Unisys Monash IT Summer School

18 December 2000

Over 60 of Victoria's brightest students will be participating in the 3rd Unisys Monash IT Summer School in January, where they will experience the world of information technology and gain an insight into university life.

The residential summer school, the only programme of its kind in Victoria, runs from January 14-19, 2001 and is sponsored by Unisys Australia and organised by the Faculty of Information Technology.

The Unisys Monash IT Summer school, which is targeted at students going into Year 11 in 2001, aims to heighten their awareness and interest in IT by providing them with a sound understanding of information technology and to promote IT as an exciting and lucrative career option.

"Programmes such as this are essential as they expose students to the field of IT and arouse their interests in this area which is vital because of the growing shortage of IT-skilled professionals," says Professor John Rosenberg, Dean, Faculty of Information Technology.

Although selection is primarily based on academic results and school recommendations, there is a great emphasis on achieving a balance in the mix of students who participate. The 60 places are offered to a mixture of rural and metropolitan students, students from both private and government-funded schools and half of the students that are selected are females.

The programme involves a range of activities including lectures, hands-on project workshops and visits to important public, industrial and scientific enterprises to see first-hand applications of information technology.

Students, based on their preferences, are divided into four groups in which they work on separate projects. This years project workshops include:

• Programming with Java and Blue J - which looks at how Java can be used to write a variety of software,
• Online Jukebox - which involves finding ways to design and implement a Jukebox online,
• Building a Smart House - students will program a house to perform functions they want it to do,
• Playing the Stockmarket - involves learning approaches to analyse and predict the financial market to aid in management of investments.

"The summer school is an excellent initiative as it provides students with the opportunity to broaden their horizons by giving them a taste of university life, access to cutting-edge equipment and access to some of the best IT educators in the state," says Dr Ann Nicholson, Academic Director, Unisys Monash IT Summer school.

For further information please contact Dr Ann Nicholson, Academic Director, Unisys Monash IT Summer School on (03) 9905 5211 or Martene Bond, Administrative.