Check it Out!

Recently, the Canadian Association of Computer Science (CACS) created a competition for high school students develop a video promoting Computer Science.  Here are the winning entries:

First Place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3srbrI7szyc

Second Place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04BMkCuVDxA

Congratulations to the winners!

Mobile Devices Initiative

The Department of Computer Science & Information Technology at UPEI announces a special mobile devices initiative for the 2009/2010 academic year. This initiative includes five courses aimed directly at the development of software for mobile devices. These courses are open to any participant who can demonstrate a working knowledge of the prerequisites required. Registration for the courses is to be done through the registrar's office at UPEI. Demonstration of prerequisite knowledge can be done in advance through the department or during the first scheduled class.

Further information can be obtained from:
Dr. David LeBlanc
Chair, Dept. of Computer Science & Information Technology, UPEI
dcleblanc@upei.ca

The Courses:

Fall (Sept - Dec)

CSC312: Introduction to iPhone Application Programming This course introduces participants to application development on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Participants will leave the course with knowledge of programming in Objective-C, and in utilizing the UIKit (Cocoa-Touch) framework present in iPhone OS. The course will end with a project where the participant will develop a small application for the iPhone.

Prerequisite: CS212. Participants without CSC212 can gain admission by satisfactorily demonstrating to the instructor a working knowledge of an advanced object-oriented programming language.
Instructor: Gordon Wood. Gordon is the technical lead at the video game company Other Ocean Interactive. He was the lead developer on the highly successful iPhone game Super Monkey Ball.
Offered: Wednesday 7 - 9:45 pm

Winter (Jan - April)

CSC212: Non-Traditional Platform Computing

This course introduces the participant to programming in non-traditional environments, including video game consoles, cell phones and other mobile platforms. The course will present a thorough study of the architectures, operating systems and native languages of the devices.

Prerequisite: CSC261 and CSC252. Participants without CSC261 and CSC252 can gain admission by satisfactorily demonstrating to the instructor a working knowledge of an advanced object-oriented programming language and basic knowledge of computer architecture.
Instructor: Dr. Qiang Ye. Qiang is a permanent faculty member and holder of an NSERC Discovery grant in the area of networking.
Offered: Tuesday/Thursday 11:30 - 12:45

CSC312: iPhone Programming for Video Games

This course introduces participants to game development on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Topics include: OpenGL ES (graphics), Open AL (audio), Accelerometer, multi-touch, and more... The course will end with a project where the participant will develop a small game demo mixing all the topics introduced.

Prerequisite: CS312: Introduction to iPhone Application Programming.
Instructor: Gordon Wood. Gordon is the technical lead at the video game company Other Ocean Interactive. He was the lead developer on the highly successful iPhone game Super Monkey Ball.
Offered: Wednesday 7 - 9:45 pm

CSC495A: Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) represent a new information paradigm based on potentially large sets of collaborating self-organizing sensor nodes. This course examines the motivation and application areas for WSNs and then delves into their design and operation. Topics include: node architecture; operating systems and programming environment; wireless networking issues such as radio signal properties, media access control (MAC) protocols and routing; and middleware services such location determination, time synchronization, coverage, power management and reprogramming. Participants will carry out experiments configuring and programming simple WSNs.

Instructor: Dr. Stephen Howard. Stephen is a permanent faculty member with an extensive background in distributed systems and networking.
Prerequisite: Satisfactorily demonstrating to the instructor a background in networking, computer organization, operating systems and C programming.
Offered: Tue/Thur 2:30 - 3:45

CSC495B: Introduction to Blackberry Programming

An introduction to mobile application development with Java ME and Blackberry API. The course covers aspects of programming for mobile devices and constrained environments using Java ME development on the Blackberry platform. Topics will include graphics, user interface, event processing, data management, and networking.

Instructor: Gordie Noye. Gordie is a term faculty member and has extensive experience as a software developer specializing in graphics, networks, and time-critical applications. He is currently working on developing mobile applications and testing platforms for cellular telephones.
Prerequisite: CSC212. Participants without CSC212 can gain admission by satisfactorily demonstrating to the instructor a working knowledge of an advanced object-oriented programming language.
Offered: Thursday 7 - 9:45 pm

The mobile device initiative is supported with funding from ACOA and PEi BDI.

Postdoctoral Opportunities 

We now have postdoctoral employment opportunities in UPEI CSIT!  Check them out!

Message from the Chair

With an influx of technology companies providing a wealth of training opportunities for our students, and good jobs for our graduates, it is an exciting time to be a computer scientist on Prince Edward Island. Both traditional IT industries and the newly (to PEI) emerging industries of video game development and e-health are experiencing rapid growth. With demand from employers outstripping the supply of qualified graduates, computer science is an excellent career choice and on PEI there is an acute shortage of highly skilled workers.

At UPEI we are meeting this challenge by offering our students a top-rate and friendly learning experience. We offer small class sizes and a faculty that is eager to work with you to maximize your potential. There is a Co-operative Education option that allows you to gain valuable work experience (and money) while you attend school and a new specialization in video game programming that is unique to the region. If you are research-oriented we also offer an honours option to prepare you for graduate school. Students from our department have an excellent record of placement at the country’s top graduate schools, including University of Toronto, Waterloo, British Columbia, and McGill (among others). Whether you are interested in industry, public service, or academia, UPEI is the smart choice for Computer Science. For more information, email me with your questions and/or to set up a meeting - I will always take time to meet with students.

Dr. David LeBlanc
dcleblanc@upei.ca

Students:  there are current job opportunities for you!  Check it out at CSIT's job area for Students!

Newsflash: click here for information on the new Specialization in Video Game Programming!