UK college courses show decade-long surging interest in computer science – just as new intake was locked down
- Reference: 1612775045
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/02/08/uk_college_courses_compsci_interest/
- Source link:
The final release of university and college-level application and acceptance figures for the 2020 cycle demonstrate the growing interest in the once less-than-hip subject. Acceptance on courses has risen by almost a half from 20,420 in 2011 to 30,090 in 2020.
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More tech students is a good thing because they can help their fellow freshers log on to lectures via Zoom while they wonder what exactly the £12k fees are going towards while locked down in warren-like accommodation, we can only assume.
Just as computer science was beginning to bask in its newfound popularity, it was being usurped by a troublesome newcomer, that unbearable hipster in new trainers: artificial intelligence.
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Acceptances to the glitzy subject has leapt 400 per cent in the last 10 years, although students of statistics have been in touch to point out this was from a low base of just 65 students in 2011, up to 355 in 2020, making the increase in the actual number of students less than that in computer science.
Meanwhile, acceptances to engineering courses are up 21 per cent from 25,995 in 2011 to 31,545 in 2020 – encouraging signs for those trying to stem the demise of STEM in the UK workforce.
Assembly language, arcade games, and YouTube: The Reg speaks to former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer [4]READ MORE
Julia Adamson, director of education at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said that the [5]National Centre for Computing Education , founded in 2018, had offered "a positive experience" of computing at school and helped stimulate demand for the subject at degree level.
"A growing and diverse pipeline of talent in Computer Science and AI is essential for the UK's economic recovery and its global competitiveness," she said.
The swelling popularity of technology subjects is in contrast with a fall in interest in the humanities. English has seen a decrease from 10,020 acceptances in 2011 to 6,980 in 2020, while history and philosophy dropped from 15,060 in 2011 to 12,870 in 2020.
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Perhaps applicants heard humanities graduates were sick being the butt of a joke involving the punchline: "Big Mac and fries, please." ®
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[1] https://www.ucas.com/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_bootnotes/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YCEZysgLlOiZdjG@R8nBdwAAAJc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_bootnotes/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YCEZysgLlOiZdjG@R8nBdwAAAJc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/06/plummer_interview/
[5] https://teachcomputing.org/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_bootnotes/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YCEZysgLlOiZdjG@R8nBdwAAAJc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Did they not fancy getting into trading then?
ML with everything
My kids' recent experience of STEM degrees (Maths and Engineering) is that the vast majority of final year projects on offfer have some element of ML or big data, and have done for a few years, so it's no great surprise there's more interested in straight ML/AI/Big Data degrees
I kind of see it a little like this. Once people have spent time learning the basics of computers, *then* they can focus on the science, maths and even english or history.
School is so inadequate at teaching the basics of computers, that students are having to study computer science at college or even as part of a degree. Once they know what a file manager is, they are finally ready to start studying what really interests them in an attempt to enter their industry.
Basically schools need to be fixed in so many ways...
Well it's a start
The biggest obstacle of all is that the people who think they run the country totally despise any form of science, engineering etc. so anyone at the sharp end it likely to be given unrealistic directions and be paid peanuts.
Big Mac and fries... Just like a mate who got maths from kings spent 4 years serving...