Exciting new equipment for CEIS students
With technology changing rapidly, it is important that not only our knowledge stays up-to-date, but that the equipment that we use to teach does, too.
Northumbria University has a strong reputation for investing in modern facilities and equipment. Nowhere is this more important than in the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences (CEIS).
The School’s Pandon Building has seen a number of changes over the summer months, with two research laboratories added to the Basement, a full refurbishment of our 60-seat mathematics laboratory, as well as the annual redecoration of all of the corridors and general areas.
Meanwhile, our IT Technicians have been taking delivery of some exciting new technology that our students will be using over the coming year.
As part of a rolling programme, 300 PCs have been replaced across the School, including all of the Pandon Basement’s 24/7 open access computing suite. There is also now a brand new laptop docking area in the Basement, where students can connect to the University’s campus-wide wireless internet.
Computer Science and Games Programming students will be benefiting from Samsung tablets and mobile phones, complete with Android development kits in two new computing modules. The kits give students practice in designing and programming mobile applications and games for different screen sizes and devices, which they can then publish on the Android Market. Playstation 3 (PS3) and Playstation Portable (PSP) development kits have also arrived for the games students to work with.
Our engineering laboratories in Ellison Building have also received upgraded equipment. This includes the latest Arduino platform, which is an open source embedded systems development environment. The platform is used to create interactive objects or environments. Past projects developed using Arduino in the School include hand-held gaming platforms, cabinet conditions monitoring, systems that can be controlled using iPads and iPhones and home management systems, e.g. to control lighting, heating and entertainment.
Acting Dean of School, David Bell, said: “We’re preparing students for careers in the most rapidly developing industries and we are committed to ensuring that our students leave with the skills they need to enter the workforce and make an immediate impact. We invite and act upon the feedback that employers give us; they help to shape the modules by telling us the direction their businesses are taking and the qualities and skills they hope to see in future employees.”
Date posted: September 21, 2011
