There is a lot of discussion running concerning the low number of new students enrolled in computer science courses. That has been considered a critical issue in US; in Brazil it has not attracted a big attention yet. Related concern is about the low number of women in the field, that in my opinion has ever been small. But it is interesting note that 2006 Turing award winner was a woman, Frances Allen. She believes that computer science curriculum is antiquated and she supports smart views about the subject . But there are still controversial arguments in this matter. Some people argue that, in order to attract more students, the programs are not rigorous anymore and the quality of cs course is declining .
Well, I agree that it may not be too entusiastic attending a graduate course in CS. Many CS teachers think that is enough give hard home work to produce skilled graduates. But you may be a smart software engineer even that you have not spent your weekends developing C/C++ programs. There is a misunderstanding about how do motivate a CS student. As a CS student you must know why a grade is relevant, how it is related to the real-world problems and what are the current research/open issues. Additionaly the curriculum must allow more flexible choices . Encorage the pratice is fundamental. A real computer office might be simulated in the class and student should enjoy the different roles - DBA, analyst, programmer, tester - using real class problems.
About the decrease of women in CS field is nice to see some incentives given to them to attendee conferences and seminars. However I believe that we will advance only if the CS curriculum is changed. Women enjoy communication, project management and requirements engineering for example. Thus this stuff must be done so relevant as programming is in CS course, otherwise women will continue prefering other science fields. Computer Science needs to take care of communication and social interaction in order to succeed!!
Well, I agree that it may not be too entusiastic attending a graduate course in CS. Many CS teachers think that is enough give hard home work to produce skilled graduates. But you may be a smart software engineer even that you have not spent your weekends developing C/C++ programs. There is a misunderstanding about how do motivate a CS student. As a CS student you must know why a grade is relevant, how it is related to the real-world problems and what are the current research/open issues. Additionaly the curriculum must allow more flexible choices . Encorage the pratice is fundamental. A real computer office might be simulated in the class and student should enjoy the different roles - DBA, analyst, programmer, tester - using real class problems.
About the decrease of women in CS field is nice to see some incentives given to them to attendee conferences and seminars. However I believe that we will advance only if the CS curriculum is changed. Women enjoy communication, project management and requirements engineering for example. Thus this stuff must be done so relevant as programming is in CS course, otherwise women will continue prefering other science fields. Computer Science needs to take care of communication and social interaction in order to succeed!!
