Hi freshers! First of all, congratulations for getting into UoB. The next few years will be hugely enjoyable, and you may even learn something. Im one of the student ambassadors who are here to answer queries and offer general assistance. There are several of us in the group - say hi to Diana, Goda, Helen, Poppie and Thomas. Im sure youre excited and have lots of things to ask. For the first time, weve decided to pre-empt the most popular questions by writing a little FAQ, which you can find below. Many thanks to Mark and Chris for their contributions. -- ## Do I need to bring a computer? All CS students have 24 hour access to the Schools building, which has 2 computer labs containing over 250 machines. While this means bringing your own isnt essential, doing so can make life much more convenient. You dont want to be forced onto campus to do work, and some lectures (particularly the programming-oriented ones - SW1, FoCS etc.) are much easier to engage with if you have a laptop in front of you and are running the code. Not to mention - what else would you spend your time in halls doing? Socialising? ## What kind of computer do most students have? Theres a fairly wide variety; Id guesstimate 60% PC, 30% Mac and 10% Linux. Machines in the labs run Scientific Linux (dont worry if youre unfamiliar with Linux - well teach you everything you need to know), and some dual-boot Windows. (N.B. Its much easier for demonstrators to help those running something mainstream. If youre rolling custom everything and Swing stops working, well probably shake our heads and walk away.) You definitely dont need invest lots of money in a brand new powerhouse: if your computer can run Eclipse, youll be fine. Also, spare a thought for your classmates - that Alienware monster with an 18 screen will be a lot less impressive when its making noticeable fan noise throughout lectures and is blowing a constant stream of hot air onto the hands of your neighbours, who are already having to lean sideways to make room for their arms on the desk. Get something practical, that wont break your back carrying into campus, that will last a whole day on a single charge, that doesnt make excessive noise under light use, and is comfortable to type on. ## Do most students take notes on paper, or use a laptop? Some religiously use laptops, some stick with paper, and some go the full year without writing a single word. If you choose to use a laptop, dont be the guy/girl in the front row spending the entire lecture on Facebook. I personally default to paper as it makes diagrams much easier to record (bless those people making notes in Markdown who start sweating when the lecturer draws a table). Some lectures such as Language & Logic use special symbols, and practically demand paper unless youre a ninja with the equation editor. On the other side of the spectrum, Id recommend bringing a laptop to SW1 and FoCS, as these are essentially programming lectures, and commenting the code as its being discussed can be very helpful. ## What can I do to prepare for my lectures? Well done for asking (ahem). This is a good time for me to introduce you to the modules page: cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/modules/2014/. As the name suggests, this page lists all available modules for all years, whos lecturing them, and what semester theyre in. The green ones at the top will be the section of interest most of you. Clicking the module codes will take you to that modules page, which has lots of info, including its website and recommended books. If youre a reader, this is where you should be going to. My personal advice would be to focus on the very basics of Java for the remainder of the summer (for which there are many resources online) and wait until lectures start before considering investing any money in books. N.B. The School has its own reference library which stocks all recommended text books, meaning theyll always be there if you need to read a few pages. Students in the year above will also try to flog you their old books at a heavy discount. ## Whats the workload like in first year? Short answer: it depends. The first year is designed to give you a general introduction to CS so you can find something youre interested in, which will guide your module choices for the rest of your course. Most people have some experience with XML, and so find the Info & the Web module relatively easy. Conversely, almost no one has any experience with functional programming, so the first semester of FoCS (where you learn OCaml) is widely considered to be the most difficult of the year. Knowing Java is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On one hand, if youre comfortable with Java, SW1 should be relatively straightforward. Conversely, if you dont have any experience, you will not have been tainted by questionable (and sometimes downright wrong) teaching in the past. Its much easier to learn than it is to unlearn. What Im essentially trying to say is it will depend on your experience, but a lack of experience isnt necessarily a disadvantage. Those who listen in lectures can come out of first year understanding things much more deeply than those whove been programming casually for years. If youre a seasoned developer, definitely dont make the classic mistake of thinking you already know everything. ## Is it true that I can switch course at the end of first year? All single honours courses offered by the School (with the exception of Computer Science with Business Management) have a common first year, so you can indeed switch between these. Some courses, such as the MEng, have slightly higher requirements which youll need to meet. You can also defer choosing whether to take a year in industry until later in your degree. The situation is a bit more complicated for joint honours degrees. These are all run by the other school in the equation. Youll have to get in touch with them and co-ordinate with SoCS to enquire about the possibility of switching. ## I dont have any programming experience; am I going to have a hard time? See my answer to What is the workload like in the first year? above. SoCS does not assume any prior programming knowledge - everything is taught from scratch, and its taught very well. Lots of people arrive not knowing their strings from their doubles, but by the end of first year, the difference between them and those who arrived with experience can be subtle. That being said, knowledge of the basics will help you get started. Install Eclipse (https://eclipse.org/downloads/packages/eclipse-ide-java-developers/lunar), and have a look at some basic Java tutorials online. Hack around a bit - see if you can build something like FizzBuzz. Get yourself comfortable looking at programs. Focus on the simple bits, and dont move on until you completely understand them - its better to know a little well than a lot roughly. ## Where can I go for help? This has a lot of possible answers, so Ill try to cover all the bases. If you need help with a module, the first port of call will normally be the lecturer. Every lecturer at SoCS has one or two so called office hours every week, where you can show up to their office unannounced and get help with any module content. In addition to lectures, some modules have lab sessions, which are timetabled windows of opportunity for you to work in the lab with demonstrators (fellow students, normally in the year above) present to give one-on-one help. The only stupid question is an unasked one, so dont be afraid to seek help - lecturers and demonstrators wont judge. If you need general help, theres also Peer Aided Study Support (PASS), which can be thought of as a study group. It meets once or more a week depending on demand, and is run by volunteer students, who will answer any of your questions and walk you through material. If you have a welfare problem which affects your studies, SoCS has its own Welfare Service. You can email them at [email protected], or go along to a welfare session for a chat. Timings are detailed at cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/studentinfo/welfare/. Youll hear more about welfare on Thursday during Welcome Week. Every student at SoCS also has an academic advisor. This is a lecturer who functions more or less like your tutor at school. You meet with them once a term for a progress review, and can go to them at any time for general advice on course matters. For matters outside of the School, the University has a plethora of services available. The Student Support homepage is at birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/support/index.aspx, and the Guild (our student union) has an entire Help and Advice section, which can be found at guildofstudents/help-advice/. Finally, some questions can be easily answered by us ambassadors - feel free to message one of us, or post your question on the group if you think the answer could be helpful to others. Were also here if you need advice on where to go for help. ## Whats CSS? We have our own Computer Science Society (CSS), which hosts lots of events throughout the year. You can find them on Twitter @CSSBham, and on Facebook at https://facebook/CSSBham. Someone will probably be along shortly to tell you about membership and the first event. ## Are there any social accounts I should know about? The School has its own Facebook group which can be found at https://facebook/groups/csuob, and tweets infrequently as @uobcompsci. These are both normally used for announcements. The University itself is https://facebook/unibirmingham on Facebook and @unibirmingham on Twitter. Theres also a group for all of this years freshers: https://facebook/groups/UOBFreshers2014, and one for each hall of residence (e.g. Shacks is https://facebook/groups/501011886694437). If youre living off campus, a Freshers Off Campus (FOCSOC) group will be created shortly. ## Do I *have* to shower? Yes - at least once a week. Steve will be conducting random sniff tests, and anyone who fails will be literally kicked out of the University by people in hazmat suits. -- Hopefully everyone found that useful in some way. There will undoubtedly be things Ive missed, and if anythings unclear or theres something youd like me to elaborate on, please just ask in the comments. See you all during Welcome Week!
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:36:11 +0000