Launch of Royal Institution Masterclasses set to inspire the next generation of computer scientists

The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences is hosting a series of Royal Institution Computer Science Masterclasses to teach Y9 students from local Midlands’s schools a variety of skills and applications of computer science.

Royal Institution Masterclasses are hands-on and interactive extracurricular sessions led by top experts from academia and industry for keen and talented young people all around the UK. The Masterclasses aim to open the eyes of young people to the excitement and value of computer science, and in turn, inspire the next generation.

The series is the first of its kind in Birmingham and is at the forefront of a new national initiative. The 8-week series of interactive workshops introduces 13-14 year olds to a different topic every week in Computer Science, from creative coding and robotics to sentiment analysis and natural computation.

30 students from 12 schools were nominated to take part in the unique workshop, which will run between January and March 2015. The masterclasses have been organised by academic staff in the School of Computer Sciences, alongside the support of postgraduate and undergraduate students.

Professor Achim Jung, School of Computer Sciences, said:

This is an exciting opportunity for young people to be exposed to ideas that they might not see in the conventional school classroom and interact with active researchers in the computer science field. For the academics, this is an important opportunity for public dissemination of science, reaching a broader audience outside of their immediate peers.

The series in Birmingham is made possible by sponsorship by IBM and the Royal Institution Computer Science Masterclasses are supported by Causeway Technologies Limited.

More information about Royal Institution Masterclasses can be found online