Please read the information provided and if you still have questions, do contact us.

You may wish to keep track of what we are doing in the Department by following us on our Faculty Instagram (the ETD section in particular!) and X!

The first time we will meet will be week commencing 16th September 2024 when you will be invited to join a week of Welcome Activities. This helps you to settle into University and you will receive the key information you need to get started with your studies. You will get to meet staff and fellow students as well as finding your way around campus through a treasure hunt. You'll also learn a lot about the course and studying at CCCU, so please engage with as many of the activities as you can!

On completion of your Welcome Activities, you will be a fully-fledged member of the Data Computing Intelligence community and from Monday 23rd September 2024, the real work begins, as you start your first modules.

Students often have mixed feelings about starting University, and this is perfectly normal. Whilst there may be excitement for new experiences, there are understandable also concerns and things you are uncertain about. If you have any concerns about starting university, please do not fret. We know that choosing to embark on a degree course is a big commitment in time, energy and money and we assure you that we are fully committed to supporting you and helping you to reach your goals… So enjoy and embrace your future. We will be with you all the way!

If you're keen to start hearing about things going on at the University you can follow the Student Union on X. You can also see what I get up to over the summer by following me @Amina Souag on X.

Year 1 modules

The academic year at Canterbury Christ Church University is split into two semesters – one running from September to January and a second one from late January to May.

Each Semester you will study three different modules.

You will study the following modules over the course of two semesters:

Semester 1 & Semester 2:

• Programming Design and Development

Semester 1

• Computational Thinking
• Ethics and Employability

Semester 2

• Math for Computer Science
• Fundamentals of Computer Systems

Before you arrive

There is no particular work we would like you to do before you arrive. If you would like to undertake a task and have your own computer then we would suggest the following website would be a good starting point to understand how computer programming works, if this is something you have not done before. You can download the software here for free and make use of the tutorials to create simple apps for Android phones.

You will need a Google account to use this, and it may be worth creating a new one should you wish to use this. Under the ‘Resources’ menu option there are a number of tutorials, at different levels from Basic to Advanced. Try a few basic tutorials before you look at Intermediate or Advanced ones. This will help you learn how the tutorials guide you as well as using the App Inventor Interface before you try more complex tasks.

Other information

We recommend you don’t buy any particular software as much of the software you will need over your degree will be available to you for free or at a much-reduced price once you start. You will find having your own computer exceedingly useful. This will help you to do your assessments in your own time and attend any classes that are online. If you are looking to buy a computer, then we would suggest that you look at reviews of different computers online as we find it hard to recommend a particular product.

As a computing student you will find that you will need a computer with an above minimum specification for the chosen operating system (look at what is required for Windows 11). We would suggest that you look at the recommended specification for Visual Studio Professional as an absolute minimum specification. Higher specifications will help safeguard you against future increases in minimum requirements, and higher processor speeds will help run multiple courses at once. For hard disk space higher is required to fit on other software as well, and a minimum suggested size would be 256GB – particularly important if you plan to use solid state drives.

You should note that we use the Windows environment predominantly in the Department of Computing, so if you buy an Apple system then it would benefit from being dual boot Windows and MacOS. If you buy a Linux only system then you may find you will need to install a Windows operating system at a later date, and this is generally more expensive than buying a computer with Windows already installed on it. You may find that if you are doing a lot of studying on your computer, having a web-cam, headphones and possibly even a second monitor really useful.

If you use a laptop, do consider a mouse and full-size keyboard may help. We have found that students who are trying to study at home appreciate having a good, stable internet connection, and you want to note that changing provider at the moment is taking longer than it has done previously.

Community

On the social side, the Student Union (CCSU) has a huge range of clubs and societies – all of which have unique social calendars of their own and offer endless opportunities to make lifelong friends and discover new hobbies. And you can always create your own society and cultivate your own community!

CCSU will be hosting their Welcome Fayre on Wednesday 18th September 2024. Make sure you keep checking the CCSU website for further details and how to get involved.

We understand that you may be nervous about your first few weeks on campus but rest assured - you'll be joining a nurturing and supportive environment where diversity, equality and individuality are part of everything we do.

You can find out more about our welcoming community and making friends here.

If you are an International Student joining us then please see our International Student Support pages for further information and guidance.

Here's a recommended list of readings for Data Intelligence:

• "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig - This comprehensive textbook covers the fundamentals of AI, including intelligent agents, problem-solving, knowledge representation, machine learning, and more.
• "Deep Learning" by Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville - Dive into the world of deep learning with this authoritative book, covering topics such as neural networks, optimization algorithms, and generative models.
• "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology" by Ray Kurzweil - Join the debate on the future of AI and humanity, as Kurzweil explores the concept of technological singularity and its potential consequences.
• "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas Hofstadter - While not strictly focused on AI, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book explores the nature of intelligence, creativity, and self-reference through the lenses of mathematics, art, and music.
• "Data Science for Dummies" by Lillian Pierson - This beginner-friendly guide covers the basics of data science, including data manipulation, statistical analysis, machine learning, and more.
• "Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think" by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier - Explore the potential of big data to revolutionize various aspects of society, including business, healthcare, and governance.

The university bookshop proposes a good selection of computing books. It is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles.