Webinar Recap

Introduction

On February 13, Coding Pals Foundation held its first-ever College Student Webinar+Q&A. We were fortunate enough to take part in two masterful presentations from Nick Young, a student at Brown University studying Math and Computer Science, and Jacky Zhao, a student at the University of British Columbia studying Computer Science. To an audience of about 55 participants, they spoke about their experiences with computer science, with topics ranging from how they first encountered and began to love computer science to their pursuit of professional opportunities in a competitive modern job market. 

Presentations

First off, Nick shared his story with the audience. His first encounters with computer science and programming languages came through “messing around” with Minecraft modifications, which he described as a great way for aspiring programmers to create projects that they are truly passionate about while developing fundamental coding skills. He then went on to describe his experience at Brown University, outlining the project-based and collaborative environment fostered by the computer science department at Brown. Despite the program at Brown being very different from CS programs at other universities, one thing remained constant for Nick at Brown: the need to take a considerable amount of both computer science and mathematics courses. However, Nick fully believed that one can immerse themselves in computer science even without high-level university courses or classes. His trick was simple: use Google. Through Google, he said, students can learn about web development, app development, game development, deep learning, and many more fields of study within computer science. There are an endless number of online resources and tutorials available, and Nick remained a firm believer in getting started by simply creating small-scale projects.

“No matter what experience you might have in the past or what affinity you may have for computer science, there is no substitute for just going out there and building something. If you build one thing, you’ll learn the skills to build another thing, which will hopefully empower you to learn more and build more” - Nick

Nick then outlined his struggle with attempting to determine the “best” programming language. He eventually came to the conclusion that there is no “best” programming language—the programming language one chooses to learn should not be based upon how many projects they can complete with it, but rather the logic and general computing skills that they may develop. Nick then shared one final thought regarding socially responsible computing—with the great power of code comes a great responsibility to make the world a better place. Especially within college, Nick noted that many view coding just as a course for which they must constantly submit assignments and write exams and not as an opportunity to recognize the real-world impacts of the code that they write. Computing can often carry considerable social implications for the masses of people who use it on a daily basis; as such, code and database creation must become responsible in terms of being cognizant of differing social factors around the world, for example. His final message: continue thinking about the world at large while creating code—you never know how impactful your work may become.

Jacky then took centre stage to discuss his journey with computer science and how it has evolved during his time at UBC. His biggest interests include cloud infrastructure, machine learning, ethical AI, and cognitive systems, which is a mixture of philosophy, linguistics, psychology, and computer science. Much like Nick, he got his start in computer science through video games at around age 12 and 13. He started off by creating his own games on Scratch before turning his attention to Minecraft, where he also made in-game mods and created new servers. Soon after, he tried his hand at a science fair project in which he created a device that helped translate speech into Braille. It was his first-ever long-term project and it motivated him to learn more about computer science and its potential impacts on society. He really appreciated the larger nature of the project because it meant that there was so much more for him to learn, with new challenges being thrown at him (and his code) from all sorts of sources. 

Hackathons also served as a way for Jacky to channel his passion for problem-solving and software development. It was his first time in an environment where scores of others with the exact same interests as him had gathered to create new projects. In his grade 12 year, he became an intern at Vancouver-based social media platform named Hootsuite, which he remarked as a truly transformative experience as a computer science student. Not only did he develop a substantial amount of programming skills, but he also had the opportunity to work in a professional environment with a team of computer science and coding professionals. His one tip for getting into computer science and building projects: find friends to do them with and surround yourself with amazing people.

“One part that makes building projects really, really fun for me is finding a really good community of friends and people who are also interested in the same things that you are to build stuff with. I think surrounding yourself with amazing people that help bring you up rather than tear you down is actually a very underrated part of software engineering. Software engineering is inherently collaborative!” - Jacky

In his final remarks, Jacky then shared his opinion regarding studying computer science at university. In his opinion, although universities give coders a sophisticated understanding of the world at large and essential problem-solving skills, bootcamps and online courses can do the job equally well, if not better, in terms of software engineering skills. Again, similarly to Nick, he pointed out the widespread availability of online resources—which may be particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic—and the vast array of skills and competencies that may be gained from them.

Q&A Session

Both presenters then took the time to participate in a Q&A—2 sample questions and responses can be found below.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give students interested in pursuing post-secondary education in computer studies?

A: (Jacky) Find out what opportunities are available at whatever institution you’re at and make the most out of them. I think that heading into UBC, I knew nwPlus existed but I didn't know what scale it really existed at. After joining nwPlus, it was truly a very transformational experience with people interested in CS and bettering the CS community.

Q: What is your favorite thing about pursuing a degree in CS?

A: (Nick) Most of all, I love learning niche things that are just cool. I’m studying math and computer science, and as an extension, a lot of the courses I take aren’t really applicable. They’re just things that I think are really interesting and I take these courses because they’re really cool. Unlike high school, you get to learn about topics that are not like stuff you’ve ever encountered before.

Final Thank-Yous

Coding Pals Foundation is immensely grateful towards both Nick and Jacky for their considerable contributions to our first College Student Webinar—without them, none of this would have been possible. Their personal websites are linked at the end of this post for all those who are interested. Another shout-out goes to David Deng, our Director of Finance, who took the time and initiative to lead the organizing committee for this webinar (which we hope to host more of in the future!). Last, but certainly not least, thank you to all who attended and formed part of an incredible audience with some marvellous questions for our presenters. 

If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend, don’t worry! You can find the link it below. Also, make sure to follow our social media page for constant updates regarding future events and opportunities! 

Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codingpals/ 

Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codingpalsfoundation 

Our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_Et0lkXox8SucNOhuq8cw 

Link to Webinar (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDUCo2OlQs0 

Nick’s Personal Website: https://n-young.me/ 

Jacky’s Personal Website: https://jzhao.xyz/