gave the students the opportunity to showcase the work they had completed for their final year project (FYP) assignments and to demonstrate their achievements to invited corporate guests from the ICT sector.
It started at 8.00am with a breakfast and short speeches from DCU Deputy President Prof. Anne Scott, guest speaker Liam Ryan, Managing Director of SAP Ireland and the Dean of the Faculty, Mr. Jim Dowling. Over 250 guests from many of the top ICT companies arrived with great enthusiasm and eagerness to meet the students. Companies such as Fidelity Investments, Accenture and IBM all sponsored key prizes for best projects.
The event has been running for 25 years and this year there were two welcome additional groups: students from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering participated for the first time, joining their peers from the Schools of Computing and Electronic Engineering; and their first graduating class from the B.Sc. in Enterprise Computing programme also showcased their projects.
Many companies commented on the high standard of work and variety of projects on display. Feedback from the event has been tremendous; many students were offered employment or job interviews and the soon-to-be graduates leave DCU confident that their career prospects are extremely positive.
Our new practical four year honours degree which prepares students for a career in Business IT Management. It consists of three main subject areas: Computing, Business and IT Management.
The course teaches you how you can best use computing technology to allow people to work together and give companies a competitive edge in the marketplace. You will learn how organisations operate, and how to use computers to improve and re-design the way they do business, and will acquire the skills and expertise needed to deploy technology solutions at the business front line.
EC students undertake a seven month work placement during the third year of their degree adding to the practical aspect and making students all the more desirable to employers.
Special Entry Requirements:
OC3/HD3 in Mathematics
Minimum CAO Points - 300 (points varies from year to year depending on demand)
NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF COMPUTING NECESSARY!
The main differences between the two:
CA - Software Engineering
Focus on creating software
Technical-minded inventors
Typically work in computing & electronics companies
EC - Business IT Management
Focus on how best to apply technology
Business-oriented problem-solvers
Typically work in any industry with an IT dept (= most industries!)
Some comments from our computing graduates:
DCU gave me the best up-to-date industry standard education. Everything we do at work I have already experienced in projects at college. Big thanks all the teachers who were so aware of what's happening in the industry.
DCU is a great place to get started on the path to your career. It inspires independent learning and creative thought. I really enjoyed my time there.
I frequently hear DCU complimented by higher management for producing great graduates.
Desperately need more graduates. Lots of great opportunities out there now
Some comments from our current computing students:
The main reason I came to DCU to study computing was the reputation: DCU is known as the best computing degree in the country from both an academic perspective and an industry one so that was a no-brainer there.
I chose CA as I am generally interested in the whole area of computing and mainly - jobs/wages. Personally I do not see the point of going into an area if there are no prospects of jobs. Also DCU's reputation and, of course, CA's reputation. CA itself appealed to me more so than other university courses after looking at what we study (modules, streams, etc).
Personally I find the overall CA course very positive and well structured.
