(Article written for Anil Pinto Sir's Assignment during Ph.D coursework March 2015)
External Link: http://anilpinto.blogspot.in/2015/03/history-of-computer-science-discipline.html
Computer
Science discipline has changed at a very rapid rate. To get an idea the Apollo
Mission to moon had a RAM capacity of just 4 KiloBytes and today in India we
have mobile phones with 2 GigaBytes of RAM. Today computer science and
technology has transformed almost all aspects of human life. From the early
time sharing machines in the 70’s to the PC’s of the 80’s and distributed cloud
servers of the 21st century, the computer lab has seen changes in leaps and
bounds. We become archaic in 3 years and obsolete in 5. Computer’s control transcends from the vegetable
to the share markets, from birth in a hospital to claiming life insurance. Whether
to make friends, for entertainment or travel, technology is touching our lives
in ways we never even imagined in our wildest dreams.
How
does the discipline in universities keep pace?
Before
we get bogged by the immenseness of our task let us take a step back and see
what makes a good IT Professional. What traits and skills a successful computer
science graduate possess?
Personal Traits
|
Technical Traits
|
|
Ability to take
Decision
Accepts Change
Accepts
Direction
Accepts
Responsibility
Time Management
Attitude
Cooperation
& Team Player
Effective Under
Stress
Initiative
Leadership
Planning and
Organizing
Quality of Work
Quantity of
Acceptable Work
Growth &
Learning
Innovation
Presentation
Skill
|
Core Concepts (35%)
Programming
Language
Database Design
Operating System
Computer
Architecture
Computer Network
Data Structures
Technical Skills (30%)
Designing
Database
Analyzing Requirements
Project
Estimation
Code
Understanding
Debugging
Thinking/Problem
Solving
Explore New
Tools
|
Application Software(20%)
RDBMS (like
Oracle)
Web Based
Software
High End Languages(like
C#)
(…)
Domain Expertise (10%)
Customer
Interaction
Requirement
Gathering
Emerging Areas (5%)
Cloud Computing
Data Mining
AI
Android App Dev
(…)
|
The
table above I have listed out is not based on a literature survey but purely
based on my Industry Experience and hence may not be very exhaustive.
How
has the discipline evolved over time?
Course
Started in Christ University related to Computer Science Discipline:
·
1990:
CMS (Computer Science, Maths, Statistics)· 1994: MCA
· 1996: CME (Computer Science, Maths, Electronics)
· 2000: BCA
· 2007: M.Sc. Computer Science
· 2009: M.Sc. (Working Professionals)
· M.Phil. and Ph.D were added recently
Computers
is now taught in B.Com, MBA, Law, Chemistry, Maths, Physics and is spreading
its wings and intersects most disciplines.
Syllabus constantly underwent changes
and many courses were added over time.
1990's
o
Software Architecture
o
C/ UNIX/ COBOL
o
OOAD
o
Embedded Systems
2000
o
DBA
o
Data Warehousing and Data Mining
2010
o
Cloud Computing
o
Mobile Application
o
ADBMS
o
NO SQL
Department has used different
strategies to make Teaching and Learning become effective with changing times.
Following is a short summary of the last 25 years.
o
1997 Project based learning
o
1997 Started Magazine/ Cultural and
Technical Fest to foster innovation, teamwork, all round development and leadership
o
2000 Seminars and Soft Skill
Workshops
o
2001 Internship part of Curriculum
o
2005 Domain based lab
o
2009 Research Focus
o
2010 Corporate Connect Programs
o
2012 Online Courses
Students have been placed consistently
each year, though there may have been ups and down in the CTC the corporates
have always returned for placement back to Christ University. There have been
challenges specially when the recessions occurred in 2001 and 2010, but
fortunately did not affect placement at Christ to a great extent. The alumni
has been a key source of strength for the department and whether it was for
special lectures, syllabus review, conducting sessions or exams the Alumni has
been very active. In the last Alumni Meet conducted on January 2015 more than
130 Alumni had come down to the campus.
Is there a gap between the traits table and the students who
pass out from our courses?
The answer is a “yes”, we strive
every day to bridge the gap. I as a teacher with 6 years of teaching experience
and 12 years of industry experience realize that gap is inevitable. I take heart that it’s after all our students out there
in the real world who are making the technological advances to widen the gap and
are also the ones inspiring us to keep dancing to change.
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