You will learn two types of skills:
- Technical computing skills
- General professional skills
In addition, depending on your interests you will acquire specialized domain knowledge such as business, medicine, or biology.
1. Technical computing skills
- Problem-solving ability, recognizing levels of abstraction in software, hardware systems, and multimedia
- Practical skills such as building and using database management systems and other sophisticated software tools
- Programming
- Using existing software libraries to carry out a variety of computing tasks, such as creating a user interface
- Being aware of the uses to which computers are put, recognizing issues to do with security, safety, etc.
- Looking at innovative ways of using computers, creating tools, providing tools support, etc.
2. General professional skills
- Communicating in writing, giving effective presentations and product demonstrations, and being a good negotiator (both in traditional environments and electronically)
- Preparing for a job search; this involves building an impressive curriculum vitae and basing this confidently on technical and other skills
- Being an effective team member
- Understanding the special requirements of a globally distributed project with participants from multiple cultures
- Recognizing the challenges and opportunities of keeping skills up-to-date and understand how to do so
- Literacy/fluency in computing; organizing all your professional information effectively