Kent to host series of Royal Institution Masterclasses in computing, engineering and data science

The University of Kent is hosting a series of 4 virtual Royal Institution Computer Science Masterclasses for Year 12 and Year 11 students progressing to A Level Maths. The series will run from Saturday 12 June to Sunday 10 July 2021.

The classes are a collaboration between the Royal Institution, and the School of Computing, School of Engineering and Digital Arts and the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science at Kent.

The Royal Institution Masterclass programme opens young people's eyes to the diversity of STEM. Through series of extra-curricular workshops, students all over the UK meet to explore the subjects in new and exciting ways. The programme will allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the scope, creativity, relevance and potential applications of these far-reaching subjects. Throughout a Masterclass series, students will meet a range of speakers, giving you insight into possible STEM careers.

The applications of modern computer science are vast and this series of virtual masterclasses will encompass computing, engineering and data science.

3700 years of Computer Science: From Ancient Babylon to Quantum Computing, led by Dr Carlos Perez Delgado, Lecturer in the School of Computing will explore what computer science is, when and where it got started, and where it might be heading.

Our second masterclass, Predicting the results of the US presidential elections will be led by Dr Eleni Matechou, Senior Lecturer in Statistics, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science. This session will teach students how to fit and interpret a model for predicting the outcome of US presidential elections based on the economic growth at the end of the preceding administration

Dr Robert Horne, Lecturer in Electronic Systems at the School of Engineering and Digital Arts will deliver a masterclass entitled So what can we do with some electronics and a potato? Using an online Arduino simulator and common electronic components, students will explore the power of the everyday spud!

Finally, Ben Doran, Causeway Associate in Computer Science at The Royal Institution will lead a masterclass on Computer Science and Social Media. Social media gives people everywhere an opportunity to openly share their thoughts, feelings and experiences in real-time. In this session we will think about how we can approach this collection of posts as raw data, and how we can use the tools of computer science to uncover what they tell us about the world.

Further details about the masterclasses, including sign up information, can be found here:
https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/royalinstitutionmasterclasses/