UTECH Comp Sci. Degree now needs 2 A'-Levels

[aonekilla]

what is the big fuss about .... most of the posts prior to this one have basically summed up the situation here .... UWI's and UTECH's BSc degree programs both have their advantages and disadvantages, the thing i like about UTECH is the hands on approach they implement, while UWI can be considered to be more inclined to the theoretical aspects of Computer Science, and this can help in the field of resarch, improved problem soving capabilities , and so on .... it all depends on your personal inclination..... if you are a more practical person then UTECH is for you, else go to UWI ....
the real issue that i see at hand here is whether or not persons are making the right choice in the institution they are selecting to get their BSc in computing ....

and i am saying this because i have seen a number of students at UWI regreting the day they started over here .... all because of ill-advised decisions....

are there provisions in place that enable a student leaving high school to make the right choice .... if so what should be done .... do most of the high school teachers even know the difference between UTECH's and UWI's degree programs ....

i believe that UWI and UTECH can learn alot from each other .... esp in the tayloring of their degree programs to provide a more rounded curriculum in both the practical and the theoretical aspects of computer science....
i am in my final year at UWI and networking is one of the courses i am doin right now ... but unfortunately... due also to some unforseen events ... there is no practical section to this course ..... something which i believe to be very inappropiate .. i mean ... what is point of doing a networking course and you would not be able to set up one, even though i must admit that it would be very easy for me to learn how to after i am finished .... but a course like that should have a practical component ....

and that's all i have to say about this

[juiceheadband]

hey this is a really entertaining thread. Xeno u r a really funny guy (no pun intended ).. AK too.

its funny after all this degree deathmatch, its the ppl who dont have any significant computer/IT training are the ones who run the companies and signs your checks.....and most of them are UWI graduates too.

[andy_shawn]

Personally i think the only way somebody can come to a definate answer as to which program is better, is if they did both of them.

[kenroy112]

well i think both schools need more IT degree`s for real specialization, like networking,data communication,game design,animation and computer graphics and information security majors. The computer sci alone isnt enough

[crosswire]

As much as I advocate game design as a specific discipline in computer science, I would have to say that basically, each additional specialized topic would require the student to know about a whole field of stuff before grasping the concept. Eg security requires knowing how ASP, Windows Server Login and IP software, .Net, and a lot of other softwares to understand security in them. Breaking that down to theory would not be much help to the student.

Certificates should be the standard in specialization.

BTW, there is a good curriculum in networking (in comp. sci.), and data communication (in Electronics) at UWI, probably UTech too, and again it is not part of the certificate world such as Cisco certs, or Admin certs etc.

I would even add to the list "optimization", and "parallel programming". They are covered in the degree, but they do not go in-dept to the point of teaching OpenMP, or all the sort algoritms that exists (Please correct me if I am wrong).

Unfortunately, businesses hardly hire in some of the unpopular areas, such as gaming and parallel programming, and I never see any certs for these as interesting as they can be. A good general degree will go far + popular certs

[BlackCryptoKnight]

As much as I advocate game design as a specific discipline in computer science, I would have to say that basically, each additional specialized topic would require the student to know about a whole field of stuff before grasping the concept. Eg security requires knowing how ASP, Windows Server Login and IP software, .Net, and a lot of other softwares to understand security in them. Breaking that down to theory would not be much help to the student.

I don't quite agree with some of what you've said here. Let's look at the security example you've cited. Security in and of itself has it's own theory independent of the many different domains in which it can be applied to. Other disciplines are similar in that regard. So it is in fact plausible for a student to learn the theory and fundamentals of a discipline like security, or even game design, and derive benefit even before embarking on the specializations like application development, or networking etc.

Also, remember, that in a field such as game design, it is very likely that people will be working in teams, and thus will have specialized roles fitting into particular disciplines (graphics, sound, programming, hardware etc.). So though it is useful for the individual to understand the broad spectrum of roles and activities involved in such a project, you really may not need to be as deeply skilled in everything.

A university first degree is supposed to give you that breadth so that you understand the basics, learn to think, and have a foundation for later specialization.

Certificates should be the standard in specialization.

Or a Masters, or a PhD.

[kenroy112]

Unfortunately, businesses hardly hire in some of the unpopular areas, such as gaming and parallel programming, and I never see any certs for these as interesting as they can be. A good general degree will go far + popular certs

hmm thats thinking narrow mindedly, remember most graduates work aboard so you shouldnt seek to think that we all will work in jamaica , after all wi ina gobal village now son.Also dont forget about the CSME. But i seriously think they should have more IT degree though cause devry,ITTech and others have like 5 IT degrees. Personally am going aboard to do my degree in networking administration.

[FalconTech]

yow, i'm at vtdi right now but a want to go to utec next year, are they going to let me do over first year.

[tredoggg]

aww more than likely

[Xenocrates]

yow, i'm at vtdi right now but a want to go to utec next year, are they going to let me do over first year.

- Like Tre sez, it's quite likely. The plus side is that you'll be exempted from about 60 - 80% of the courses. So you could use the free time to work. If you're exempted from 80% of more of the first year subjects, it's quite likely that you will just be bumped to 2nd year.

hey this is a really entertaining thread. Xeno u r a really funny guy

- Th.. Thanks? I... I guess?