Sixty young people from Morriston Comprehensive School are celebrating being the first pupils to get to grips with designing, building and creating a computer game of their own.
The year seven pupils from Morriston Comprehensive School attended the first landmark interactive Techocamp workshops at Swansea University, which introduced the young people to a range of exciting topics such as computer programming and games development.
The pupils were also treated to an inspirational talk by Swansea University App Developer, Dr Philip Legg, who demonstrated the hugely popular MatchPad App, currently being used by the Welsh Rugby team and the backroom coaching staff at this year’s Rugby World Cup (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15105398).
Speaking after the workshops, Dr Philip Legg of Swansea University, stressed the importance of getting more youngsters thinking about the potential career opportunities in computing.
“Technocamps gives the children an excellent insight into just some of the exciting projects that are current going on at Universities and within industry across Wales,” said Dr Legg.
“It demonstrates the reality that computers are being used in so many different areas now, such as sports performance analysis and medical treatment. By talking with the children about all these different possibilities, it provides inspiration to them to start thinking about how they can turn a fun hobby into an actual career path.”
Director of Technocamps at Swansea University, Professor Faron Moller, added:
“The significant drop in the number of young people that go onto study STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) is not just a Welsh problem, or a UK problem but an international one.
“While many ask ‘so what?’ the decline in computational sciences is significant, as computing and software development is everywhere, and without noticing, it has become fundamental to 21st century living.”
The daily workshops, delivered on campus at Swansea University, helped the pupils get to grips with computer programming in a practical and creative way – learning how to write, compile, run and debug code. As a result, pupils were able to design, build and create a game of their very own.
11 year old Ieuan Winston of Morriston Comprehensive School attended one of the Technocamps sessions. He said: “The best part of the day was learning to program the game. I haven’t learnt fully yet but am getting better.”
Deputy Headteacher of Morriston Comprehensive School, Sandra Joy, added:
“A day of fun in a University at the age of 11 is a wonderful experience. They have enjoyed immersing themselves in high order ICT skills using the latest technology, with experts as their mentors.”
When pupils are back at their school or college the idea is for them to continue their development in the fun and stimulating atmosphere of an extracurricular Technoclub. Using materials developed by the Technocamps team in addition to their teachers support, pupils will be encouraged to work in team, and work with Technoclubs from other schools and colleges online.
“Technocamps and the resultant Technoclubs have been designed to nurture and inspire future generations of highly skilled and enthusiastic digital novices, who will not only develop and supply our ongoing science and technology needs but could also make Wales a world leader in the development of new and advanced technologies,” said Professor Faron Moller.
Technocamps, a £6million project led by Swansea University in partnership with the Universities of Bangor, Aberystwyth, and Glamorgan, was granted funding by the Welsh Government through the European Social Fund.
For further information on Technocamps or to register your interest in Technocamps activities, please visit www.technocamps.com or call 01792 606890. Alternatively, email the Technocamps team at [email protected].
